OT: Pitt wrestling beat #8 NCSU 18-16

[RaleighPittFan]

https://www.cardiachill.com/2019/2/...gh-panthers-vs-nc-state-davidson-gardner-webb

 

[HailtoPitt]

Terrible coaching hire. Heather is a minor league AD and must go!

 

[BuffetParrothead]

Unbelievable year to year improvement!

 

[Chescat]

Terrible coaching hire. Heather is a minor league AD and must go!

Her selection of Gavin met a lot of criticism on here on how she handled the hiring process. Aapparently this coach has the program on the upswing. His recruiting
is already paying dividends and appears to be getting even better.

 

[fairgambit]

Pennsylvania high school wrestling is considered among the best in the country. Some rate the state #1. Penn State has 17 PA kids on its roster. There is plenty of talent to go around. If Pitt can recruit PA well they can become a perennial top 20 team.

 

[str61166]

It's great to finally beat NC State in something.

 

[Pantherguy4]

Coach Gavin is a great hire. HAIL TO PITT!

 

[Saboteur]

https://www.cardiachill.com/2019/2/...gh-panthers-vs-nc-state-davidson-gardner-webb

Did you attend?

 

[RaleighPittFan]

Did you attend?

I didn't. I spent the weekend messing with about 2 cords of firewood.

 

[mike412]

Pennsylvania high school wrestling is considered among the best in the country. Some rate the state #1. Penn State has 17 PA kids on its roster. There is plenty of talent to go around. If Pitt can recruit PA well they can become a perennial top 20 team.

While they have a ton of PA kids on their roster, most of them are walk-ons. They have a national roster and have had NCAA champions from Texas, Minnesota, Utah, Ohio and California in addition to PA. That being said, three of the 10 NCAA champions last year were PA kids, two from PSU and one from Iowa. That’s a pretty hefty ratio for one state. All three are back this year, and PA could conceivably have 5 NCAA champions this year — 50% of the total.

Unfortunately, this year is a down year in PA for HS seniors. Not one is ranked #1 in his weight class — and there are 17 HS weight classes. But, it is cyclical, and PA will come back.

Also, being a perennial top 20 college wrestling team is not a very high goal because so many colleges have dropped the sport: The ACC has six schools. Missouri has to compete in the MAC because the SEC has no other wrestling schools. The Big 12 only has 4 regular members who compete in wrestling. They added schools like Northern Iowa and South Dakota State for wrestling so they could have a semblance of a conference.

Virginia Tech, which has zero wrestling history, became an instant power when they hired Tom Brands as coach. Although he stayed only one or two years before taking the Iowa job, they have finished in the Top Ten of 6 consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Pitt’s aspirations should be at least that high: At a minimum, a perennial top ten program, regular production of NCAA individual champions and an occasional national title contender.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

While they have a ton of PA kids on their roster, most of them are walk-ons. They have a national roster and have had NCAA champions from Texas, Minnesota, Utah, Ohio and California in addition to PA. That being said, three of the 10 NCAA champions last year were PA kids, two from PSU and one from Iowa. That’s a pretty hefty ratio for one state. All three are back this year, and PA could conceivably have 5 NCAA champions this year — 50% of the total.

Unfortunately, this year is a down year in PA for HS seniors. Not one is ranked #1 in his weight class — and there are 17 HS weight classes. But, it is cyclical, and PA will come back.

Also, being a perennial top 20 college wrestling team is not a very high goal because so many colleges have dropped the sport: The ACC has six schools. Missouri has to compete in the MAC because the SEC has no other wrestling schools. The Big 12 only has 4 regular members who compete in wrestling. They added schools like Northern Iowa and South Dakota State for wrestling so they could have a semblance of a conference.

Virginia Tech, which has zero wrestling history, became an instant power when they hired Tom Brands as coach. Although he stayed only one or two years before taking the Iowa job, they have finished in the Top Ten of 6 consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Pitt’s aspirations should be at least that high: At a minimum, a perennial top ten program, regular production of NCAA individual champions and an occasional national title contender.

Ryan Anderson of Bethlehem Catholic has been the number 1 ranked wrestler at 145 the entire year. He got upset this past weekend in the state championships by a Northampton wrestler that he had already beaten twice before. Ryan will win states for the 2nd year in a row and is one of the best pound for pound wrestlers in the country. He is going to Iowa St.

 

[pittdan77]

Terrible coaching hire. Heather is a minor league AD and must go!

Killing women's tennis is just embarrassing.

 

[fairgambit]

While they have a ton of PA kids on their roster, most of them are walk-ons. They have a national roster and have had NCAA champions from Texas, Minnesota, Utah, Ohio and California in addition to PA. That being said, three of the 10 NCAA champions last year were PA kids, two from PSU and one from Iowa. That’s a pretty hefty ratio for one state. All three are back this year, and PA could conceivably have 5 NCAA champions this year — 50% of the total.

Unfortunately, this year is a down year in PA for HS seniors. Not one is ranked #1 in his weight class — and there are 17 HS weight classes. But, it is cyclical, and PA will come back.

Also, being a perennial top 20 college wrestling team is not a very high goal because so many colleges have dropped the sport: The ACC has six schools. Missouri has to compete in the MAC because the SEC has no other wrestling schools. The Big 12 only has 4 regular members who compete in wrestling. They added schools like Northern Iowa and South Dakota State for wrestling so they could have a semblance of a conference.

Virginia Tech, which has zero wrestling history, became an instant power when they hired Tom Brands as coach. Although he stayed only one or two years before taking the Iowa job, they have finished in the Top Ten of 6 consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Pitt’s aspirations should be at least that high: At a minimum, a perennial top ten program, regular production of NCAA individual champions and an occasional national title contender.

I agree with you. I mentioned a top 20 goal because in the past 10 years, Pitt has only done that twice, finishing 15th in 2012 and 2013. Last year they were 31st.
This season there were 76 schools with Division 1 programs. A top 20 finish would put them in roughly the upper 25%. I agree top 10 should be the ultimate goal, and I think if they do that, wrestling can become very big on the Pitt campus. The fact that the NCAA Championships are in Pittsburgh this year should help spark interest.

 

[pafootballguy]

I have said this before but Pitt should own the ACC year in and year out, they have the best access to talent in the conference. Now on a national level, the goal should be to be a top 4-7 team most years with a run every few into the top 2-3 and never outside the top 10 with a few legit NC contenders in the lineup. Aspirations for a team title are great but I have a real tough time seeing anyone outside the PSU, OSU, Iowa, and probably Okie State winning a team title for a long time and right now I expect PSU to be the title favorite most years, they just have too much money and to many resources.