After strong Midlands performance, Panthers ready for Backyard Brawl
The Backyard Brawl is back after a two-season hiatus, and Sunday’s dual at Fitzgerald Field House should be a much tougher test for Pitt than their last meeting.
That dual, which was Year 2 of Tim Flynn’s rebuilding effort, ended in a 29-6 rout of the Mountaineers.
“West Virginia – I think it will be a good match,” Pitt coach Keith Gavin said. “Coach Flynn is a really good coach. We saw that coming. I think it’s going to be a really good dual.”
The dual, which begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, will be streamed on ACC Network Extra/ESPN+.
Projected lineups:
125-#7 Killian Cardinale vs. Colton Camacho
133-Davin Rhoads vs. #7 Micky Phillippi
141-Jordan Titus vs. #1 Cole Matthews
149-#28 Sam Hillegas vs. #25 Tyler Badgett
157-#27 Alex Hornfeck vs. Cheez Casto OR Dan Mancini
165-#12 Peyton Hall vs. #28 Holden Heller
174-Scott Joll OR Brody Conley vs. Luca Augustine
184-#30 Anthony Carman vs. #14 Reece Heller
197-#32 Austin Cooley OR Ian Bush vs. #2 Nino Bonaccorsi
285-#28 Michael Wolfgram vs. #5 Dayton Pitzer OR Jake Slinger
“They have some studs in there at ’25 and ’65 and a lot of solid guys,” Gavin said.
Key takeaways:
— 157 has become a problem. Cheez Casto’s transfer from The Citadel was supposed to be the solution, but he’s struggled with his weight and his results. He’s 3-5 this season, including an 0-2 performance at Midlands, where he wasn’t even the points scorer for Pitt. That designation went to Dan Mancini, who went 1-2. Brock McMillen also wrestled at the weight and went 0-2, meaning the three Panthers combined to go 1-6.
Mancini’s possible inclusion tells me that Casto could be running out of chances.
— As I wrote earlier this week, Dayton Pitzer is not expected to redshirt, but that doesn’t mean he’ll automatically wrestle in every dual meet. Pitzer majored WVU’s Michael Wolfgram at Midlands, but if the Panthers have the dual in hand by the time it gets to heavyweight, don’t be shocked if Jake Slinger gets the call. Gavin isn’t in a hurry to use up the five competition dates that Pitzer can use before officially pulling his redshirt. The coach would like to keep the redshirt intact if he can, on the off chance that Pitzer would get hurt before the postseason.
— Intermat has seven Mountaineers ranked, while Flo includes Brody Conley, who is coming off a third-place finish at Midlands, in the honorable mentions at 174. Conley wrestled unattached and appears to be redshirting, but with the new rule, Flynn could still use him. If he is in the lineup, WVU has eight ranked wrestlers, which is the first time the program can make that claim in the past 20 years.
— The 149-pound bout should be a good one and play a key role in the outcome of the dual. Tyler Badgett has shown improvement this year, and he’ll be facing Sam Hillegas, the North Hills grad who spent two years at Virginia Tech before transferring to WVU.
— This would be a great time for Micky Phillippi or Cole Matthews – or both – to pick up some bonus points. Phillippi has major decisions against Cleveland State and Brown. Matthews is 10-0 – his loss to Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez in the NWCA All-Star Match doesn’t count – and is still ranked No. 1, but his 11-3 victory over Indiana’s Cole Rhemrev at the Midlands is his lone bonus-point victory this year. Half of his victories have come by two points or fewer.
— Former Panther Austin Cooley was injured in his semifinal loss to Mac Stout at the Midlands and defaulted his next match, so it’s possible the Mountaineers could be use Ian Bush, a true freshman who is listed at 184. Either way, Nino should be getting bonus points.
Last time out
Pitt had a very good showing at Midlands, finishing second in the team standings even without Bonaccorsi and Phillippi. Matthews and Reece Heller won titles, Pitzer was second, Stout placed fourth, Badgett brought home fifth, while Luca Augustine and Ryan Michaels each took sixth.
“I thought going into the year we had a tournament team,” Gavin said. “I think that showed itself at Midlands. For the most part, I was pretty happy with the way that we performed.”
Reece Heller was named ACC Wrestler of the Week after winning the 184-pound crown.
“He was in some crazy matches, but he’s a good competitor. His first match, he escaped with a couple seconds left to win. In the semis, he was losing (to West Virginia’s Anthony Carman) when he pinned him,” Gavin said.
“He was finding ways to win. He did a good job of finding ways to win. The finals were kind of wild. Those Hellers love wrestling. That works out for us. They love to compete, and they love to wrestle.”
Matthews eked out a few close wins before a 4-0 victory over SIU-Edwardsville’s Ervin Saul in the semifinals and a 3-1 victory over Missouri’s Josh Edmond, who was wrestling unattached, in the championship bout at 141.
“He did a nice job of making his opponent wrestle his match, especially in the finals,” Gavin said. “That kid’s good. Cole controlled the mat, made him wrestle his match.”
Despite finishing second, Pitzer was the talk of the tournament. His fellow freshman, Stout, also impressed.
“The matches he lost, he was right there – a pushout stall call in the semifinals (loss to Wisconsin’s Braxton Amos),” Gavin said. “We’re really high on Mac. He has a ton of potential. He got a lot of good feedback from that tournament. He wrestled six tough matches.”
Badgett improved to 13-5 on the season, matching his combined win total from his first two seasons.
“He has a really good attitude, and he always has. That’s gone a long way for him,” said Gavin, who was quick to point out that the two-time California state runner-up was thrust into the starting lineup at 157 as a true freshman in 2021. “We’re really happy with what he’s been doing. He beat the Lehigh kid (Max Brignola) who he lost to in the dual. Being at 149 is a better weight class for him. His conditioning is at a high level.”