Navy should present early season test for Panthers

Pitt will open its dual meet season with three matches at Navy on Sunday.

The Panthers will open against Virginia Military Institute at noon, face Morgan State at 1:30 and cap the day with Navy, which knocked off No. 23 Illinois last weekend.

While coach Keith Gavin’s squad should be heavily favored in the first two, a lineup featuring five redshirt freshman will face a stern test against Navy.

“They’re good,” Gavin said. “They’re pretty solid dual meet team. A lot of their guys are ranked in their weight classes. It’s a pretty solid team. There’s nobody in that lineup that’s an easy out. It’s a good test for our guys. It should be a pretty competitive dual.”

Here’s a look at Sunday’s matches:

Noon

Pitt vs. Virginia Military Institute
125: Colton Camacho, Jr., 0-2 vs. Tony Burke, So., 1-2
133: No. 10 Vinnie Santaniello, R-Fr., 3-1 vs. Wayne Rold, Fr., 3-2 OR Dyson Dunham, So., 4-1
141: No. 7 Cole Matthews, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. Patrick Jordon, Fr., 5-1
149: No. 24 Finn Solomon, R-Fr., 5-1 vs. Ryan Vigil, So., 4-2
157: Jared Keslar, R-Fr., 3-2 vs. Hunter Salomon, Fr., 0-1
165: No. 11 Holden Heller, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. Luke Hart, Jr., 1-2
174: No. 22 Luca Augustine, So., 0-0 vs. Braxton Lewis, So., 4-0
184: No. 13 Reece Heller, Jr., 5-0 vs. River Carroll, Jr., 0-2
197: No. 16 Mac Stout R-Fr., 5-0 vs. Josh Evans, Jr., 0-2
285: No. 9 Dayton Pitzer R-Fr., 0-0 vs. Tyler Mousaw, Jr., 2-3

What to know: The Keydets went 9-8 last year - the program’s first winning record in 20 years - including a 28-9 victory over Duke. They could have as many as seven returning starters in the lineup, but a few will be at different weights. Tyler Mousaw moved up from 197 to 285 this season while Josh Evans dropped from heavyweight to ’97.

They’re coached by Jim Gibson, who was an NCAA qualifier for Edinboro in 2007. He was also a grad assistant at Clarion before heading south to VMI.

Where to watch: It doesn’t look like this will be streamed.

Key match: 174 - Luca Augustine will be making his season debut after missing much of the offseason due to injury. He should get an early test in Braxton Lewis, who went 26-11 as a freshman last season for VMI, although none of his victories really jump off the page. Lewis went 4-0 to win the freshman/sophomore title at the Southeast Open last weekend.

1:30 p.m.

Pitt (0-0) vs. Morgan State (0-0)

What to know: Morgan State will be wrestling its first dual meets in 25 years. The HBCU school in Baltimore reinstated its program and hired Olympic gold medalist Kenny Monday to lead the program.

Monday will likely need time to develop the program, as eight of the Bears’ projected starters are freshmen.

Pitt probably should pitch a shutout here.

Where to watch: Morgan State has a “watch live” link on its website, but it’s hard to imagine a visiting team streaming from Annapolis

Key match: 165 - Holden Heller draws Jake Marsh, a graduate transfer student from Princeton. Marsh went 2-2 at the Southeast Open, including a tech fall loss to West Virginia’s Peyton Hall. He didn’t wrestle a match last season and was just 4-7 in 2021-22. Jake Wentzel beat him 8-0 that season, although Marsh did spring an upset against Cornell’s Julian Ramirez.

Projected lineup

125: Colton Camacho, Jr., 0-2 vs. Julian Dawson, Fr., 1-2
133: No. 10 Vinnie Santaniello, R-Fr., 3-1 vs. Kevin Lopez, Jr., 1-2
141: No. 7 Cole Matthews, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. Ky-El Ali, Fr., 0-2
149: No. 24 Finn Solomon, R-Fr., 5-1 vs. Carter Nix, Fr., 0-2
157: Jared Keslar, R-Fr., 3-2 vs. Eric Tecson, Fr., 0-2
165: No. 11 Holden Heller, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. Jake Marsh, Sr., 2-2
174: No. 22 Luca Augustine, So., 0-0 vs. Cort Vann, Fr., 1-2
184: No. 13 Reece Heller, Jr., 5-0 vs. Kingsley Menigee, Fr., 3-1
197: No. 16 Mac Stout R-Fr., 5-0 vs. Cam Johnson, Fr., 0-2
285: No. 9 Dayton Pitzer R-Fr., 0-0 vs. Tyler Stewart, Fr., 0-0

3 p.m.

Pitt vs. Navy

125: Colton Camacho, Jr., 0-2 vs. Evan Tallmadge, 0-1
133: No. 10 Vinnie Santaniello, R-Fr., 3-1 vs. No. 19 Brendan Ferretti, 1-0
141: No. 7 Cole Matthews, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. No. 25 Josh Koderhandt, 1-0
149: No. 24 Finn Solomon, R-Fr., 5-1 vs. James Latona, 0-1
157: Jared Keslar, R-Fr., 3-2 vs.No. 33 Jonathan Ley, 0-1
165: No. 11 Holden Heller, R-Sr., 0-0 vs. No. 26 Andrew Cerniglia, 1-0
174: No. 22 Luca Augustine, So., 0-0 vs. No. 32 Danny Wask, 0-1
184: No. 13 Reece Heller, Jr., 5-0 vs. No. 19 David Key, 1-0
197: No. 16 Mac Stout R-Fr., 5-0 vs. Cael Crebs, 1-0
285: No. 9 Dayton Pitzer R-Fr., 0-0 vs. No. 13 Grady Griess, 0-1

What to know: Navy is making strides under coach Cary Kolat. The Pennsylvania legend is in his fourth season with the Mids, and if last week’s win over Illinois is any indication, this could be his best team.

Wrestlestat has it as a 26-6 Pitt victory, but with the potential for six ranked-vs.-ranked matches, this feels like it could go either way.

Where to watch: Navy’s website has a “live results” section, so it looks like live stats will be the best we get for this one.

Key match: 285 - Dayton Pitzer faces a big, athletic heavyweight in Grady Griess. An NCAA qualifier last season, Griess should present a challenge for Pitzer. This will be a good chance to see how Pitzer looks with some added weight on his frame.

Last time out
Reece Heller and Mac Stout won Clarion Open titles, with Stout’s performance earning him ACC Co-Wrestler of the Week accolades.

Vinnie Santaniello notched a big victory in his NCAA debut, as he beat No. 8 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State 11-4, but the redshirt freshman lost to high school stud Bo Bassett in the final.

N.C. State transfer Finn Solomon looked good in blue-and-gold as he placed second. Briar Priest, Anthony Santaniello and Jared Keslar also placed.

The biggest disappointment was at 125, where Colton Camacho went 0-2 with losses by fall and major decision.

Recruiting roundup
Pitt signed four for the Class of 2024 this week:

- Kade Brown – Ohio state runner-up at 132 pounds
- Colyn Limbert – Ohio state champ at 113
- Matt Marlow – 2x New York state champ at 118
- Jackson Young – 2x New Jersey medalist (seventh at 126 in 2023)

The Panthers lost out on a big one for 2025, as Faith Christian Academy’s Gauge Botero announced his commitment to Michigan.