“Clash of Titans: No. 18 Pitt Welcomes No. 15 Stanford Before Battling No. 22 West Virginia”

PITTSBURGH— The No. 18 Pitt wrestling squad (5-2, 0-0 ACC) is set to compete against two ranked rivals this weekend. On Friday, the Panthers will welcome No. 15 Stanford (4-1, 0-0 ACC) to kick off conference play, and on Sunday, make their way to No. 22 West Virginia (7-2, 1-2 Big 12) for the Backyard Brawl.

The match on Friday against Stanford is expected to commence at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACCNX. The dual on Sunday at West Virginia will be shown on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.

Pitt holds a 5-2 record in dual matches this season, with five of their seven contests against nationally ranked teams. Stanford comes into the match with a 4-1 dual meet record and has recently secured a team championship at the Midlands Championships in late December. West Virginia is 7-2 in dual matches and currently shares a record of 13-13-1 with the Panthers in the Backyard Brawl at the WVU Coliseum.

NOTABLES

• No. 12 Mac Stout has achieved nine straight victories, rising to No. 12 in the InterMat rankings. Stout leads the Panthers with 12 wins, five of which have been by major decision or tech fall.
• No. 22 Dylan Evans and No. 28 Grigor Cholakyan will face off in a rematch following their encounter in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships in December, where Evans triumphed 11-8 in sudden victory.
• No. 18 Luca Augustine boasts a record of 10-3 this season, with a 5-1 mark in dual meets and 4-3 against ranked opponents.
• Pitt features eight individual wrestlers ranked in the InterMat standings in their respective weight categories, as well as eight ranked in the FloWrestling rankings.
• Friday’s dual may showcase ranked matchups at 157, 174, and 197.
• Sunday’s dual could include ranked contests at 141, 174, and 184.
• Pitt gave a stellar performance at the 2024 Midlands Championships (December 29-30), with three Panthers finishing in the top three and securing a tie for fourth place in the team standings. Reece Heller (184) and Mac Stout (197) claimed titles with dominating displays across the two days, while Kade Brown showcased an impressive effort with a third-place finish at 149.

THE SERIES

• Friday’s contest will be the inaugural meeting between Pitt and Stanford.
• Pitt maintains an all-time series lead against West Virginia at 38-26-2, with the series tied at 13-13-1 in WVU.

PROBABLE MATCHUPS – STANFORD

125 – No. 17 Nick Babin (Pitt) vs. Nico Provo (Stanford)

133 – Tyler Chappell OR Matt Marlow (Pitt) vs. No. 10 Tyler Knox (Stanford)

141 – No. 31 Anthony Santaniello OR Briar Priest (Pitt) vs. Jason Miranda OR Jack Consiglio (Stanford)

149 – No. 26 Finn Solomon OR Kade Brown (Pitt) vs. EJ Parco (Stanford)

157 – No. 22 Dylan Evans (Pitt) vs. No. 28 Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford)

165 – Jared Keslar (Pitt) vs. No. 14 Hunter Garvin OR Zach Hanson (Stanford)

174 – No. 18 Luca Augustine (Pitt) vs. No. 4 Lorenzo Norman OR Collin Guffey (Stanford)

184 – No. 18 Reece Heller (Pitt) vs. Abraham Wojcikiewicz OR Cole Han-Lindemyer

197 – No. 12 Mac Stout (Pitt) vs. No. 24 Nick Stemmet OR Brook Byers (Stanford)

285 – No. 14 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt) vs. Peter Ming (Stanford)

PROBABLE MATCHUPS – WEST VIRGINIA

125 – No. 17 Nick Babin (Pitt) vs. Jett Strickenberger (WVU)

133 – Tyler Chappell or Matt Marlow (Pitt) vs. Tommy Maddox (WVU)

141 – No. 31 Anthony Santaniello or Briar Priest (Pitt) vs. No. 29 Jordan Titus (WVU)

149 – No. 26 Finn Solomon or Kade Brown (Pitt) vs. Sam Hillegas (WVU)

157 – No. 22 Dylan Evans (Pitt) vs. Sasha Gavronsky (WVU)

165 – Jared Keslar (Pitt) vs. No. 3 Peyton Hall (WVU)

174 – No. 18 Luca Augustine (Pitt) vs. No. 28 Brody Conley (WVU)

184 – No. 18 Reece Heller (Pitt) vs. No. 16 Dennis Robin (WVU)

197 – No. 12 Mac Stout (Pitt) vs. Ian Bush (WVU)

285 – No. 14 Dayton Pitzer (Pitt) vs. Michael Wolfgram (WVU)