University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Seven Panthers Stay in the Fight After Day One in Cleveland
3/19/2026 11:48:00 PM | Wrestling
CLEVELAND – Pitt wrapped up day one of the NCAA Championships with a pair of opening-round wins and will carry momentum into Friday with seven wrestlers still alive in the consolation brackets.
Mac Stout (197) and Dayton Pitzer (285) each advanced in the championship bracket to open the tournament. Stout earned a 5-2 decision over Mikey Squires of Binghamton, while Pitzer secured a 3-2 tiebreaker victory against Spencer Lagosna of Navy.
In session two, Pitt found success in the wrestlebacks, highlighted by Luca Augustine at 174 pounds, who recorded a fall in 2:16 over Derek Gilcher of Indiana. Tyler Chappell added a 6-3 decision over Michigan's Diego Sotelo, Dylan Evans followed with a 4-2 win against Virginia's Colton Washleski, Jared Keslar earned a 14-4 major decision victory over Army's Gunner Filipowicz, and Chase Kranitz earned an 11-5 decision over Ceasar Garza of Cal Poly.
Elsewhere, Kade dropped a 7-4 decision to Wyoming's Gabe Willochell in the second session. Stout fell in a tightly contested 2-1 decision to Cody Merrill, moving him into the consolation bracket, while Pitzer dropped to wrestlebacks after a second-round loss to No. 4 seed AJ Ferrari.
Pitt will continue competition Friday with seven wrestlers remaining in the consolation bracket.
125 | Tyler Chappell
First Round: Sheldon Seymour (LEH) fall Chappell, (5:38)
Cons. Round: Chappell dec. Diego Sotelo (MICH), 6-3
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Chappell vs. Nic Bouzakis (OHST)
149 | Kade Brown (0-2)
First Round: Koy Buesgens (NCST) dec. Brown, 4-0
Cons. Round: Gabe Willochell (WYO) dec. Brown, 7-4
157 | Dylan Evans
First Round: Jude Swisher (PENN) dec. Evans. 8-2
Cons. Round: Evans dec. Colton Washleski (UVA), 4-2
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Evans vs. Charlie Millard (MINN)
165 | Jared Keslar
First Round: Joey Blaze (PUR) dec. Keslar, 5-0
Cons. Round: Keslar major dec. Gunner Filipowicz (ARMY), 14-4
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Keslar vs. Paddy Gallagher (OHST)
174 | Luca Augustine
First Round: Myles Takats (BUCK) dec. Augustine, 6-4
Cons. Round: Augustine fall Derek Gilcher (IND) (2:16)
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Augustine vs. Alex Facundo (OKST)
184 | Chase Krantiz
First Round: Angelo Ferrari (IOWA) major dec. Kranitz, 10-0
Cons. Round 1: Kranitz dec. Ceasar Garza (POLY), 11-5
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round 2: Kranitz vs. Chris Moore (ILL)
197 | Mac Stout
First Round: Stout dec. Mikey Squires (BING), 5-2
Second Round: Cody Merrill (OKST) dec. Stout, 2-1
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Stout vs. Brock Zurawski (RID)
285 | Dayton Pitzer
First Round: Pitzer dec. Spencer Lanosga (NAVY), 3-2 TB1
Second Round: AJ Ferrari (NEB) major dec. Pitzer, 12-0
(UP NEXT) Cons. Round: Pitzer vs. Jack Forbes (UVU)
Players Mentioned
