Pittsburgh (2-2) was down 15-0 after the match’s first three bouts as Penn State (3-0) got falls from heavyweight Pat Cummins at the 4:59 mark over senior Travis Shirley (West Middlesex, Pa./Kennedy Christian) and at 133 pounds from No. 3 Josh Moore at the 2:51 mark over junior Tyshawn Scarlett (Freeport, N.Y./Freeport/Nassau C.C.). Also winning at 125 pounds was Adam Smith of the Nittany Lions, an 11-4 decision over nationally ranked freshman Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) of the Panthers.

The Panthers’ first victory came at 141 pounds when sophomore Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny), ranked No. 16 in the nation, held off Penn State’s DeWitt Driscoll by a count of 5-3 to cut the deficit to 12 points. In the next bout, Pittsburgh freshman Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College Area) upset the No. 8-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds, Matt Storniolo, an old high school teammate of Kocher’s. Storniolo led the match 3-0 after the first two periods but Kocher scored a reversal and earned a stalling point before taking down Storniolo in overtime for the 5-3 victory.

James Woodall increased the Penn State lead to 20-6 with a 24-9 technical fall at the 7:00 mark with riding time. Pittsburgh got back on the winning track and won the next two matches to close the gap to five points. Junior Zachariah Doll (Quakertown, Pa./The Hill School) scored a quick six points with a fall at 0:50 over Chris Taylor of the Nittany Lions. In a closely-contested battle at 174 pounds, sophomore Francis Iorfido (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) earned an 8-7 victory over James Yonushonis, the second time Iorfido has defeated the Penn State wrestler this season.

The final two bouts went Penn State’s way, both by major decision. 12th-ranked Eric Bradley earned an 18-8 win over Mike Croyle (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) in the 184-pound match and No. 16 Joel Edwards defeated No. 19 Josh Birt (Spokane, Wash./North Idaho JC) by a final score of 13-4.

Many of the Panthers’ former wrestlers showed up to the Petersen Events Center for Alumni Night, including former NCAA champions Hugh Peery, Joe Solomon, Ed DeWitt, Ed Peery and Pat Santoro.

The Panthers will participate in the Ashland Duals on Sunday, January 11, against Gardner-Webb, Central Michigan and Indiana with bouts at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.