No. 15 Pitt Wrestling Loses to No. 14 Iowa State

PITTSBURGH — No. 15 Pitt Panthers wrestling battled hard with No. 14 Iowa State, but lost a road contest, 23-14, to finish their weekend winless.

Pitt has dropped three of their last four contests, including a 22-13 road defeat to No. 6 NC State on Jan. 24 and a 17-16 loss to North Carolina at home on Feb. 7 on criteria. The only win they've had is against Duke, 42-0 on Feb. 1 at home.

This dual should've taken place last season, but inclement weather prevented Pitt from flying to Iowa State and they rescheduled it for this season. Pitt hosted Iowa State back in 2023, so this was a part of a home-and-away scenario.

The Panthers had only three of their regular starters compete vs. the Cyclones, with head coach Keith Gavin giving some of his starters a break and also dealing with some injuries.

True freshman Colyn Limbert (5-5) got the start for Pitt at 125 pounds, facing Iowa State sophomore Ethan Perryman. Perryman dominated most of the match, looking for the technical fall, but Limbert got a late takedown, still losing a 21-8 major decision after riding time.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Chappell (3-6) continued at 133 pounds for the Panthers, with redshirt sophomore Vinnie Santaniello still out with injuries.

No. 5 Cyclones sophomore Evan Frost dominated Chappell in the second period, winning on a pin at 4:45.

Redshirt sophomore Briar Priest (10-6) started for Pitt at 141 pounds, over redshirt freshman Anthony Santaniello.

Priest battled with No. 11 Iowa State sophomore Jacob Frost, but would lose an 8-2 decision.

True freshman Kade Brown (10-3) earned his last start of the season for the Panthers at 149 pounds, as Gavin will maintain his redshirt.

Brown had a tough challenge in No. 7 Cyclones redshirt sophomore Paniro Johnson, but battled him throughout the three periods, forcing the match into sudden victory.

Johnson would finally get the better of Brown, completing the takedown and winning 4-1 in sudden victory.

🅿️ wins it in SV-1!!@PaniroJohnson1 pic.twitter.com/T5jmbpywfm
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) February 9, 2025

No. 23 Pitt redshirt freshman Dylan Evans (19-5) used two takedowns and four near fall points against Iowa State sophomore Carter Fousek, for an 11-3 decision after riding time at 157 pounds.

Evans makes it eight wins out of his last nine, as he heads into the latter part of the season wrestling at his best.

Redshirt sophomore Kelin Laffey (6-4) earned his first dual start for the Panthers since November and just the third this season at 165 pounds.

Laffey struggled throughout his match with Cyclones redshirt sophomore Aiden Riggins, losing a 14-4 major decision.

No. 18 Pitt redshirt junior Luca Augustine (14-6) took on a familiar foe in No. 21 Iowa State sophomore MJ Gaitan at 174 pounds. Augustine won his past two matchups against Gaitan, each of the past two seasons.

Gaitan would come out victorious in this matchup, using a second period takedown and fending off shots from Augustine for the 4-2 decision.

Redshirt sophomore Chase Kranitz (9-7) got the start for the Panthers at 184 pounds, with No. 13 graduate student Reece Heller out with injury, per the broadcast.

Kranitz excelled in his start, winning a 10-3 decision against Cyclones sophomore Caleb Helgeson, with three takedowns.

No. 10 Pitt redshirt sophomore Mac Stout (19-2) continues his excellent season, with an 11-2 major decision over Iowa State sophomore Nate Schon at 197 pounds.

The heavyweight matchup saw No. 13 Panthers redshirt sophomore Dayton Pitzer (10-3) up against No. 26 Cyclones freshman Daniel Herrera.

Herrera chose neutral for the second period and got a late takedown to go up 3-0. Pitzer battled back, with an escape and a takedown, that allowed him to ride out Herrera for the 5-3 decision.

Pitt will have two duals left in their season, as they travel to Blacksburg to take on No. 10 Virginia Tech on Feb. 14.

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