BRADFORD, Pa. (Dec. 8) – By winning each of the evening's final seven matches, the Saint Vincent College wrestling team defeated Pitt-Bradford, 39-12, to earn its first dual match victory in the team's modern era.
Trailing 12-6 after three matches, the Bearcats closed the night with seven straight wins to pull away for the historic victory.
"It's always challenging to drive more than three hours, get on weight and wrestle well," said SVC head coach Dominick Nania. "The guys really embraced competing and getting back on the mat. I'm really proud of our wrestlers' effort and willingness to score points for the team."
Logan Bechtold got the evening started in fine fashion for Saint Vincent, as he pinned the Panthers' Darren Christian in 4:17 in the 174-pound match to give the visitors the early 6-0 lead.
The Panthers responded by recording pins at 184 and 197, before the 285-pound match saw SVC senior Jake Beistel earn a 12-3 major decision over Gavin Thompson to close the gap to 12-10. The win moved the veteran's record to 5-1 on the young season.
At 125 pounds, SVC's Sean Cain outlasted Uriah Morris for a 6-4 decision to give SVC a 13-12 lead, before Ryan Klingensmith won by forfeit at 133 pounds to increase the lead to 19-12.
At 141 pounds, Kyle McCollum posted an impressive 21-5 technical fall over Jacob Rogers, before Tyler Debnar blanked Raymond Worsen for a 6-0 decision at 149 pounds to push the Bearcat advantage to 27-12.
Saint Vincent continued to roll, with Charlie Mesich earning a pin in 1:15 seconds at 157 pounds, and Chase Brandebura followed with a forfeit win in the 165-pound match to close out the team victory.
The Bearcats will now take a nine-day sojourn for finals week at Saint Vincent, and will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 17, when they take part in five matches at the Wartburg Desert Duals at The Flamingo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
