Panthers Impress for Alumni

Pitt Beats Traditional Powerhouse Iowa State 22-15

By Stephen Patrick 

Dom Forys got sweet revenge on Friday, taking out the "dream killer" Earl Hall. Hall of course prevented both Forys and Anthony Zanetta from attaining All American status by defeating them in the Bloodround in 2016 and 2014 respectively.

"It felt good, if felt real good" Dom stated in regards to avenging his, to date, most devastating loss. He noted he has been thinking about that outcome and a potential rematch with Hall since the end of last season. He also mentioned that he and the coaching staff have been specifically game planning for Hall's higher powered offense.

Photo credit: North Allegheny Athletics

"He was a big move guy," Dom reflected on getting head locked in the previous encounter. When preparing for the most recent bout he noted a "mutual respect" of staying away from the big moves. Specifically, not trying to score from underhooks, as that position would leave Dom susceptible to being caught in a headlock again.

To show the progress Forys has made since the round of 12 at the end of last season, at least in his mind, Dom was acutally "upset" that he was not able to get to his "shots more and didn't score more points". No matter how one looks at it, Friday night was a big win for Dom Forys, and may lend insight into expectations for March.

Good wins

Nick Zanetta, Taleb Rahmani, TeShan Campbell, Zach Bruce and Ryan Solomon added up for the rest of Pitt's team points and every one of them had a solid win. After two matches in a row with pin or nearfall related controversy, Rahmani finally got the stick. Zanetta hit a nice mat return straight to a tilt for four back points. Campbell added to his bonus point totals with a 15 point major decision. Bruce rode his opponent hard and got the 4-0 shutout. Solomon notched a tactical win over a ranked opponent. 

Great Athlete, Disappointing (to some) Coach

As news broke two weeks ago that Kevin Jackson would be stepping down as Iowa State's head Coach at the conclusion of this season, it appeared he fell into the category of being extremely acomplishd as an athlete in his given sport, but distinctively less so as a coach. But wait, just how well has he done as a coach? From a USA Wrestlig article:

     Jackson coached four Cyclone NCAA champions, 14 All-Americans and nine Big 12 champions at Iowa State. His first ISU team finished third at the NCAA Championship and boasted two national champions (Jake Varner and David Zabriskie). His other two national champs were Jon Reader (2011) and Kyven Gadson (2015). Jackson's Iowa State dual record of 68-54 includes a 1-9 mark this season. 

Not to shabby. We have seen examples of this phenomenon in other sports. Take Patrick Roy with the Colorado Avalanche for example. Although I would go against the narrative and argue Jackson has done a fine job at ISU, obviously something is wrong. 

Photo credit: Sherdog forums

From that same article, he are some of Jackson's accomplishments as a wrestler:

     A member of several national wrestling halls of fame, Jackson was the National           Freestyle Coach for USA Wrestling (2001-08) prior to coming to Iowa State. Jackson is   also in the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame. As a competitor, he is a former Olympic Gold Medalist (1992), World Champion (1991 and 1995) and NCAA Runner-up (1987, the last time Iowa State won the team championship). 

Moreover, in 1992 at 82kg, he was a member of one of the best US Olympic Teams of all time, with fellow memebrs including silver medalist Zeke Jones (52), gold medalist John Smith (62), silver medalist Kenny Monday (74), bronze medalist Chris Campbell (90), and gold medalist Bruce Baumgartner (130). 

First Conference Win

Pitt got its first conference win of the season in Charlottesville, VA this weekend defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 19-14.

Mikey Racciato impressed with a win over fellow PA stud Sam Krivus. Rahmani really impressed with a win over two time NCAA qualifier and 19th ranked Andrew Atkinson. Lastly, Zach Bruce had a solid performance with a tight 2-1 win over 32nd ranked Will Schany, which had major team score implications. Flip that and UVA wins 17-16. 

Opinions (Everyone has them)

• Speaking of alumni, one such former competitor informed me of a conversation he had with a member of the athletic department regarding the coaching search. He did not release any names, but he did say "you would know all the names on the list". Of course, that could mean Drew Headlee or Matt Kocher
• My friends and I learned when we were younger that it can be fun to throw gasoline on fires. Literally. Well, let's do it again (figuratively). I heard - threw the grapevine, from reliable sources, but threw the grapevine nonetheless - that Terry Brands is at least somewhat interested in the Pitt job and may have already applied
• I also heard Pat Santoro, Tim Flynn, Kerry McCoy, Zack Esposito and Damion Hahn. If I had 1 million dollars I wouldn't bet a penny on any of them, you know how rumors fly. But if I only had 1 dollar, I'd bet it on one of them. I'm sensing a surprise in the near future and I'm sure I could get some good odds
• Taleb Rahmani continues to impress and exceed expectations, espescially considering he was majored by Jake Wentzel in the Blue-Gold match 
• Dom Forys win All American this year
• My predictions for Penn State vs Oklahoma State 

• 165, 197, 285 are toss-ups
• 125, 174, 184 PSU slightly favored
• 133, 141, 149, 157 seem like locks