Pitt Excites on Senior Night

Racciato, Rizzo go out on top; Team dominates

Mikey Racciato and John Rizzo ended their home careers on Saturday, and both left the Fitzgerald Field House for the last time after exciting wins. Racciato used two sets of nearfall points to take an 11-9 decision while Rizzo racked up riding time and used a slick takedown to win 5-0. My high school coach Bill Lewis (Pitt alumni) always used to say senior night is a "Bitter sweet" moment. While that sentiment definitely rang true on Saturday, both seniors still have business to take care of and goals to accomplish.

By Stephen Patrick 

Photo credit: Lehigh Valley Live

The Funk Master

Mikey Racciato was a three-time state champion in Pennsylvania. He's an ACC and Keystone classic champion in college. But perhaps the most exciting moment of his collegiate career was when he pinned Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State which set Pitt up to pull off the biggest upset in program history. Kindig was also multiple time state champion from PA and would go on to become an NCAA runner-up losing in the finals 3-1 (OT) to Jason Tsirtsis in 2014. Racciato gave up the early takedown in that match, but then did what he does best. As Kindig was working for a turn, Mikey swiveled his hips and came out on top with an unbreakable pinning combination. The rest was history. PJ Tasser sealed the dual with an OT upset of Austin Marsden, and here you can see Racciato celebrating that takedown and the team win. His pin was the deciding factor in that win, as the first criteria was tied 5-5 and the second criteria relies on number of pins. Well, Pitt led that category 1-0.

Photo credit: Cardiac Hill

Rizzo Reflects

When John Rizzo made the decision to transfer from Temple, and switch from football to wrestling, he did not make it lightly. He enjoyed "being the big guys on campus" and embraced the special bond with his team of 100 plus. At first the decision was "hard... to play football over wrestling," but as he learned during his freshman year, college football was more business like than high school. Although that was not a bad thing for the business student, he "really missed wrestling more than [he] anticipated". 

                             Photo credit: Pitt Athletics

Once the choice was made to make the big switch, he had his sights set on only two schools. Being from Johnstown, only Pitt or Penn State made sense in his eyes. He took official visits to both schools, but in the end, "Pitt just worked". There were a multitude of reasons that tipped the scale in Pitt's favor. One of them, logically, was that Pitt needed an upper weight. Another major factor was the coaching staff. Rizzo had nothing but glowing reviews of the various members of the staff during his tenure at Pitt. Everything from how they "interact with their families, to how they carry themselves in the wrestling room" helped make the transition easier. 

Although it was not all easy. Rizzo described his first year at Pitt as a "rough road" and noted he still has not achieved his goals of being an All American. Considering he was also a three time champ in PA, he set high expectations for himself and is looking forward to one last chance to meet them. "I'm still right there, in the mix". 

Solomon Makes a Statement

Ryan Solomon also made headline worthy news on Saturday, beating 3rd ranked Jacob Kasper 4-3. Kasper was the one making news earlier in the year, majoring then 3rd ranked Ty Walz of Virginia Tech 15-7. 

Photo credit: Pitt Athletics

Kasper was able to major Solomon's biggest ACC rival by turning him multiple times in the third period. Pitt's redshirt junior was well aware of this. "We were watching film, he was tough on top," he assessed. Solomon knew he would have to get out of Kasper's leg ride, something he said he still needs to work on. Kasper came within inches of turning him and even got one swipe from the official. The two time state champion from Milton was able to keep his back just a hair shy of that dreaded 45 degree angle and seconds later, got loose and scored the reversal. 

This match was the second time Solomon has beaten a highly ranked wrestler. The previous instance of course was beating Ty Walz in the ACC semifinals two years ago at the Peterson Event Center, which guaranteed his automatic birth to NCAAs. 

Solomon was recruited as a 197 pounder but moved up to heavyweight when Nick Bonaccorsi moved to 197. Kasper has made a similar transition. You may remember him as Max Thomusseits's opponent in the ACC finals two years ago at 184! Kasper is by no means a big heavyweight, but in this day and age, that's a good thing. As we saw last year in the NCAA finals between Nick Gwiazdowski and Kyle Snyder, the largest and heaviest weight class is transforming into a smaller, quicker one. Solomon noted he tries to keep his weight between 230-240 pounds. He described this as an advantage and cited its importance in being "able to move your feet, be quick, you know get angles on some of these big guys". Getting that angle on a snatch single was what helped him beat Kasper with the match's only takedown. With his expectations now firmly set in stone, Solomon will settle for nothing less than All American. 

"That's what I'm shooting for". 

Duke Domination

What would Mikey Racciato's last match at the Fitz be without a little excitement? Finding himself in that precarious position - you know, where you almost get pinned even though you're on top- multiple times, wasn't worrisome at all for the senior. "I've only been pinned one time like that" he responded when asked if he's comfortable in that position. Although his mother, who was sitting behind us was demonstrably NOT comfortable with that position, Mikey is going to wrestle how he always has, and will take that confidence into ACCs. 

"Every year I've wrestled in it, I've made the finals". This year should be no different in his eyes. "They're all familiar foes." 

Taleb Rahmani got his 10th fall of the season over Jake Faust. This is another positive step for Rahmani's development and yet another impressive win. Faust was ranked as high as 12th last year at 165. Taleb fought off his shot for close to a minute and countered with a near cradle to get the pin in the first period. 

John Rizzo's shutout win saw him try to turn his opponent Luke Farinaro multiple times with a some variation of an arm bar. I asked him if that is his go to move and what his strategy is on top: "I score back points off that in the room, I like riding top, I like legs." One thing about those bars, once you're in one, it's nearly impossible to get out. 

Opinions (Everyone has them)

• The officiating during Zach Bruce's match left a lot to be desired. First there was a controversial locked hands call with a few seconds left that tied the score and stopped Zach's riding time at 58 seconds. This drew a reaction from Pitt's bench but wouldn't pale to what happened in overtime. Bruce was aggressively trying to score with double overs and while trying to take Alec Schenk to his back, landed on his own back. Now even though Bruce was stuck underneath for a brief second, he still had control and the action never stopped. However, the ref saw this as control for Duke and signaled the takedown. Drew Headlee had a lengthy discussion with both officials, and it seemed from the stands, the alternate official may have agreed with him. They reviewed it, but the call stood. Headlee could be seen after the dual still discussing this matter with the ref and I happen to agree with him. When two wrestlers are in those 50/50 gray areas, you have to let the action play out. Making a call too quickly often leads to the wrong one
• That was a tough loss for Nick Zanetta. He's ranked in the coach's poll but not the RPI. Zach Finesilver is ranked in the RPI but not the coach's poll. Could have major implications for an at-large bid to nationals
• Pitt will get between 1 and 3 All Americans this year. I think Forys is a lock. Solomon and Campbell have potential. Could seriously alter the coaching search and recruiting for next year if they get 3
• Mikey Racciato would like to stay in Pittsburgh and search for a job in sales or HR. John Rizzo will be completing his MBA in April and is deciding to explore the job market or go to law school
• Mrs. Racciato, if you read this, Mikey is  well aware of your disapproval of his riding style 
• "I just feel very fortunate to be a Pitt Panther" - John Rizzo