Plus, a reflection on 2017 and a preview of 2018
KEITH GAVIN will be Pitt Wrestling's next Head Coach.
Gavin, Pitt's most recent NCAA Champion, will officially take over from Jason Peters as the next Head Coach. Matt Kocher and Drew Headlee were serving as co-head Coaches after Peters got fired, but only for the interim. Their fate is currently unknown.
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Keith placed no worse than 3rd at six consecutive World Team Trials spanning 2010-2015. In 2013, he was the United States' rep to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He's also competed at the Yasar Dogu International and Pan American Championships. Some of his domestic freestyle wins include victories over Clayton Foster, Ed Ruth, Jon Reader, and Quentin Wright.
As the popularity of freestyle increases among high school standouts, this could prove a vital asset to recruiting. Don't think for a second that training under Terry Brands to make the 2020 Olympic team isn't an ulterior motive for Spencer Lee going to Iowa. Of course he wants to win NCAA titles, but top notch high school kids with cadet and junior freestyle experience, like Lee and Daton Fix and Gable Steveson, most certainly consider a program's freestyle accolades as well as its folkstyle. And word is, Gavin could bring in some heavy hitters as assistants, all with tremendous international experience.
The Search
Pitt's search for its next coach after Jason Peters was fired on January 19th of this year has been, well, interesting to say the least. It all started with Pat Santoro, Pitt's only 4x All American. As has been well documented on the inter-webs, Santoro opted to stay at Lehigh for one reason or another. There is no point in dwelling on why. He would have made a fantastic coach at Pitt, he is a fantastic coach at Lehigh, and I look forward to watching his and Gavin's teams competing against each other for the foreseeable future.
Other candidates included Edinboro's Tim Flynn and South Dakota State's Chris Bono. Again, the rumors have been discussed at length on twitter and other wrestling forums. Although a certain string of tweets netted me over 120 followers, and I stick by what I said, the best thing for Pitt Wrestling now is to look forward, focus on recruiting, and make sure next season won't be the third straight without an All American. While Gavin may not have the pressure on him to succeed immediately like a Santoro or Bono would, he will have pressure to put together a good staff and to start recruiting immediately. Pitt has missed out on most of the top WPIAL recruits in recent years, and reversing this trend will assuredly be the cornerstone of Gavin's plan to revitalize the program.
2017 wrap-up
Pitt started its season well. The Panthers went 2-0 at the Mountaineer Duals defeating Ohio and Campbell. Then, staying on the road, Pitt took out long-time EWL rival Edinboro, on the backs of upset wins by TeShan Campbell and Ryan Solomon. Upon returning to the Fitzgerald Field House the Panthers suffered their first loss to longtime rival Lehigh. Coached by Pitt great Pat Santoro, the Mountain Hawks dominated, taking 8 of the 10 matches. To add insult to injury, then No. 8 Dom Forys defeated then No. 18 Scotty Parker handily 9-4. Of course, Parker would go on to All American, and Forys would lose in the round of 16, two matches shy.
Pitt bounced back well though, taking second place at the Keystone Classic, losing only to eventual National Champion Penn State. After the annual trip to the Palestra, the roller coaster continued. The next dual match Pitt got brutally shut out by Oklahoma State for the second year in a row. Remember it was only four years ago that Pitt beat OSU. Now they’re 0-20 in the last two duals with 11 of those losses by way of bonus points. The ups and downs rolled on with Pitt returning home and defeating old time rival - for all sports - West Virginia. Although the Mountaineers were missing Zeke Moisey and Dylan Cottrell, it was a nice way for Pitt to get back in the win column.
However, right on cue, the roller coaster dove again, this time in Evanston, Illinois. It would be an unproductive use of time in recapping what happened on or off the mat at Midlands, as none of it was good for Pitt (save Nick Zanetta as I wrote in a previous blog). Like the double-dip on the Jackrabbit at Kennywood, right after Pitt experienced its lowest point of the season, it shot straight back up. The Panthers went 3-0 at the Pitt Duals destroying Franklin & Marshall, Davidson, and Bloomsburg by a combined score of 123-6.
Has the pattern been established yet? The next contest on Pitt’s schedule was against top conference foe Virginia Tech. With many members of the starting lineup suspended, Pitt forfeited the first two weight classes and sent out backups at 149, 157, and 184. Continuing their trip through the Commonwealth of Virginia, you guessed it, the Panthers won their next match in dominant fashion taking out VMI 37-6.
Without hesitation, the coaster, now representative of the rapidly oscillating last stretch of the Phantom's Revenge, took another downward turn as Pitt lost two straight conference matches to North Carolina and North Carolina State. It’s worth noting, Pitt actually wrestled well against NCST with Solomon beating Mike Kosoy in overtime, Forys majoring Jamal Morris, Mikey Racciato pinning Beau Donahue, and Taleb Rahmani pushing Thomas Bullard to overtime. And Rahmani probably should have won if not for a bad call by the ref.
The cliched roller coaster continued its ascent through Iowa State, Virginia, Duke and even ACCs. Alas, this coaster would not end pointed upwards. The last downward turn it would take came in St. Louis at NCAAs. While it certainly didn't take a Pittsburgh Plunge as all 4 of Pitt's entrants finished top 16, it also certainly lacked a Thunderbolt worthy exciting ending as none of Pitt's delegation finished top 8.
Looking Forward
What an exciting time to be alive for Pitt wrestling fans. Besides a new era coaching wise, Pitt will return 7 of 10 starters and 3 of 4 NCAA qualifiers next season. While Mikey Racciato and John Rizzo are departing via graduation, TeShan Campbell will be doing so via transfer. The rising junior from Penn Hills is heading westward to compete for Tom Ryan's Buckeyes. On the surface it's hard to blame Campbell. After all the last three seasons Ohio State has finished 1st, 3rd, and 2nd as a team at NCAAs. His practice partners will include the likes of Bo Jordan, Myles Martin and Kaleb Romero. The University is building a brand new wrestling-only facility. Nonetheless, I wonder what he'll think of how Gavin runs the program, and if he'll regret leaving. Columbus is quite a further drive than Oakland.
In addition to most of the starters returning, Pitt will be getting freshmen Jake Wentzel, Austin Bell, and Christian Dietrich back next season. I had postulated in a previous blog that an established coach like Tim Flynn could bring transfers from his current school. While I don't see that happening with Gavin, especially not all the way from Oklahoma, I do think the new coaching staff will be able to establish a strong recruiting territory.
Even if Pitt does not receive any transfers, it appears most of the pieces are already in place to send out a solid lineup. My predictions, weight class by weight class:
125: LJ Bentley
133: KJ Fenstermacher
141: Dom Forys
149: Nick Zanetta
157: Jake Wentzel
165: Taleb Rahmani
174: Austin Bell
184: Nino Bonaccorsi
197: Zach Bruce
285: Ryan Solomon
Something tells me Forys is going up to 141. That leaves 133 wide open for incoming Northampton grad Fenstermacher. Zanetta started over Robert Lee at 141 this year so one would assume that will carry over to next season. 157 is a good problem to have. Rahmani absolutely exceeded expectations this season and had an awesome stretch run through ACCs and NCAAs. However, one would be remiss to forget that Wentzel majored him in the Blue-Gold match. Bell and Dietrich will battle for 174 but I see Bell winning that one. With Rizzo graduating, it seems likely for Bruce to resume his duties at 197. That leaves an opening for incoming Bethel Park grad Nino Bonaccorsi. And of course, Solomon closing it out.
It's a thought provoking lineup. It's not going to beat Penn State. It probably won't beat Lehigh. It's spread pretty evenly between classes. It will have true freshmen. It's probably a touch worse than this seasons'. But it's a good building block for Gavin. There are no overt weaknesses and there are some seasoned veterans with serious potential to make All American as seniors in Dom Forys and Ryan Solomon.
The cliched roller coaster continued its ascent through Iowa State, Virginia, Duke and even ACCs. Alas, this coaster would not end pointed upwards. The last downward turn it would take came in St. Louis at NCAAs. While it certainly didn't take a Pittsburgh Plunge as all 4 of Pitt's entrants finished top 16, it also certainly lacked a Thunderbolt worthy exciting ending as none of Pitt's delegation finished top 8.
Looking Forward
What an exciting time to be alive for Pitt wrestling fans. Besides a new era coaching wise, Pitt will return 7 of 10 starters and 3 of 4 NCAA qualifiers next season. While Mikey Racciato and John Rizzo are departing via graduation, TeShan Campbell will be doing so via transfer. The rising junior from Penn Hills is heading westward to compete for Tom Ryan's Buckeyes. On the surface it's hard to blame Campbell. After all the last three seasons Ohio State has finished 1st, 3rd, and 2nd as a team at NCAAs. His practice partners will include the likes of Bo Jordan, Myles Martin and Kaleb Romero. The University is building a brand new wrestling-only facility. Nonetheless, I wonder what he'll think of how Gavin runs the program, and if he'll regret leaving. Columbus is quite a further drive than Oakland.
In addition to most of the starters returning, Pitt will be getting freshmen Jake Wentzel, Austin Bell, and Christian Dietrich back next season. I had postulated in a previous blog that an established coach like Tim Flynn could bring transfers from his current school. While I don't see that happening with Gavin, especially not all the way from Oklahoma, I do think the new coaching staff will be able to establish a strong recruiting territory.
Even if Pitt does not receive any transfers, it appears most of the pieces are already in place to send out a solid lineup. My predictions, weight class by weight class:
125: LJ Bentley
133: KJ Fenstermacher
141: Dom Forys
149: Nick Zanetta
157: Jake Wentzel
165: Taleb Rahmani
174: Austin Bell
184: Nino Bonaccorsi
197: Zach Bruce
285: Ryan Solomon
Something tells me Forys is going up to 141. That leaves 133 wide open for incoming Northampton grad Fenstermacher. Zanetta started over Robert Lee at 141 this year so one would assume that will carry over to next season. 157 is a good problem to have. Rahmani absolutely exceeded expectations this season and had an awesome stretch run through ACCs and NCAAs. However, one would be remiss to forget that Wentzel majored him in the Blue-Gold match. Bell and Dietrich will battle for 174 but I see Bell winning that one. With Rizzo graduating, it seems likely for Bruce to resume his duties at 197. That leaves an opening for incoming Bethel Park grad Nino Bonaccorsi. And of course, Solomon closing it out.
It's a thought provoking lineup. It's not going to beat Penn State. It probably won't beat Lehigh. It's spread pretty evenly between classes. It will have true freshmen. It's probably a touch worse than this seasons'. But it's a good building block for Gavin. There are no overt weaknesses and there are some seasoned veterans with serious potential to make All American as seniors in Dom Forys and Ryan Solomon.
Opinions (Everyone has them)
- It isn't everyday FloWrestling shows your twitter account on their podcast.
- My tweets generated controversy surrounding the coaching search. I'm not mentioning this to toot my own horn, but rather to lay to rest any lingering questions. I nearly tripled my twitter followers and have received dozens of private messages, many of which from people I have never met. National media followed me. Local media requested to interview me (stay tuned). It was an exciting week to say the least.
- I never want anyone to think I did that to disparage Heather Lyke. She had not been on the job for very long and clearly, from an outside perspective, something was wrong. But then, I wasn't on the outside. A close source tipped me off on some of the inner-workings of the coaching search and I had to go public with it. I stand by everything I said.
- I head Pat Santoro's interview on Takedown Wrestling on April 11th. Although he described the rumors circulating about his interest in the job as "in depth" and denied ever receiving a contract offer, nothing he said directly contradicts what I reported. I said the committee running the athletic department had the contract drawn up before Lyke took over. Not the same as offering it to Santoro.
- I know I said earlier there is no point in dwelling on any of this, but no one from Pitt has contacted me or refuted anything I've said, so I'm left with the assumption that I was right.
- Now that that's over, let's move on.
- It has been reported that Pitt wants to clean house.
- How will Keith Gavin fire these two?
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- Not to mention, Kocher coached him at the Olympic Trials last summer.
- How he chooses to complete his staff will definitely be intriguing.
- This will most likely be my last folkstyle/college blog for a while... It's freestyle season!
- If you're not from Pittsburgh, those roller coaster references are from Kennywood Park
- As always, please share and thanks for reading.
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