TOM Article

Two-time PIAA state champ Dayton Pitzer. Image courtesy of Marc Billett/Tri-State Sports & News Service. Stop me if you've heard this before, but the Pitt Panthers are Building Something Special at Fitzgerald Field House. This past week, the tremendous 2021 offseason of recruiting has kept rolling for Keith Gavin and his University of Pittsburgh wrestling program. Concerning his 2022 recruiting class, Gavin has already earned verbal pledges from a trio of top-20 homegrown recruits, which include PA Power Wrestling's No. 6 Mac Stout (Mt. Lebanon), No. 13 Briar Priest (Hempfield Area), and No. 16 Jared Keslar (Connellsville).  Friday, June 11, Gavin got a commitment from the highest-rated athlete yet, Dayton Pitzer, who checks in at No. 4 in the last PA Power Wrestling Class of 2022 rankings.  https://twitter.com/theopenmat/status/1403401263111409665 Pitzer's announcement came via Instagram post early Friday afternoon after the two-time PIAA champ took an official visit to the Pitt campus in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  "I am truly blessed and excited to announce that I have committed to the University of Pittsburgh, to further my athletic and academic career. I feel Pitt has the coaches and tools to take me to the next level. I also wanted to thank my family, club coaches and HS coaches for all their support in this journey. Hail to Pitt.🔵🟡"  Pitzer picked Pitt over Penn State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, the Naval Academy and the U.S. Military Academy. Pitzer has been the definition of dominance since stepping into the high school lineup for the Mount Pleasant Vikings (Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania). Pitzer won a PIAA State Championship at 182 pounds going 43-1 on the year as a freshman. His lone loss came to then Belle Vernon senior Scott Joll, who currently wrestles for the West Virginia Mountaineers. A knee injury kept him out of the entire 2019-20 season, but he returned to form in 2021 during the COVID-19-condensed season and looked virtually unbeatable. The future Pitt Panther went 42-2 en route to his second PIAA state title in as many attempts. This title, though, came at a much heavier 215 pounds. Still, Pitzer looked outstanding. His only two defeats came at the hands of National Prep Champion and the No. 2 overall recruit of 2022 – Nick Feldman of Malvern Prep.  What made Pitzer's run to his second PIAA gold medal all the more impressive was his ability to not just beat his opponents but to pin them. In just 44 matches last year, Pitzer tallied 31 falls. With that, the Mount Pleasant product now has a remarkable 62 pins in just two seasons (88 total matches).  Pitzer now sits at 85-3 with one season in a Viking singlet remaining.  At the next level, Pitzer likely projects as a 197-pounder. While that weight class is currently occupied by national runner-up and newly-minted USA World Team member Nino Bonaccorsi, it is safe to say that between youngsters Stout and Pitzer, that weight will be in good hands after Bonaccorsi graduates. With his Class of 2022 commits as proof, Keith Gavin has done a superb job recruiting the local talent in Pitt's backyard.  In 2021, the Panthers finished 11th at NCAAs in St. Louis, Pitt's highest NCAA finish since 1970, when it took eighth. With a stacked crop of local recruits slated to arrive at Fitzgerald Field House in 2022, it's undoubtedly a fun time to be a Pitt wrestling fan. 

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