PITTSBURGH, PA – The Iowa State wrestling team (1-10, 1-5 Big 12) fell short to No. 24 Pittsburgh (11-5, 0-3 ACC), dropping a 22-15 matchup. The Cyclones won four of the 10 bouts in Fitzgerald Field House, including a first-period fall from redshirt senior Gabe Moreno.
After five bouts, the Cyclones trailed 16-6. The lone win came from Moreno.
Although the match only lasted 1:25, there was plenty of action at 149 pounds. Pitt’s Mikey Racciato had Moreno in a headlock early that put the Urbandale, Iowa, native in danger. Moreno was able to shake out of it and lock Racciato up in a cradle to pin the Panther in 1:25.
Following the intermission, redshirt senior Lelund Weatherspoon and redshirt sophomore Marcus Harrington put the Cyclones within striking distance, cutting Pitt’s lead to 19-12 with two bouts remaining.
In his match at 174 pounds, Weatherspoon worked hard on top to earn a gritty 2-1 decision over Donovan McAfee. An escape in the second gave Weatherspoon a 1-0 advantage. McAfee earned an escape in the third, but Weatherspoon’s 1:32 of riding time proved to be the difference.
At 197, seven minutes wasn’t enough to decide the match. Harrington scored an early takedown and held a 2-0 after one period. John Rizzo scored a takedown in the second and held a 3-2 lead heading to the third.
With a neutral start in the third, Harrington notched a takedown with 25 seconds to go in the period. Rizzo shook free in the waning seconds to force sudden victory. It took Harrington just seven seconds in the overtime period to take the Panther down and win 4-4.
Pitt locked up the victory after a win at heavyweight, however, it was Kyle Larson who would take the final match of the night.
Larson squared up against Pitt’s LJ Bentley to close the dual. With a first period takedown and 1:25 of riding time, Larson was able to defeat Bentley by 3-2 decision.
Match of the Night – 149 Pounds
Gabe Moreno rejoined the Cyclone lineup last weekend after suffering an injury at the Midlands Championships. The senior got back on track with a fall to put Iowa State on the board.
Next Up
The Cyclones are headed to West Virginia where they’ll take on the Mountaineers on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
ISU v. Pitt Match-by-Match
133: Dom Forys (Pitt) dec. Earl Hall (ISU), 6-2.
141: Nick Zaentta (Pitt) dec. John Meeks (ISU), 9-4.
149: Gabe Moreno (ISU) fall Mikey Racciato (Pitt), 1:25.
157: Taleb Rahmani (Pitt) fall Colston DiBlasi (ISU), 5:24.
165: TeShan Campbell (Pitt) maj. dec. Logan Breitenbach (ISU), 15-5.
174: Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) dec. Donovan McAfee (Pitt), 2-1 (1:32 RT.)
184: Zach Bruce (Pitt) dec. Carson Powell (ISU), 4-0.
197: Marcus Harrington (ISU) dec. John Rizzo (Pitt), 6-4 (SV-1.)
285: Ryan Solomon (Pitt) dec. Quean Smith (ISU), 3-2.
125: Kyle Larson (ISU) dec. LJ Bentley (Pitt), 3-2 (1:25 RT.)
