Pitt wrestlers Jake Wentzel, Nino Bonaccorsi win ACC championships

Pitt wrestlers Jake Wentzel and Nino Bonaccorsi became 2021 ACC champions Sunday at N.C. State’s Reynolds Coliseum and will join teammates Micky Phillippi and Cole Matthews at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis on March 18-20.

Wentzel (South Park) defended his championship at 165 pounds, recording shutout victories (1-0 and 4-0) against North Carolina’s Kennedy Mountain and Virginia’s Jake Keating.

Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) won his first ACC title with two dominant performances at 197. Bonaccorsi defeated N.C. State’s Nick Reenan, 8-2, and Virginia’s Jay Aiello, 10-4.

Wentzel and Bonaccorsi were No. 1 seeds entering the tournament.

“It’s always good to bring home champions,” Pitt coach Keith Gavin said. “It’s cool that Jake repeated and we’re obviously excited for Nino to get his first title.

“Overall, (Sunday) was like the entire past year. You didn’t know what to expect. Some guys performed really well; others could have done better. But we’re hoping to get five qualifiers and see what we can do at NCAAs in a few weeks.”

The NCAA will announce at-large bids, seeding and brackets for nationals at a later date.

Phillippi (Derry) failed in his bid to win a third consecutive ACC championship when he lost in the 133-pound final to Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech, 3-1.

Matthews finished third at 141 pounds for the second consecutive year after winning three of four matches Saturday. He defeated Virginia Tech’s Sam Hillegas, 3-2; Duke’s Patrick Rowland, 10-2; and Virginia’s Brian Courtney, 14-5.

The Panthers finished fifth as a team with 45 points.

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