Pitt's Micky Phillippi, Jake Wentzel, Demetrius Thomas win ACC wrestling championships

After all the numbers were counted, Pitt finished second to N.C. State in the team standings Sunday night at the ACC Wrestling Championship in front of a crowd of 1,714 at Petersen Events Center.

But the 81-77 loss to defending champion N.C. State in the six-team tournament meant far less to Pitt wrestlers than two other numbers – Seven and three.

For the first time in coach Keith Gavin’s three seasons, Pitt will send seven wrestlers — the most since 2014 — to nationals, which will be contested March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Plus, Pitt tied a school record with three ACC champions – Micky Phillippi (Derry) at 133, Jake Wentzel (South Park) at 165 and Demetrius Thomas at 285.

Even that wasn’t enough for Phillippi, who joined Thomas as repeat conference champions.

“It’s cool to take seven,” he said, “but if I’m being honest, I wanted to take (all) 10.”

Yet, Gavin wasn’t complaining.

“We came close, but N.C. State wrestled a little bit better,” he said. “Having seven qualifiers is big.”

Top-seeded Phillippi (25-1) defended his 2019 championship by defeating North Carolina’s Jaime Hernandez, 8-5.

“I came out right away, firing,” Phillippi said. “He got a takedown on me on a counter. It happens. I responded well. It’s clear I was the aggressor.”

Phillippi, a sophomore from Derry, said he is a different wrestler this season.

“I was a little unknown last year,” he said. “I didn’t really prove myself until midseason. More confident and more mature in my wrestling. That’s something that takes you a long way.”

Gavin speculated that Phillippi, who was 2-2 last year at the nationals at PPG Paints Arena, will be a seeded fourth or fifth next week. “He’s really in a zone and letting his offense fly,” the coach said.

Wentzel, the No. 4 seed, beat Virginia Tech’s three-time All-American David McFadden, 3-1.

Wentzel, who missed last season’s ACC championships with a torn ACL, improved his record this season to 19-7.

The victory was especially gratifying for Wentzel, who previously endured two serious injuries, including a thumb injury as a freshman. He said winning the title didn’t surprise him.

“You have to see yourself here to do these things,” he said. “You can’t write yourself off or else you’re never going to accomplish them. Even when I was lying in bed with a torn ACL, I was imagining this moment right here, and it’s better than I imagined.”

Wentzel avenged two losses to win the title.

He previously lost to McFadden and No. 1 seed Kennedy Monday of North Carolina. But he managed a 3-2 victory against Monday in the semifinals.

With a 2-1 lead entering the third period against McFadden, Wentzel chose to start on top.

“I figured if I went down, I would have to get out,” he said. “In a dual meet, he rode me out. I figured I’m strong on top. He didn’t want to be on bottom. He wanted the chance to end the match on his feet, and I didn’t give it to him.

“Top is somewhere I’ve always excelled. I knew if I’m picking top, I’m going to ride him out.”

In the final match of the day, with N.C. State’s team title already assured, Thomas (21-3) beat N.C. State’s Deonte Wilson, 5-4.

“Only regret I have is not getting the last takedown,” Thomas said. “I’m OK with that, moving on to the next step, which is nationals.”

Thomas, a senior, hopes to improve on his 1-2 record last year.

“Nationals really exposed me, showed me all my flaws,” he said. “(This season), I was able to keep a level head and stick to the things I do.”

Gavin said the team will miss Thomas next season — on and off the mat.

“We’re very fortunate he’s on our team,” Gavin said. “Not just because he wins, but the way he carries himself and trains. He’s pretty irreplaceable.”

Taleb Rahmani was Pitt’s fourth wrestler to reach the finals. He lost to three-time champion Hayden Hidlay of N.C. State, 13-4, at 157 pounds.

Earlier in the day, Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) wrestled four matches in a seven-hour span. Given that workload, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Pitt sophomore had a slight cut on his nose at the end of the day.

But he also had his second consecutive ticket to the NCAA wrestling championships.

Bonaccorsi will join Pitt’s four finalists, plus the other two third-place finishers, Cole Matthews (141) and Gregg Harvey (174), in Minneapolis.

Bonaccorsi finished third at 184 pounds after opening the day as the No. 3 seed and pinning Duke’s Kai Blake. But he lost a tough, 3-2 double-overtime decision to No. 2 Trent Hidlay of N.C. State in the semifinals to drop into the losers’ bracket.

“Little disappointed,” he said. “Just a learning process. I’m glad I got that one done. I’d rather that happen now than when it matters at nationals.”

He recovered with two decisive victories: 10-4 against North Carolina’s Joseph Mazzara and 14-4 against Michael Battista of Virginia in the third-place match.

Wrestling four times in one day did nothing to slow down his confidence.

“I always go in thinking I can win,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter who (the opponent) is.”

No. 1 seed Harvey qualified at 174 by finishing third with a 7-4 decision against Cody Hughes of Virginia Tech.

No. 4 seed Matthews defeated Virginia’s Brian Courtney, 3-1, in the third-place match at 141.

No. 2 Kellen Stout (Mt. Lebanon) finished third at 197 with a 10-8 victory against Tyler Houghton of N.C. State and could go to nationals as a wild-card entrant. There is only one automatic qualifier at that weight, but additional wrestlers will be announced Monday.

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