“Battled Really Hard”: Pittsburgh Wrestling Coach Reflects on the Massive Career Milestone, to Shatter 9-Year Old Curse

The Pittsburg Panthers managed to pull off an unprecedented win over OSU and they can’t hold back on their grinning faces. At the ACC-Big Ten dual, the Panthers dominated the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes in six bouts, and head coach Keith Gavin is elated. After the dual, Gavin talked about what clicked on the Panthers’ big night and how the team focused on asserting dominance over the Big Ten giants.

Panthers redshirt senior Cole Matthews pulled off a massive win over OSU’s no. 3 Jesse Mendez, who has been undefeated this season. Mendez was pivotal in the Buckeyes’ stellar results in the CKLV Championship. However, yesterday wasn’t Mendez’s night in Columbus, Ohio. However, the Panthers’ resounding win couldn’t have made their coach happier.

Panthers’ coach shares his thoughts

A short video clip uploaded by the official Pitt wrestling account on X (previously known as Twitter) shows coach Gavin’s thoughts after the Panthers’ dual win. When asked about his thoughts on the Panthers’ win, Keith couldn’t help showering words of praise on his players. “I think our guys battled really hard“, exclaimed the head coach. Gavin also mentioned that this Panthers wrestling squad is full of “tough kids“.

Unsurprisingly, this marks a massive win after a 9-year gap. The latest Panthers victory is the biggest win under Gavin’s coaching since 2014 when Pittsburg beat Oklahoma State. Gavin underscored his feelings saying, “I’m really proud of these guys“. He also gloated when he said how the players are fond of their coach and tried to pull off the win with determination.

Talking about Matthews’ incredible win in the 141-pound category, Gavin said “Obviously he’s had a rough start to the year, but we felt like this was a good match and opportunity for him. You can never count him out. He’s a hell of a competitor.” Gavin said that the Panthers are, “…an elite team“, who will take much-needed inspiration from the early-season win and will look forward to hitting more milestones as the season progresses.

Morning showing signs of the day?

The Pittsburg Panthers emerged victorious in six out of ten matches at the Covelli Center, Ohio last night. Panthers freshman Dayton Pitzer recorded a major decision win over OSU’s Hogan Swenski in the 285-pound match-up. In the opening 125-pound bout, Pittsburg’s Colton Camacho dominated Buckeyes’ Brendan McCrone.

Read more: Big12 Fans Left Stunned as UNC’s Highly-Ranked Wrestler Falls to WVU’s Underdog in Opening Bout

Panthers stars Holden and Reece Heller also registered major decision wins over their opponents in the 165 and 184-pound categories respectively. In the 197lb division, Mac Stout outperformed OSU Luke Geog. Now, with their early season achievement, it waits to be seen how the Panthers’ journey unfolds in the coming months.

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