Pletcher dominates Habat, Reid upsets Thomas at PWC 1

Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Pittsburgh Wrestling Club joined the ranks of RTCs hosting and streaming their own events this evening with their ten-match card “PWC 1”. The event, which streamed live on Rokfin, provided numerous thrilling bouts.

In the main event, PWC resident athlete Luke Pletcher dismantled former NCAA finalist David Habat. Pletcher, a two-time NCAA All-American and 2020 NWCA First Team All-American for Ohio State, picked apart the Slovakian World Team member in a 9-0 decision.

Pletcher scored shortly off the whistle with an explosive double leg takedown. He added two more takedowns and two step-out points, carrying an 8-0 lead into the break. In the second period, he tacked on one more step-out point. Habat was unable to mount any offense against Pletcher’s solid defense, rarely finding any opportunities to attack.

In perhaps the biggest upset of the night, Lock Haven’s redshirt sophomore Issac Reid knocked off PRTC resident athlete Demetrius Thomas. Reid compiled a 16-13 record two seasons ago as a redshirt, but did not wrestle a single match last year, while Thomas claimed NWCA First Team All-American honors.

Thomas took a 2-0 lead into the second period on the strength of an early takedown. However, Reid battled back with a go-behind takedown of his own. Later in the period, Reid was awarded a shot clock point. He scored one more step-out towards the end of the match to clinch the 4-2 upset.

The event started with an explosive opening match between Lock Haven’s Luke Werner and Pittsburgh’s Louis Newell. Trailing 9-5 in the second period, Werner, a 2020 NCAA qualifier, got in on a double leg, lifting Newell and taking him straight to his back for the pin.

The card’s second bout featured Pittsburgh’s Luke Kemerer winning a controlled, 6-0, decision over Lock Haven’s Cole Manley. Kemerer scored two takedowns in the first period and one more in the second period.

In the next bout, Senior-level athlete CJ Brucki of the NJRTC defeated Pittsburgh’s 2020 NCAA qualifier Gregg Harvey. Brucki rushed out to a 6-0 lead on the strength of two takedowns and a gut wrench. Harvey responded, picking up a step out and a double leg takedown on the edge of the mat, closing the gap to 6-3 before the break.

With a 1:15 to go in the second period, Harvey connected on another takedown, cutting the lead to 6-5. However, Brucki answered with a takedown of his own to go up, 8-5. Harvey attempted a last-ditch throw, which Brucki countered for two points, ultimately giving him the 10-5 win.

Lock Haven teammates Carly Gross and Alayna Gil squared off in the card’s sole women’s freestyle match. The pair wrestled once before, at the MyHouse PA Girls High School State Championship, with Gross winning the folkstyle bout in overtime.

The match was an exciting back-and-forth affair. Going into the break, Gross trailed 5-4. However, she kept the pressure on and mounted a comeback, claiming a 12-8 victory. The difference maker in the match was Gross going big on two four-point moves.

In another Senior-level vs. college athlete matchup, NYCRTC resident athlete and Columbia volunteer assistant Shelton Mack took on Pittsburgh’s Cole Matthews, a 2020 NCAA qualifier. Matthews struck first with a step-out point and carried a 1-0 lead into the break. With two minutes remaining in the match, Matthews was put on the shot clock. He managed to shoot Mack out, picking up another step-out point. Mack responded with a big lift on a double leg takedown, taking the lead on criteria, 2-2. Matthews and Mack traded step-out points, with Mack retaining the lead on criteria, 3-3.

In a heart-pounding final seven seconds Matthews drove Mack out of bounds to take a 5-3 lead. Showing heart and veteran savvy, Mack answered with a last second takedown, to claim the victory, 5-5.

In a rematch of the 2017 PIAA state finals, Pittsburgh’s Nino Bonaccorsi extracted revenge on Princeton’s Travis Stefanik. Bonaccorsi, a 2020 NWCA Second-Team All-American, led 2-1 entering the second period. He piled it on, scoring three takedowns to win, 8-1.

2020 NWCA First-Team All-American Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh bested three-time All-American and NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak of the Pennsylvania RTC, 4-1. Lizak’s lone point came from Phillippi being cautioned for grabbing fingers. In the second period, Phillippi scored on two go-behinds, which made the difference in the match.

National Team member Darian Cruz defeated Samat Nadyrbek Uulu, 5-2 in the night’s penultimate match. Cruz scored first on a big single leg takedown, which garnered four points. Nadyrbek Uulu, who wrestles internationally for Kyrgyzstan put two points on the board with a slick duck under at the end of the first period. The pair exchanged step-out points in the second period, as Cruz defended numerous duck attempts by Nadrybek Uulu in the match’s waning seconds.

Results

Luke Werner FALL Louis Newell
Luke Kemerer DF Cole Manley, 6-0
CJ Brucki DF Gregg Harvey, 10-6
Carly Gross DF Alayna Gil 12-8
Isaac Reid DF Demetrius Thomas, 4-2
Shelton Mack DF Cole Matthews, 5-5
Nino Bonaccorsi DF Travis Stefanik, 8-1
Micky Phillippi DF Ethan Lizak, 4-1
Darian Cruz DF Samat Nadyrbek Uulu, 5-3
Luke Pletcher DF David Habat, 9-0