Sunday, January 9
Pittsburgh, PA
12 PM
Army West Point
10
at
29
Pitt
Wrestling Leads Early Before Falling at No. 21 Pitt
January 09, 2022 | Wrestling
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In its fourth match of the year against a ranked opponent, the Army West Point wrestling team was unable to pull off the upset as the squad dropped a 29-10 decision to No. 21 Pittsburgh at the Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the loss, the Black Knights' (0-5) 10 points mark the most that they have tallied in dual action this season. Army was additionally able to limit the Panthers' (4-2) margins of victory to two points or less in three different bouts.
No. 23 P.J. Ogunsanya and No. 27 Ben Pasiuk secured bonus point wins for the Cadets and combined to account for the entirety of the team's score. Pasiuk's technical fall helped him rack up six points, while Ogunsanya collected four via major decision.
Rookie Dalton Harkins, who owns a No. 32 ranking, competed in the opening bout at 165 lbs. He held No. 13 Jake Wentzel, the NCAA runner-up from the 2020-21 campaign, scoreless for two periods before dropping a narrow 1-0 result that let the Panthers go up 3-0 early.
The deficit did not last for long, due to Pasiuk pinning his opponent at 4:37 in the following match to put the Cadets ahead at 6-3. The lead was Army's last of the afternoon, as the Panthers responded with five-straight wins to distance themselves from the visiting team. Sahm Abdulrazzaq highlighted that stretch by limiting No. 31 Gregg Harvey to just a 6-4 decision at 184 lbs. in his first dual of the year.
With the Black Knights trailing 26-6, Ogunsanya stepped onto the mat for the penultimate bout. The captain led for the entirety of the seven minutes en route to posting a 14-5 major decision while lifting Army to its final 10-point total. No. 27 Markus Hartman attempted to pick up one last win for the Cadets in the final tilt, but fell 4-2 to No. 21 Elijah Cleary.
Complete results from the match are listed below.
Coach's Corner
"Ogunsanya and Pasiuk really shined today and wrestled with the attitude and composure that you need if you want to win a championship. We had some other positives but overall just disappointed that we couldn't find ways to win close matches. We lost composure in some critical situations and let matches get away from us. We aren't as far away as the score showed but we have to own the results and make a decision to be mentally tougher. I still believe in this team and I know when things click we can be a very dangerous team from top to bottom." - Head Coach Kevin Ward
Cadets' Corner
"It felt really good to finally get back on the mat this weekend after several weeks off. I thought I wrestled hard and kept a good pace. I'm excited to get back to work and keep pushing myself." - Ben Pasiuk
"I feel pretty good about my performance today. I noticed that the guy wasn't really trying to score and wanted to keep the match close. I then had to put a lot more effort into pushing the pace to open him up more and it worked. My opponent's head was one inch shy of getting headlocked and pinned, but I didn't get it, so I'm leaving with one grenade sticker for the weekend. Overall, I had a lot of fun during the match and was happy to entertain the fans." - P.J. Ogunsanya
Results
165: #13 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. #32 Dalton Harkins (Army), 1-0
174: #29 Ben Pasiuk (Army) pins Hunter Kernan (Pitt), 4:37
184: #31 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) dec. Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army), 6-4
197: #8 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. #25 J.T. Brown (Army), 8-4
285: Jake Slinger (Pitt) dec. Brandon Phillips (Army), 5-0
125: #31 Gage Curry (Pitt) maj. dec. Ryan Chauvin (Army), 12-4
133: #7 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. Mark Montgomery (Army), 14-5
141: #23 Cole Matthews (Pitt) pins Thomas Deck (Army), 2:59
149: #23 P.J. Ogunsanya (Army) maj. dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt), 15-5
157: #21 Elijah Cleary (Pitt) dec. #28 Markus Hartman (Army), 4-2
What's Next
Army will have nearly a week off before continuing its road swing with a match at Cornell on Saturday, Jan. 15. The action against the Big Red is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will mark the Black Knights' first action against an EIWA foe this year.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Wrestling, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Wres and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
Despite the loss, the Black Knights' (0-5) 10 points mark the most that they have tallied in dual action this season. Army was additionally able to limit the Panthers' (4-2) margins of victory to two points or less in three different bouts.
No. 23 P.J. Ogunsanya and No. 27 Ben Pasiuk secured bonus point wins for the Cadets and combined to account for the entirety of the team's score. Pasiuk's technical fall helped him rack up six points, while Ogunsanya collected four via major decision.
Rookie Dalton Harkins, who owns a No. 32 ranking, competed in the opening bout at 165 lbs. He held No. 13 Jake Wentzel, the NCAA runner-up from the 2020-21 campaign, scoreless for two periods before dropping a narrow 1-0 result that let the Panthers go up 3-0 early.
The deficit did not last for long, due to Pasiuk pinning his opponent at 4:37 in the following match to put the Cadets ahead at 6-3. The lead was Army's last of the afternoon, as the Panthers responded with five-straight wins to distance themselves from the visiting team. Sahm Abdulrazzaq highlighted that stretch by limiting No. 31 Gregg Harvey to just a 6-4 decision at 184 lbs. in his first dual of the year.
With the Black Knights trailing 26-6, Ogunsanya stepped onto the mat for the penultimate bout. The captain led for the entirety of the seven minutes en route to posting a 14-5 major decision while lifting Army to its final 10-point total. No. 27 Markus Hartman attempted to pick up one last win for the Cadets in the final tilt, but fell 4-2 to No. 21 Elijah Cleary.
Complete results from the match are listed below.
Coach's Corner
"Ogunsanya and Pasiuk really shined today and wrestled with the attitude and composure that you need if you want to win a championship. We had some other positives but overall just disappointed that we couldn't find ways to win close matches. We lost composure in some critical situations and let matches get away from us. We aren't as far away as the score showed but we have to own the results and make a decision to be mentally tougher. I still believe in this team and I know when things click we can be a very dangerous team from top to bottom." - Head Coach Kevin Ward
Cadets' Corner
"It felt really good to finally get back on the mat this weekend after several weeks off. I thought I wrestled hard and kept a good pace. I'm excited to get back to work and keep pushing myself." - Ben Pasiuk
"I feel pretty good about my performance today. I noticed that the guy wasn't really trying to score and wanted to keep the match close. I then had to put a lot more effort into pushing the pace to open him up more and it worked. My opponent's head was one inch shy of getting headlocked and pinned, but I didn't get it, so I'm leaving with one grenade sticker for the weekend. Overall, I had a lot of fun during the match and was happy to entertain the fans." - P.J. Ogunsanya
Results
165: #13 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. #32 Dalton Harkins (Army), 1-0
174: #29 Ben Pasiuk (Army) pins Hunter Kernan (Pitt), 4:37
184: #31 Gregg Harvey (Pitt) dec. Sahm Abdulrazzaq (Army), 6-4
197: #8 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. #25 J.T. Brown (Army), 8-4
285: Jake Slinger (Pitt) dec. Brandon Phillips (Army), 5-0
125: #31 Gage Curry (Pitt) maj. dec. Ryan Chauvin (Army), 12-4
133: #7 Micky Phillippi (Pitt) maj. dec. Mark Montgomery (Army), 14-5
141: #23 Cole Matthews (Pitt) pins Thomas Deck (Army), 2:59
149: #23 P.J. Ogunsanya (Army) maj. dec. Luke Kemerer (Pitt), 15-5
157: #21 Elijah Cleary (Pitt) dec. #28 Markus Hartman (Army), 4-2
What's Next
Army will have nearly a week off before continuing its road swing with a match at Cornell on Saturday, Jan. 15. The action against the Big Red is slated for a 1 p.m. start and will mark the Black Knights' first action against an EIWA foe this year.
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Wrestling, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_Wres and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.