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Head Coach Pat Pecora and a trio of Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cat wrestlers will travel to the America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, MO to compete in Friday and Saturday's NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships. The top eight place winners in each weight class become NCAA Division II All-Americans.
The Mountain Cats finished second at the NCAA Super Region I tournament on February 28 and came away with three national qualifiers. This group included one regional champion and a pair of Wildcard selections. All 10 Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers placed in the top-four, including nine who finished in the top-three at the Super Region I Tournament.
Normally, the top-three finishers in each of the 10 weight classes would earn spots in the NCAA National Wrestling Championships. However, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic only the champion from each weight class and five wildcard spots were awarded national tournament spots in 2021.
Two-time All-American
Brock Biddle won his second consecutive NCAA Regional Championship at 174 lbs. to earn an automatic spot in the NCAA National Championships, while
Matt Siszka (125 lbs.) and
Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.) received Wildcards into the national tournament.
Following a bye in the regional quarterfinals, Biddle secured an 11-4 win over Fairmont State's Cade Moisey, in the quarterfinals, before claiming his second straight regional title with a 16-2 major decision over Gannon's Connor Day.
Siszka received a bye to start the regional tournament, then defeated Alderson-Broaddus' Noah Hodges, 9-2 in the semifinals. Siszka then suffered a 4-0 loss to Gannon's second-ranked Charlie Lenox in the finals at 125 lbs.
At 149 lbs., Ealy began with a bye, but fell, 11-3, to Fairmont State's Lukas Martin in the semifinals. Ealy bounced back to win his next two matches to secure third-place, before upsetting Gannon's No. 3-ranked
Dominic Means, 3-2, in a True Second-Place Match.
First Round Pairings and Individual Wrestler Information:
125 lbs. – Matt Siszka (SR) (Leechburg, Pa. / Kiska High School)
--four-year starter at Pitt-Johnstown
--2021 is Siszka's first NCAA National Tournament
--2021 NCAA Super Region Runner-up
--
First Round Match-up vs. No. 7 Trenton McManus (8-1) (Minnesota State)
--
Quarterfinals Match-up vs No. 2 Cole Laya (13-1) (West Liberty (WV) University)
OR First Round of Consolations vs. No. 6 Charlie Lenox (Gannon University) or Zach Shupp (Newberry (SC) College)
149 lbs. – Jacob Ealy (SO) (Aliquippa, Pa. / Hopewell High School)
--Seeded No. 8 at 149 lbs. for National Championships
--2021 Wild Card NCAA Tournament selection (Placed third at 2021 Regional I Tournament, then won True Second-Place Match)
--2020 NCAA National Qualifier at 141 lbs.
--2020 NCAA Super Region I Champion
--2019-20 Super Region I and PSAC Rookie of the Year
--
First Round Match-up vs. Logan Bailey (11-2) (University of Indianapolis)
--
Quarterfinals Match-up vs. No. 1 Gavin Londoff (3-0) (Lindenwood (MO) University)
OR receive a Bye in the
First Round of Consolations.
174 lbs. – Brock Biddle (JR) (Martinsburg, Pa. / Central Martinsburg High School)
--Seeded No. 3 at 174 lbs. for National Championships
--3-Time NCAA National Qualifier
--2020 and 2021 NCAA Super Region I Champion
--Two-time NCAA All-American (4
th in 2019, NWCA All-American in 2020)
--2018-19 Super Region I and PSAC Rookie of the Year
--Two-time All-PSAC selection (3
rd-Team in 2018-19, Second-Team in 2019-20)
--
First Round received a Bye then
Quarterfinals Match-up vs. No. 6 Andrew Sams (9-1) (University of Indianapolis) OR Wyatt Jordan (9-1) (University Central Oklahoma)
Wrestling is scheduled to begin on Friday at 1 p.m. EDT with Session I.
On Saturday, Session II will start on Friday at 1 p.m. EDT and consist of the Championship Semifinals, Third Round of Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, and Third, Fifth, and Seventh-Place Matches (90 matches)
The Parade of All-Americans will take place on Saturday at 7:40 p.m., followed the Championship Finals scheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m. EDT (10 matches).
