Jacob Ealy claimed the title at 149 lbs., while four other Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers placed to lead the Mountain Cats to a second-place finish in a 41-team field at this weekend's 2022 Midwest Classic Wrestling Tournament in Indianapolis.
 
Along with Ealy, Isaiah Vance (285 lbs.) finished fourth, Brock Biddle (184 lbs.) placed fifth, Nate Smith (157 lbs.) placed sixth, and Dakoda Rodgers (197 lbs.) finished eighth for Pitt-Johnstown.
 
At 149 lbs., Ealy, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 149 lbs., pinned Lincoln Memorial's Graham Rocha in the first round, then earned an 18-2 technical fall win at 5:54 over Upper Iowa's Ethan Doty.  In the quarterfinals, Ealy won a 12-1 major decision over No. 10 Jake Piccirilli (UNC-Pembroke) to set up a match against sixth-ranked Josiah Rider (Adams State) in the semifinals.  Ealy kept it going and held off Rider, 4-3, to secure a spot in Sunday's finals, where he defeated third-ranked Nick Young (Gannon), 4-2.
 
At 285 lbs., Vance won by fall at 1:52 over Zach Kuneff (Wheeling) in the opening round, then dealt Jacob Telles (King) a 5-1 loss.  In the quarterfinals, Vance pinned Upper Iowa's Zach Ryg at 4:57 to earn his spot in the semifinals to face fourth-ranked Jared Campbell (Glenville State).  Campbell got a take down in overtime to earn a 7-5 win and put Vance in the consolation semifinals.  Vance came back to pin No. 12 Lliyd Reynolds at 2:21, before a narrow, 3-2, loss to Johnny Green (Ouachita Baptist) gave him fourth-place.
 
At 157 lbs., Smith secured a pair of major decisions, a 9-0 win over Emmanuel's Gage Shetley and a 13-4 victory over King's Trent Mahoney to reach the quarterfinals where he defeated No. 10 Ben Durocher (Wisconsin-Parkside), 5-1.  Smith wrestled No. 9 Gabe Johnson (Central Oklahoma) in the semifinals and suffered a 5-4 setback, sending him to the consolation semifinals.  Another loss put Smith in the Fifth-Place match, where Gannon's No. 5-ranked Dom Means held on for a tight, 5-3 decision win.
 
At 184 lbs., Biddle won by fall over Cameron Lopez in a preliminary bout, before pinning Mount Olive's Noah Williams 2:03 into the first period and earning a 3-2 decision over Mary's Wyatt Lidberg.  A 3-1 loss to No. 6 Logan Hall (Lander) sent Biddle to the consolation bracket to face Maryville's Joey Williams, where won a 16-0 technical fall at 1:33 to reach the consolation quarterfinals.  Biddle then downed No. 4 Reece Worachek, 16-6, to reach the consolation semifinals.  After falling, 9-3, to seventh-ranked Daniel Beemer (Ashland), Biddle answered with a 7-6 win over No. 12 Cole Houser (Glenville State) to finish fifth.
 
At 197 lbs., Rodgers began with an 18-3 technical fall preliminary win over Wisconsin-Parkside's Joseph Swanson, before dropping a 3-1 sudden victory.  Rodgers also recovered and won his next three matches by decision to earn the right to wrestle on Sunday.  Rodgers got an overtime take down of No. 9 Chase Stegall (Maryville) to advance to the consolation quarterfinals.  A 6-2 loss to Mercyhurst's No. 10-ranked Luke McGonigal put Rodgers in the 7^th-Place match where he lost a close, 4-3 decision, Ouachita Baptist's Brooks Schirmsher.
 
At 125 lbs., Trevon Gray won a major decision in the first round before dropping a 9-2 decision in the second round.  Gray bounced back with a 10-0 win over Seton Hill's Mark Paradine and a 5-2 decision over Noah Yeamans (Ouachita Baptist) in the consolations to reach Sunday's action.  However, Colorado Mesa's Darwin Collins dealt Gray a 6-3 loss, ending his tournament with a 3-2 record.
 
At 141 lbs., No. 9 Caleb Morris started with a decision win before falling in the second round.  Morris came back to pin Trey Weinell (Coker) and win a 6-2 decision over Gannon's James Ryan to stay alive.  In Sunday's first match, seventh-ranked Tate Murty (Upper Iowa) pinned Morris at :47.  Morris finished with a 3-2 record.
 
At 165 lbs., Dillon Keane opened with a 16-0 technical fall at 2:47 over Kentucky Wesleyan's Caden Moore, before pinning Caleb Grau (UNC-Pembroke) at 6:17 in the second round.  Keane suffered a 6-4 loss to No. 7 John Ridle (Central Missouri Missouri), before falling, 5-3, to Colorado Mesa's Augustus Dalton in Sunday's first match.  Keane posted a 2-2 record.
 
Byron Daubert (133 lbs.) (2-2) and Jacob Burgette (174 lbs.) (1-2) both wrestled, but were eliminated on Saturday.
 
Central Oklahoma took home the team championship with 178.5 points.  Pitt-Johnstown (95.0 points), Lander (92.0 points), and Colorado Mesa (87.5 points), and Wisconsin-Parkside (79.5 points) rounded out the top-5 teams.
 
Following this weekend's Midwest Classic, the Mountain Cats will take on American International (MA) at Kutztown University on Jan. 7, before traveling to a PSAC match at Millersville on Jan. 13.  The Mountain Cats will return home on Jan. 18 to host Gannon for a PSAC Match in the Sports Center.