Head Coach Pat Pecora and the Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers came up just short of winning the program's 26^th NCAA Regional crown, but the Mountain Cats did come away with five individual champions and six national qualifiers when the 2024 NCAA Division II Super Region I Tournament in Kutztown came to a close on Saturday.
 
The Mountain Cats trailed Gannon by seven points entering the finals and place matches, but stormed back, before falling just short by a half point to the Golden Knights and placing second.  Gannon finished with 145.0 team points, and Pitt-Johnstown had 144.5 points.  Kutztown (113.5 points), Mercyhurst (107.5 points), and Millersville (100.0 points) rounded out the Top-5 in this year's 11-team field.
 
The Mountain Cats put eight of their 10 wrestlers into the semifinals, six advanced to the finals, and Trevon Gray (125 lbs.), Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.), Cooper Warshel (157 lbs.), Dakoda Rodgers (197 lbs.), and Isaiah Vance all won individual titles.  Mason Myers was the runner-up at 141 lbs. to give Pitt-Johnstown six national qualifiers who will compete in the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament in Wichita Kan. on March 15-16.
 
In addition, Byron Daubert (133 lbs.), Dillon Keane (165 lbs.), and Noah Gnibus (184 lbs.) all placed fourth, while Tony Salopek wrested at 174 lbs., but did not place.
 
125 lbs. – After opening the tournament with technical fall victories over Frostburg State's Alex Bellarin and American International's Liam Prichard-Holland, Trevon Gray, Seeded second at 125 lbs., pinned Seton Hill's third-seeded William Burgess at 5:45 in the semifinals to reach the title bout against Gannon's top-seeded Jose Diaz.  Gray built a 6-1 lead after two periods and went on to win his second straight regional title with a 10-4 decision over Diaz.
 
149 lbs. – Top-seeded Jacob Ealy cruised into the title bout at 149 lbs. with a first round bye, before pinning Seton Hills No. 8-seeded Niko Ferra 28 seconds into the first period in the quarterfinals and winning a 17-1 technical fall at 4:53 over No. 4 Ali Alicea in the semifinals.  Ealy then claimed his fourth NCAA Regional crown with an 18-1 technical fall at 5:19 over No. 3 Craig Cook (Millersville).
 
157 lbs. – Cooper Warshel, the No. 2 seed at 157 lbs., received a first round bye.  He followed that with a 19-3 technical fall win at 4:40 over No. 7 Christian Hirak (Seton Hill) then held of No, 3 Max Stedeford (Mercyhurst), 4-2, in the semifinals.  Warshel went on to defeat Gannon's fourth-seeded Ethan Richner, 5-0, to earn his first regional championship.
 
197 lbs. – No. 1 seeded Dakoda Rodgers started the day with a major decision win, before advancing to the finals with a 17-2 technical fall victory at 5:00 over No. 8 William Applegarth (Frostburg State) in the quarterfinals and an 11-0 major decision shutout over No. 4 Anthony Glessner (Gannon) in the semifinals.  Rodgers then used a second period escape, then rode out Mercyhurst's second-seeded Trever Begin in the third round to win his first regional title with a 2-0 victory.
 
285 lbs. – Top-seeded Isaiah Vance coasted into the finals.  Vance won his first tow bout by fall in a total time of 2:27 over Avery Kuhns (Millersville) and No, 8 Hayden Gaudette (American International), before dealing fourth-seeded Gavin Bage (Frostburg State) a 5-0 loss in the semifinals.  Vance closed his first regional championship with a 24-12 major decision victory over third-seeded Matt Long (Gannon).
 
141 lbs. – Third-seeded Mason Myers reached the finals with a first round bye, then pinned sixth-seeded Gregory Wert (Shippensburg) at 4:23 and won a 16-11 decision over Fairmont State's second-seeded Colton Stoneking in the semifinals.  However, No. 1 seeded Jake Niffenegger (Mercyhurst) got a late takedown to defeat Myers, 8-6, in in the title bout that gave Myers a runner-up finish.
 
133 lbs. – Byron Daubert, the No. 3 seed at 133 lbs., got an opening round by, before winning by technical fall in the quarterfinals.  Daubert suffered a tight, 4-2 loss to Millersville's No. 1-seeded Devin Flannery in the semifinals.  Daubert defeated Mercyhurst's No. 4-seeded Nate Knowlton, 13-0 in the consolation semifinals, but suffered a 7-2 loss to third-seeded Jeremiah Echevarria (Gannon) in the third-place match
 
165 lbs. – Dillon Keane, the fifth-seed at 165 lbs., won by technical fall in the first round, but suffered a tight sudden victory loss in the quarterfinals.  Keane bounced back by pinning American International's Alfred MacNeill at 5:52 in the consolation semifinals, and winning a 4-1 sudden victory over No. 3 Dillon Walker (Mercyhurst) in the consolation semifinals to reach the third-place match, where fourth-seeded Brandon Connor held off Keane for the second time in the tournament, 4-2.
 
184 lbs. – Following a bye in the first round, fourth-seeded Noah Gnibus won a 9-5 decision over No. 5 Owen Koch (Shippensburg), but fell by technical fall to No, 1-seeded Matt Weinbert (Kutztown).  In the consolation semifinals Gnibus defeated No, 6 Vincent Scaramuzzino (Mercyhurst), 8-3, to advance to the third-place match, where Millersville's Anthony Gianpietro secured an 8-2 decision win.
 
Third-seeded Tony Salopek (174 lbs.) received a bye in the first round then suffered losses in his next two bouts