No. 13 Pitt wrestling upsets No. 5 Oklahoma State, 19-18

Pitt's wrestling team, now 9-1 on the season, pulled off a big upset over the weekend, defeating fifth-ranked Oklahoma State (4-4), 19-18 in a dual meet at the Field House on Sunday.

Talk about close wins, Pitt trailed 18-9 with only three bouts to go. The Panthers, though, won all three (two in overtime) to tie the match at 18-18. Pitt then won 19-18 based on a tiebreaker because of a pin at the 149-pound weight class by Mikey Racciato.

So yeah, if you're like me and need an explanation of tiebreaker rules, here you go.

Afterwards, P.J. Tasser and Racciato talked about the crowd:

“Usually you can't hear much in your headgear,” Tasser said. “But to hear our fans, our crowd … they were with us.

“There were so many people here, and it felt awesome to be able to pull that out.”

...

“This was the first time when we wrestled here I can honestly say that it felt like home,” Racciato said. “It was loud. The fans were knowledgeable. That helps. It gets in the other kids' heads.”

Big win for the program. Oklahoma State has four losses on the year, but also had several blowout wins to their credit. But how exactly does a team with three losses get so high in the ranking? Mostly because their losses up to this point came to the No. 2, 3, and 4 teams in the nation (Minnesota, Iowa, and Oklahoma, respectively). Talk about a killer schedule, Oklahoma State will also take on top-ranked Penn State later this year, too.

Got to think Pitt should get a huge boost in the rankings. Despite three losses coming in, the Cowboys were still No. 5 in the nation with Pitt at No. 13. I'm not a huge wrestling aficionado, but the Panthers just beat a top five Oklahoma State squad and their only loss was to No. 1 Penn State. I mean, that's got to count for something, right?

Strong victory for the team and coach Jason Peters. Next up for the team is a huge matchup against current No. 12 Virginia - the only ACC program ranked ahead of Pitt - it's at home on Friday. Winner of that one comes out looking like the top conference team.

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