Pitt wrestler Mikey Racciato wins awards and jumps into rankings following big weekend

The Pitt wrestling team had some ups and downs this past weekend, losing to No. 10 Lehigh before winning the Keystone Classic. But the Panthers' Mikey Racciato had some matches to remember.

While the team couldn't defeat Lehigh, Racciato scored a big win, knocking off No. 8 Randy Cruz, 3-2. His weekend didn't stop there, however. After a bye to open the Keystone Classic, the 141-pounder won four consecutive matches to win his weight class. Along the way, he also beat FloWrestling's #12 ranked wrestler, Todd Preston out of Harvard. For those efforts, Racciato was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the event.

To avoid shortchanging anyone, it's worth pointing out several other wrestlers had big weekends, too. Dom Forys won first place at the Keystone Classic at 133 pounds after scoring a major decision win against Lehigh. Forys also had to win five matches since he didn't receive a bye. Several other wrestlers finished in the top three, including Jake Gromacki (125 pounds/2nd), Ryan Solomon (Heavyweight/2nd), Ronnie Garbinsky (157/3rd), Cody Wiercioch (165/3rd), and Nick Bonaccorsi (197/3rd). Freshmen L.J. Bentley (125) and TeShan Campbell (174) both took home fifth place finishes.

Overall, though, the star was Racciato due to the two Top 15 wins he scored and winning his weight class at the Keystone Classic. FloWrestling named him their overall Wrestler of the Week and a day later, the ACC named him the Conference's Wrestler of the Week.

In addition, those wins boosted him in the rankings after not being ranked - InterMat has him all the way at No. 10 in the nation for his weight class.

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