Mar 21, 2025 3 min read

Lock Haven’s Wyatt Henson and the University of Pittsburgh’s Dayton Pitzer lost in the round of 16 on Thursday evening in the NCAA Division I Individual Wrestling Championships, but the duo advanced to today’s action at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia.

Virginia Tech’s Mac Church and Pitt’s Luca Augustine lost in the round of 32, but won their first-round consolation bouts to remain alive in the national tournament.

The Panthers’ Jared Keslar, a Connellsville graduate, dropped his first two bouts to end his season. Keslar lost an 8-5 decision in sudden victory in the preliminary round at 165 pounds before a 7-6 setback in his first consolation match.

Henson had a much better opening to this year’s national tournament after the Waynesburg Central graduate went 0-2 last season. He defeated Campbell’s Shannon Hanna, 9-1, to advance to the round of 16 in the 141-pound weight class.

Henson (26-10) lost to Nebraska’s Brock Hardy (26-3) in the round of 16 to fall back into the consolation rounds.

Pitzer, a Mount Pleasant graduate, earned a 6-2 decision over Cleveland State’s Daniel Bucknavich in the round of 32 at 285.

Pitzer (15-5) lost to North Carolina State’s Isaac Tremble (20-5) in his round of 16 bout.

In his round of 32 match, Henson trailed 1-0 after Hanna escaped six seconds into the second period, but scored a takedown for a 3-1 lead with 1:29 left in the frame. Henson rode out Hanna the rest of the period to take a two-point advantage into the third.

Hanna allowed an escape to begin the third, and Henson extended his lead to 7-1 with a takedown at 1:29. Henson was awarded a penalty point when Hanna was called for stalling, and he accumulated riding time for an additional point.

Pitzer trailed 1-0 in the second, but scored a takedown for a 3-1 lead with 1:14 left in the period. Bucknavich escaped to cut the deficit to one entering the third.

Pitzer scored a reversal to extend his advantage to 5-2, and earned a point for riding, as he controlled Bucknavich for the rest of the period.

Augustine, who is a Waynesburg Central graduate, dropped a 5-0 decision in the round of 32 at 174, but rebounded to defeat Maryland’s Johnson Brown in the first round of consolations.

Augustine’s former high school teammate, Mac Church, lost by major decision, 11-2, in the first round at 165, but battled to earn a major decision over Little Rock’s Joseph Bianchi in the consolations.

The local quartet needs to win three straight bouts to reach All-American status as the top eight in their respective weight classes.

The quarterfinals are scheduled for noon today, as the consolation rounds will continue. The semifinals and placement bouts will be contested this evening at 8.

The medal bouts are slated for 11 a.m. on Saturday. The championship finals are scheduled Saturday evening at 7.