Nov 21, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Of the 7,103 fans, the wrestlers and various support staff that gathered at the Petersen Events Center Friday night, no one was more happy to be there than Cody Wiercioch.

The Canon-McMillan High School graduate and three-time PIAA champion spent the longest season of his wrestling career last year, learning what college life was like, experiencing a red-shirt season in wrestling and battling injuries.

Now, as the starting 165-pounder on Pitt’s wrestling team, he is making up for lost time.

Wiercioch started strong and finished on the defensive while taking an 11-8 decision from Garett Hammond of Penn State in last night’s dual meet.

Wiercioch’s win was one of four for the Panthers in the 10-bout match, and the Nittany Lions rode a pin at 197 and a major decision at heavyweight to a 24-12 victory.

“The atmosphere was like nothing else,” said Wiercioch, who pushed his record to 4-0 on the season to the delight of dozens of friends and family members in the stands. “Going out there and hearing the crowd, I can’t really describe it. It’s something I definitely would love to do again.”

This dual meet was the first time the Panthers wrestled at The Pete since 2008 and will be the only home match, though the Atlantic Coast conference championships will be held here at the end of the season. Pitt usually wrestles at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse, which sits a block away.

Penn State, the four-time defending national champion, came into the dual meet ranked fifth in the nation and Pitt was 12th. The Nittany Lions moved to 2-0 this season while Pitt fell to 3-2.

Hammond lost his first decision in eight matches as Wiercioch built an 8-3 lead in the first period. Wiercioch hit a takedown seven seconds in and landed a four-point move with 1:32 left in the period. Hammond did rally, scoring an escape for the only point of the second period, then outscoring a defensive-minded Wiercioch, 4-3, over the final two minutes.

“I think I wrestled well,” Wiercioch said. “I have some things I need to improve on. Overall, I’d say I was content with my performance. I couldn’t finish any of my shots (in the final minute). I couldn’t get my shots off.”

Wiercioch opened the season with a 5-3 win over Corey Fuller of Edinboro at the Edinboro duals, then dominated Robert Schlitt of Bucknell, 12-5, in the Bucknell Duals, and stopped Santiago Martinez of Lehigh, 9-5, in the Lehigh Duals.

“He’s coming along,” said Pitt coach Jason Peters. “He’s working hard. He had some great attacks. He’s capable of scoring points from all three positions. I can see why he won a lot of matches in high school.”

Wiercioch had an illustrious career in high school, winning a Class AA state title at Charleroi and two more after transferring to Canon-McMillan. He helped the Big Macs to four state team titles over his final two seasons.

Wiercioch had a 167-3 record in high school, was a four-time WPIAL finalist and three-time winner, and wrestled one of the most memorable bouts in the Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament against Chance Marsteller of Kennard Dale.

The transition to college was difficult.

Wiericoch went 8-2 last year, competing in open tournaments while fulfilling his redshirt requirements. He struggled making the adjustment to college and battled injuries to his MCL and LCL. They turned out to be only sprains and didn’t require surgery.

“It was terrible,” Wiercioch said. “I had a string of injuries and wasn’t able to compete. Going in to the room in the dead of winter, the motivation just wasn’t there for me. It was a really hard year for me. But I’m proud to be back and ready to help Pitt win this year.”

And he’s looking for a strong season.

“My goals for the season are making it to the national tournament,” he said, “and becoming an All-American. That wouldn’t be bad.”

Notes

Brendan Price, a teammate of Wiercioch’s at Canon-McMillan, and Alex Kail of Peters Township are on Pitt’s roster but did not wrestle. … Edgar Bright (141), Ron Garbinsky (157) and Max Thomusseit (184) won decisions for the Panthers. Jordan Conaway (125), Jimmy Gulibon (133), Zack Beitz (149), Matt Brown (174), and John Gingrich (Hvy) had decisions and Morgan McIntosh (197) a pin for Penn State.