Atwood's pin caps victory for No. 2 Pitt-Johnstown over No. 19 Kutztown

Feb. 4—Before he took the mat against Kutztown on Friday night, Pitt-Johnstown heavyweight Oggie Atwood was told to "go out there and put on a show."

Mission accomplished.

Atwood pinned Dustin Swanson to cap the second-ranked Mountain Cats' 37-9 rout of No. 19 Kutztown. Caleb Morris and Nate Smith also recorded falls for Pitt-Johnstown, which improved to 13-0, including 5-0 in the PSAC, with two dual meets remaining.

Swanson did a good job controlling ties and seemed to have the upper hand on Atwood through a scoreless first period.

In the second, Atwood escaped and then shot a nice low-single leg on Swanson.

When Swanson tried a chest wrap as a counter, Atwood caught his elbows and put the Golden Bear on his back.

"I'm used to just trying to mess around in there, try something new," Atwood said. "I just kept flipping around, ended up catching the arm, caught him on his back, just settled and got (the pin). I'm very comfortable when they're uncomfortable.

"I've trained that a lot."

It brought a smile to the face of Pitt-Johnstown coach Pat Pecora.

"There's no words for Oggie," Pecora said with a laugh. "He's pretty funky. He lulls people into a false sense of security. When they get on the scale with him, they're rubbing their hands together, thinking, 'I hope I get that one.' He's got a nice little potbelly on him. He's unassuming. He just stays in there and hangs on. They give it their best shot and he just wears on them, wears on them and then, all of a sudden, he does something funky and catches them on their back."

Mat time has been hard to come by for Atwood this season after the emergence of teammate Isaiah Vance, who is ranked fifth nationally at heavyweight. A national qualifier for Mount Olive in 2020, Pecora knows that Atwood is talented and has tried to get him into the lineup whenever possible.

"Sharing the spot, it's definitely a unique experience," Atwood said. "On one hand, I love my teammates, but I also want to start. It doesn't really matter — when the other guy's out there, I love it and I'll coach him the whole time — but tonight, on alumni night (was a big opportunity)."

Atwood's high school coach, Brandon Newill, was a national champion for Pitt-Johnstown and his club coach, Isaac Greeley, was an NCAA runner-up and two-time All-American who helped the Mountain Cats win the 1999 national championship. Atwood also works with Young Guns coaches John and Jody Strittmatter, each of whom won individual and team titles at Pitt-Johnstown.

All were in attendance on Friday night.

"I knew like half the crowd tonight," Atwood said. "So, getting to wrestle tonight was awesome for me."

The pin excited a large crowd that Pecora said included about 60 former Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers.

"It was a great win," Pecora said. "The kids love him. Everybody loves Oggie."

Morris (141 pounds) and Smith (157) also recorded falls for the Mountain Cats, who received forfeit victories from Trevon Gray (125) and Jacob Ealy (149). Ealy improved to 22-0, but Pecora was frustrated that the nation's top-ranked wrestler received a forfeit for a second consecutive home match.

"We're completely beat up," said Kutztown coach Rob Fisher, who also was without Collin Wickramaratna, a returning All-American. "A bunch of injuries. We're licking our wounds, but I'm pleased. (Pitt-Johnstown is) a great, great wrestling team.

"We beat (two) nationally ranked guys and had a lot of close matches. With an understaffed team, I'm really pleased.

"My 184-pounder dominated a really good wrestler. (Brock) Biddle is no joke."

Fisher was referring to ninth-ranked Matthew Weinberg, who completely controlled No. 11 Biddle at 184, racking up 4:22 of riding time in a 7-0 victory.

Kutztown (6-4, 2-3) pulled off an upset in dramatic fashion at 165 pounds. No. 11 Dillon Keane led Dalton Gimbor 4-3 with riding time secured, but the Kutztown wrestler hit a desperation headlock in the closing seconds for a takedown and four backpoints in a 9-5 victory.

"(Keane) had the match," Pecora said. "There was no doubt about it, but you can't shut down. He shut down. That was disappointing."

Kutztown's other victory came at 133, where K.J. Fenstermacher beat Dajauhn Hertzog 5-2.

Alex Weber, who Pecora said is wrestling on a torn ACL, beat Hunter Horton, a Tussey Mountain grad, 8-2 at 174 pounds, and Dakoda Rodgers scored a 10-2 major decision over Tyler Fisher at 184.

The Mountain Cats visit Shippensburg on Tuesday before returning home to face Mercyhurst on Friday in a dual that could decide the PSAC dual-meet champion.