The Penn State versus Pitt wrestling match that took place on December 8th was held at the Bryce Jordan Center at State College. A highly anticipated matchup was set to take place between the No. 11 Pittsburgh Panthers squad and the 3-time defending National Champions Penn State Nittany Lions.

This match also set the attendance record for any sporting event ever held in the Bryce Jordan Center with 15,596 wrestling fanatics flocking to see some grade A wrestling from the top teams in the nation.

Although the score doesn’t reflect a very close match, it was a highly contested battle and nothing was given easily by either team. The final score was 28-9 in favor of the Nittany Lions wrestling club.

Going in to the break or halftime, the score of the match was tied after some key victories from Mikey Racciato and Shelton Mack for the Panthers and Nico Megaludis, Zain Rutherford and James Vollrath picking up victories for Penn State.

After the break, though, the Nittany Lions had some bounces and controversial calls go their way, and they ended up winning the last five bouts to close out the dual.

The atmosphere of the dual was unlike any other dual match most wrestlers have been to. Penn State University had the mat on an elevated stage with a single spotlight on the wrestling surface. Before each match, each wrestler from either team ran out of a dark tunnel at opposite ends of the arena to the center of the mat to engage in a battle.

This was a milestone for wrestling and was a spectacle to see. Hopefully more dual meets will see this type of response and attendance in the future to help promote the sport of wrestling.