Wrestling Travels to the Steel City on Sunday for Bout at #20 Pitt

Bucknell (0-3) vs. #20 Pitt (4-1)
When: Sunday, Dec. 7 – Noon
Where: Fitzgerald Field House – Pittsburgh, Pa.
Watch: ACCNX
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WRST

Projected Lineups:
125 - Kade Davidheiser (0-3) vs. Tyler Chappell
133 - Ty Kapusta (0-5) or Blue Stiffler (0-0) vs. #30 Evan Tallmadge
141 - #25 Dylan Chappell (4-3) vs. Briar Priest
149 - Riley Bower (2-3) or Braden Bower (0-3) vs. #20 Kade Brown
157 - Cade Wirnsberger (4-3) vs. Vince Bouzakis
165 - #25 Noah Mulvaney (6-1) vs. #24 Dylan Evans or Jared Keslar
174 - #27 Myles Takats (3-3) vs. #14 Luca Augustine
184 - Tyler Bienus (3-3) or Mikey Bartush (1-3) vs. Chase Kranitz
197 - #12 Dillon Bechtold (1-1) vs. #5 Mac Stout
285 - Lucas Lawler (3-4) vs. #12 Dayton Pitzer

Rankings Intermat

Bucknell at a Glance:

• Bucknell continues to challenge itself in the opening weeks with a match at No. 20 Pitt. It is Bucknell's fourth consecutive dual against a top 25 team. The Bison lost the three previous duals by a combined total of 17 points.
• Five Bison wrestlers are ranked by Intermat with Dillon Bechtold registering the highest at #12. Bechtold missed the season's first three competitions and made his 2025-26 debut versus No. 18 Oklahoma. Lucas Lawler is not ranked by Intermat but is #25 in the FloWrestling lists for heavyweight.
• Dylan Chappell entered 2025-26 with 88 career wins and the fifth-year senior added three to his ledger at the Navy Classic and picked up a victory in the Wisconsin dual. He looks to become the next Bison grappler to reach the 100-win milestone. Kurt Phipps was the last Bucknell wrestler to achieve the distinction, earning number 100 against Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) on Jan. 30, 2025.
• Bucknell posted its third straight top 25 recruiting class, providing an even greater pool of talent for the program. The results have shown at the heavyweight class with the freshman Lawler scoring an upset victory in the Virginia Tech dual.
• Head coach Dan Wirnsberger is in his 20th season with the Bison and his 21th year leading the program since its revival in 2005.

A Look Back at the Wisconsin Dual

• Bucknell rallied from down 15-3 to tie the contest heading into the heavyweight bout. Lawler tried his best but No. 23 Wisconsin's fifth-year senior #18 Braxton Amos was too much for the rookie, as he lost the 11-2 major decision, and Wisconsin escaped with the 19-15 victory.
• Wisconsin won four out of the first five matches with only Dylan Chappell's (141) victory preventing the Bison from being shutout.
• Noah Mulvaney's (165) return to his home state proved fruitful with the Wisconsin native upsetting #23 Cody Goebel to halt the Badgers' roll and begin the Bucknell comeback.
• Myles Takats (174) won Bucknell's first non-decision in a 2025-26 dual with a major decision win. The Bison were penalized a point for coach misconduct.
• Mikey Bartush (187) cut the deficit to 15-12 with a high-scoring 14-10 decision.
• Dillon Bechtold (197) tied the contest at 12-12 with a grueling 5-4 decision over Wyatt Ingham.

Scouting Pitt/Series History

• Pitt is 4-1 with wins over Buffalo, Princeton, #14 Lehigh and Navy on its resume. They upset #14 Lehigh 21-15 last night.
• The Panthers are the third highest ranked ACC team in the top 25.
• Pitt has a stacked lineup with six ranked wrestlers in their probables, #30 Evan Tallmadge (133), #20 Kade Brown (149), #24 Dylan Evans (165), #14 Luca Augustine (174), #5 Mac Stout (197), and #12 Dayton Pitzer (285). The ACC foe holds the numerical advantage in all three ranked matches.
• Pitzer and Stout were 2024-25 ACC Champions. Five of Stout's eight wins this season have come via a technical fall.
• Tyler Chappell is the younger brother of Bucknell's Dylan Chappell.
• The Panthers finished 10-6 overall and 3-3 in the ACC last year and went 4-6 against ranked foes. The team finished second at the ACC Championships and tied for 27th at the NCAA National Championships.
• Bucknell and Pitt are meeting for the second straight year. The Panthers are 5-1 all-time versus the Bison.

A Look Ahead

• The Bison host the Bucknell Quad on Dec. 21 and will face a trio of opponents with two EIWA foes Hofstra and Morgan State and ACC foe Virginia.

Wrestling Travels to the Steel City on Sunday for Bout at #20 Pitt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mikey Bartush

Dillon Bechtold

Tyler Bienus

Braden Bower

Riley Bower

Dylan Chappell

Kade Davidheiser

Ty Kapusta

Lucas Lawler

Noah Mulvaney

Kurt Phipps

Blue Stiffler

Myles Takats

Cade Wirnsberger