PITTSBURGH, PA –  There is just one more sleep before the 2019 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships begin from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. If you are having a hard time sleeping check out some fun “by the numbers” to keep you occupied. Photo of PPG Arena by Sam Janicki.

 

640

The number of bouts that will be wrestled inside PPG Paints Arena across the three day National Tournament.

 

1957

The last time Pittsburgh hosted the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships was in 1957. It was held at the Fitzgerald Field House and the team Champion was Oklahoma with host school Pitt finishing as the runner-up. The  “Outstanding Wrestler” award went to a wrestler by the name of Dan Hodge from Oklahoma.

 

14

The 2019 Pittsburgh Nationals will mark the 14th time the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were hosted in Pennsylvania. The first was State College in 1930 and the last was Philadelphia in 2010. 

 

446

Pittsburgh has several nicknames, “City of Champions,” “Steel City,” and “City of Bridges.” Newcomers to Pittsburgh will notice right away why “City of Bridges” is relevant as there are a total of 446 bridges within the Pittsburgh city limits. Unless you are coming to PPG Paints Arena via helicopter – you’re crossing a bridge.

 

11

There are a total of 11 Pennsylvania natives who are now head coaches at NCAA Division I programs. They include… Matt Stroniolo (Northwestern), Cary Kolat (Campbell), Coleman Scott (North Carolina), Teague Moore (American), Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh), Pat Santoro (Lehigh), Rob Koll (Cornell), Roger Reina (Penn), Scott Moore (Lock Haven), Keith Ferraro (Clarion), Robert Hjerling (The Citadel).

 

53

The number of Pennsylvania natives who qualified for the 2019 NCAA National Tournament is 53. That is 29 ahead of second most New Jersey. Like our slogan says “Pennsylvania IS Wrestling.”

 

21

The number of NCAA National Tournament qualifiers from Pennsylvania District 7 (WPIAL) schools is 21. If the WPIAL was a state – it would be fifth on the list of most qualifiers.