Nino Bonaccorsi was not going to be denied for a second time.
Becoming the 17th national champion in Pitt wrestling history was not a cakewalk for the Bethel Park native, after going down 3-0 in his national championship match and rallying to defeat South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan 5-3 in the 197-pound class last week in Tulsa, Okla.
He had come too far to be denied. The homegrown product was on this stage in 2021, in which he fell as a runner-up to Oklahoma State's AJ Ferrari in the 2021 national championship match by a 4-2 decision.
In his 2023 national championship match, Bonaccorsi kept up his ruthless aggression in wearing Sloan down throughout, ultimately earning two points on a single-leg takedown near the edge of the circle to capture a 4-3 lead with 54 seconds remaining which he would not relinquish, effectively giving him a 5-3 lead via benefit of riding time -- or mat control -- eclipsing a minute.
Bonaccorsi kept Sloan in-bounds for that remaining 54 seconds and, upon being whistled a national champion, curled on both of his knees with his hands covering his face, knowing that years of training had at last paid off.
The victory lights at the Cathedral of Learning then beamed bright with gold that night to honor a champion.
"I look at it as a personal thing," Bonaccorsi said after his celebratory luncheon Thursday at the Petersen Events Center. "I wake up every day, and I'm kind of like, 'I can't believe what I just did. Not many people get to do what I just did.' It's just great for my family to put a name in stone forever. Forever a national champion. So that hits me good. And then this is a western P.A. thing. This is a state and a region of champions, so to add to that is just, like, wow. I was finally able to add to such a monumentous -- WPIAL, state -- we have so many champs. I feel like it's just great to add to that and solidify our area's dominance. I feel like western P.A. is he best wrestling there is. It's great to add to it."
He is Pitt's first national champion wrestler since Keith Gavin, his current coach, earned a championship in the 174-pound class in 2008. Bonaccorsi became the eighth wrestler in school history to post a perfect season at 21-0, just as his coach did at 33-0 in that 2008 season. Bonaccorsi is the heaviest Pitt wrestler to ever win a national title, breaking the mark held by Ron Schirf in his 1957 national championship season at 191 pounds.
In his sixth season as Pitt's wrestling coach, Gavin has witnessed the senior Bonaccorsi's entire career at Pitt. Bonaccorsi holds a 98-25 overall record and finished his Panthers career with a 75-20 record. He qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships five times, was an All-American twice, and earned ACC Championships three times while at Pitt.
"I always thought he could win a national title," Gavin said. "He was second a couple of years ago, so he's been on that big stage before, but this season was kind of like, he just had a lot of maturity. He's been in some tight matches where things maybe weren't going according to plan, and just staying focused and got his job done. Nothing fazed him this whole year, and he wrestled a lot of good guys. I think 15 out of his 21 wins were ranked opponents. He's just showed a lot of composure and focus throughout the season."
Pitt Athletics
Pitt wrestling coach Keith Gavin instructs during Nino Bonaccorsi's national championship match.
Bonaccorsi ran through the bracket as the No. 1 seed, achieving victories over North Carolina's Max Shaw (10-1 major decision), North Dakota State's Owen Pentz (8-2 decision), Nebraska's Silas Alfred (5-3 decision), and Rider's Ethan Laird (10-4 decision) before picking up the national championship comeback over Sloan by a 5-3 decision in the NCAA Championships. Bonaccorsi has not lost a match since the Round of 12 in the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Those seven minutes across three periods is equally a long and short time, and Bonaccorsi remained patient in at last earning the breakthrough in his championship bout in that third period.
"I think I got a lot of confidence from the competition I've had this year," Bonaccorsi said. "I kind of had -- going into the tournament I was telling my parents, I was like, 'I feel like I've dealt with everything this year.' Overtimes. Ride-outs. Comeback wins. So, I've experienced it all, and I know just from my training and with my practice partners, I'm always started myself down and I need to get points. I've had the utmost confidence that I could come back. That's just my style. I score a lot of points and maybe give up some along the way, but I always seem to find a way to come back, and that's why I really stuck in and got tired, so when I was down, just not so much panic, just more so like, 'hey, let's start picking up a little bit more than we're supposed to, more than we're used to,' and I was able to break through. Once I got that first (point) I felt like I was starting to crack away and eventually got it."
Bonaccorsi is now up for the Hodge Trophy, awarded to the best wrestler in America. It is the equivalent of college football's Heisman Trophy. The Hodge Trophy is a fan vote, and voting ends at 6 p.m. Friday.
Bonaccorsi since has earned his own sandwich, the "Nino Italiano," at the North Shore-based Given to Fly, and he has his own ice cream flavor, the "H2Nino's Cannoli Champion-Chip," at Millie's:
“The Nino Italiano” Chicken Parm for the National Champion @NeenBon himself on special this week.
— Troy Beck (@troybeck) March 21, 2023
Only at Given To Fly! pic.twitter.com/iYorQxsWsA
Some are saying (it’s me, I am saying) the best part of @NeenBon winning a national title is Nino getting his own flavor of ice cream at Millie’s.
— Corey Crisan (@cdcrisan) March 23, 2023
I quality-controlled a scoop, and it’s excellent. #Pitt pic.twitter.com/TflPH4K1Hv
(As a semi-professional ice cream quality-control artist, the Millie's flavor is quite good, I must add.)
He has since made a grand tour of being honored as a champion. Check out this interaction with Bonaccorsi and Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi:
Nino’s Natty Victory Tour ✨
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) March 22, 2023
Stopped by @Pitt_FB today 🏆@NeenBon 🤝 @CoachDuzzPittFB #H2P » @NCAAWrestling pic.twitter.com/NSIUrKFApE
A long journey's end as a Panther. On top.
"It's great," Gavin said. "I'm just so happy for him and his family. He has an awesome support system, and they put a lot into this, as well. To see all of that pay off, I'm just so happy for him and his family."
Bonaccorsi's brother, Nick Bonaccorsi, was a three-time NCAA qualifier as a Pitt wrestler from 2011-'16. Nino finished his high-school career at Bethel Park with a 147-21 record and ended his high-school wrestling days ranked second in the country. He won two WPIAL championships (2016, 2017) and was a FloNationals and PowerAde champion in 2016.
Nino carried the torch, proudly, at his brother's alma mater and at his hometown school, where his relationship with Gavin fostered into something historic.
"It meant everything," Nino said. "I always say me and him, he started his head coaching here, and I was getting into it, I was getting into college. We kind of started this together, and we were always looking for that first national champion, not only, obviously, personally want to be a national champion, but just as a team and as a school. You want that guy to break through and be a national champion, and for me to be his first after him being the last, it's just so perfect. I couldn't have written a better ending to the story. It feels great to do that for him."
Pitt Athletics
Nino Bonaccorsi, top, holds down South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan during the 197-pound championship match at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
