Changing landscape: Powerhouse Pitt-Johnstown program broadens appeal, recruiting base

Dec. 3—Wrestlers from all over the country will be competing at Pitt-Johnstown on Saturday during a quad match involving Lake Erie (Ohio), King (Tennessee) and Fairmont State (West Virginia).

It isn't just the visiting teams that will have out-of-state flavor to them.

Pat Pecora built his Division II Pitt-Johnstown program into a national powerhouse almost exclusively with wrestlers from Districts 5, 6 and 7. Of the 33 wrestlers on the Mountain Cats roster at the beginning of the season, only 16 are from those three districts, and the only starter from The Tribune-Democrat's coverage area is Forest Hills graduate Byron Daubert.

Getting noticed: Pennsylvania is widely regarded as one of the best states in the country — if not the best — for high school wrestling, so Pecora has been able to win consistently without going outside the commonwealth for wrestlers. The makeup of his team has begun to change over the past few years.

This season's Pitt-Johnstown roster includes wrestlers who hail from Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Texas and Virginia.

Pitt-Johnstown's roster isn't nearly as diverse as King's — which includes wrestlers from 10 states among 13 potential starters listed for Saturday — but even one starter from outside the Keystone State is unusual for the Mountain Cats.

In addition to Daubert, the Mountain Cats roster includes Greater Johnstown alumnus Brock Moore, plus Richland graduates Cooper Warshel and Jake Sabol. The other 29 team members are from outside the Johnstown area.

"Recruiting is much more involved," said Pecora, who is in his 47th season as Pitt-Johns- town's coach and has won more dual meets than any other coach in college wrestling history. "They're getting a lot more attention everywhere, so it really gets competitive."

The Johnstown area has produced quality wrestlers for decades, but it didn't always draw the attention that the Lehigh Valley and the WPIAL did — from the media or college coaches. The rise of the Young Guns Wrestling Club, led by former Pitt-Johnstown national champs Jody and John Strittmatter, helped elevate the region's reputation.

Over the past decade, the biggest names in college wrestling — from Cael Sanderson to Tom Brands to Tom Ryan — have plucked recruits from here. Combine that with coaches from lower-tier Division I programs scouring the area, and it's become harder for Pecora to keep top-end local talent at home.

"I think in our area and in our region, some of those kids are very difficult to get now," he said. "There is no doubt that the club teams have really promoted individuals so well that they're getting exposed to everyone.

"Plus, there are more colleges putting investment into wrestling, like the whole ACC. Those schools have put an emphasis on wrestling."

Pitt's Pell move: Years ago, it was difficult for Pecora to land out-of-state recruits and, frankly, it didn't make sense for him to pursue them. It was easier — and more cost effective — to target local wrestlers.

Plus, out-of-state tuition costs made it almost impossible to land recruits who were going to end up spending thousands of dollars more to wrestle for the Mountain Cats than for a program in a different state.

That began to change three years ago, when the University of Pittsburgh launched the Pitt Success Pell Match Program. The program matches Pell grants — which are mainly awarded to undergraduate students in financial need — dollar for dollar, making it more affordable for an out-of-state student who wants to attend Pitt, no matter the campus.

"We have more out-of-state kids on our team than ever before. It's because of what Pitt did," Pecora said. "We're a little bit more attractive now."

'Talking business': Trevon Gray is one of those wrestlers who probably wouldn't have come to Pitt-Johnstown in the past.

A state champion from Oscar F. Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, Gray was open to coming to the Keystone State, but he was looking at Division I wrestling schools Clarion, Edinboro and Lock Haven.

When Pitt-Johnstown took notice of him, an assistant reached out to Gray's father, who relayed the interest to Trevon. At the time, it didn't make much of an impact.

"I was like, 'Where's this off-brand Pitt school from?' " Gray recalled with a laugh. "(I thought) 'That would be nice, Dad, but I'm trying to go D-I.' "

Pecora's pitch about there being little difference between Pitt-Johnstown and many of the Division I schools it routinely beats helped sway Gray. The matching Pell funds also made a difference.

"That definitely did help," Gray said. "When a school talks numbers, it's like, 'OK, now we're talking business.' "

The redshirt freshman is now firmly entrenched as the starting 125-pounder for the Mountain Cats. His first match for the Mountain Cats, a 1-0 loss to two-time defending NCAA champion Cole Laya of West Liberty, showed he's not far behind the best in the nation.

The fact that Gray didn't come from a wrestling hotbed might work in his favor, as he could have more room for improvement.

"Some of the kids here, they had the best programs all their life," Gray said. "I started at a young age, but it wasn't the top of the heap. I feel hungrier because I didn't have the best coaches, but I made it work. Using these guys (at Pitt-Johnstown) to get better has been helpful."

There were years when a Pitt-Johnstown lineup was filled almost entirely with wrestlers from schools such as Penn Cambria, Richland and Cambria Heights.

Now, Daubert is the lone wrestler from the Johnstown area starting for Pecora's squad.

The Forest Hills grad grew up around Pitt-Johnstown, but by the time he arrived on campus in 2019, the number of local recruits had begun to dwindle.

"That's something I've noticed," he said. "I think it's pretty cool to see guys from other areas — and even other states — want to come here. It shows the name we've created here at UPJ, but I love being the local guy and in the starting lineup. Having a bunch of people ask about a match (is great). Everybody around this area still cares about the local guys. That's a really fortunate thing we have around here."

Despite the changes, the constants that remain are Pecora and winning. The Mountain Cats entered the season tied for 11th in the Division II rankings, but after their 28-9 thumping of No. 6 West Liberty, they should be in the top 10 once again.

"It's very difficult to do it every day, every month, every year," Pecora said. "It's hard to keep up. I think that's the test of time. The truest measure of success is consistency."