Forest Hills graduate Daubert ready to impress at Pitt-Johnstown
Dec. 3—Byron Daubert has had to wait a month for a second opportunity to make a positive impression on the Pitt-Johnstown wrestling fan base.
The redshirt sophomore from Forest Hills could get three chances on Saturday when the Mountain Cats host Lake Erie (3-1) at 10 a.m., Fairmont State (4-5) at 11:30 a.m. and King (4-4) at 1 p.m. in a quad meet at the Sports Center.
"I'm real excited for that," Daubert said.
"I've only wrestled one match at home so far (in the Mountain Cats' victory over West Liberty on Nov. 3). I, unfortunately, lost that match, so I'm hoping to redeem myself this weekend."
Pitt-Johnstown (2-0) is off to another strong start, and coach Pat Pecora's team should be heavily favored in the three duals. In 2021-22, the Mountain Cats beat Fairmont State 43-0 and King 33-10.
Pitt-Johnstown didn't wrestle Lake Erie this past season, but the Storm were beaten 30-9 this season by West Liberty a week after the Mountain Cats handed the Hilltoppers a 28-9 loss.
"It's something we've been starting to do," Pecora said of the quad meet. "It started with King calling and wanting to wrestle us. What I tried to do is put a quad together for them since they're coming from Tennessee. Fairmont (State) is in our region and Lake Erie is a team we used to have on the schedule, but we haven't seen in a little while."
Pecora has won more dual meets than any coach in college wrestling history and Pitt- Johnstown should once again be competing for conference and regional titles. They'll have wrestlers vying for All-America honors and perhaps even a national title or two, but when Pecora talks about this year's Mountain Cats, that isn't what he raves about most. Instead, he gushes about how much he enjoys coaching them because they're working hard in the wrestling room and in the classroom.
"We've been doing well so far," he said. "We're pleased with where we're at. We've got a nice team, fun to coach. They're good kids, good students."
That's why he's so excited to see Daubert, who is 2-3 on the season, in the lineup.
"Byron's an engineering major, excellent student," Pecora said. "He's a great kid. He's a great young man, and he's up this time. This was his first shot and he's taken advantage of it.
"He's earned the right to be there now. I love the kid. He's the typical kid we have on our team.
"They come to practice every day. They go to class every day."
Pecora said he went into the Sports Center early Tuesday morning and Daubert was already there for a private workout. The redshirt sophomore went to his classes, then returned for the team workout in the afternoon.
A mechanical engineering student, Daubert said maintaining that kind of schedule isn't easy, but it's what he needs to do to be successful on and off the mat.
"It is very tough," he said. "I won't sugarcoat it, but being a student-athlete helps me keep things organized. I feel like if I didn't have wrestling, it might be just as tough because I wouldn't have something to take my mind off it."
Daubert likes what he sees out of this year's Pitt-Johnstown squad.
"We've got a really solid team, top to bottom," he said.
"We're going to be tough to beat. We've got a good culture here. Everybody has the same mindset toward winning.
"Everybody has heard about the brotherhood at UPJ, and it's definitely for real."
