Hall of Fame
After winning an NCAA Division II National Championship in 1996, Head Coach Pat Pecora’s Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team grabbed the attention of the nation. Add another national title three years later, and the Mountain Cats established themselves as one of the top wrestling programs in America.
Entering the 1998-99 season, Coach Pecora knew he had something special with his team. With Five All-Americans, including 1998 National Champion Jody Strittmatter, returning, the Mountain Cats earned the preseason No. 1 ranking in the nation, a spot they never would give up.
Pitt-Johnstown breezed through the regular season by posting wins over seven Division I foes, including Ohio State University and Clarion University, on its way to a 23-2 dual meet record.
Strittmatter traveled to Evanston, IL and became the first Mountain Cat to win the title at the prestigious Midlands Open at Northwestern University. The team won the NCAA Division II Dual Championship by posting a 4-0 record, including a 21-16 win over No. 2-ranked Nebraska-Omaha.
Riding the momentum from an outstanding regular season, Pitt-Johnstown carried it into the post season. Seven Mountain Cats won individual titles at the East Regional Tournament in the Sports Center, while a total of nine wrestlers advanced to the National Tournament in Omaha, NE.
The National Championship came down to one match--Pitt-Johnstown’s Troy Barbush against Nebraska-Omaha's Chris Blair at 165 lbs. Barbush defeated Blair 8-4, giving Coach Pecora and the Mountain Cats a 110-105-5 team score victory and the school's second national title in three seasons.
Jody Strittmatter (125 lbs.), John Strittmatter (133 lbs.), and Barbush (165 lbs.) all won individual national championships, and Ethan Brownback (184 lbs.) finished as a national runner-up. In addition, Tony Clark (141 lbs.), Isaac Greeley (149 lbs.), and Jaison Klingensmith (197 lbs.) took home All-American honors.
When it was all over, Jody Strittmatter was named the National Tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, and Coach Pecora was named the NCAA division II National Coach of the Year for the second time in his stellar career.
The Mountain Cats also got the job done in the classroom and led the nation in National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Academic Wrestling Team members for the third-straight season with nine (Jody Strittmatter, John Strittmatter, Greeley, Barbush, Brownback, Klingensmith, Tyke Conover, Ryan Buterbaugh, and Jim Custred).
