The 2020-21 wrestling season was anything but normal due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  As a result of COVID-19 restrictions, Head Coach Pat Pecora's (45^th season) Mountain Cats were limited to competing in only the NCAA Division II Super Region I Tournament and the NCAA National Tournament a year ago.
        However, all signs are showing a return to normalcy in 2021-22, including a full dual meet schedule, battles for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and Super Region I crowns, and a full national tournament.
        Coach Pecora, college wrestling's all-time leader in dual meet victories with 618, and his Mountain Cats are ranked 21^st in the 2021-22 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Preseason National Poll.  Pitt-Johnstown welcomes back a pair of NCAA All-Americans in three-time All-American and sixth-ranked Brock Biddle (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg HS), at 174 lbs. and 2021 All-American and seventh-ranked Jacob Ealy (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell HS) at 149 lbs., as well as 2021 NCAA National Qualifier Matt Siszka (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski HS) at 125 lbs.  Siszka is ranked 11^th at 125 lbs. in the NWCA Preseason Individual Rankings.
        A relatively young group of Mountain Cats who gained some valuable experience in limited action last season also return, including red-shirt sophomore Nate Smith (157 lbs.) (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS), sophomore Caleb Morris (141 lbs.) (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg HS), and red-shirt freshmen Mason Myers (133 lbs.) (York, Pa./Central York HS), Dillon Keane (165 lbs.) (McKean, Pa./Bradford HS), and Dakoda Rodgers (197 lbs.) (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville HS).
        A pair of weight classes are also expected to see new starters.  At 184 lbs., red-shirt sophomore Dalton Group (Marysville, Pa./Susquenita HS) and freshman Gage Arnold (Smethport, Pa./Coudersport HS) are expected to compete for the starting job, while red-shirt sophomore Oggie Atwood (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong HS) and freshman Isaiah Vance (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield HS) will battle for the starting spot at 285 lbs.
 
        The following is a tentative weight-by-weight synopsis of the 2021-22 Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cat wrestling team.
          Red-shirt senior Matt Siszka, ranked 11^th at 125 lbs., returns for one final season by taking advantage of the NCAA's ruling to allow an extra full season of competition to all athletes as a result of COVID-19.  Siszka, a four-year starter for the Mountain Cats, earned an at-large bid to the 2021 NCAA National Tournament in St. Louis after finishing as the runner-up at the Super Region I Tournament in Erie.  Red-shirt freshman and 2019 Pennsylvania AAA State Qualifier Marino Angelicchio (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe HS) will also look to get on the mat in 2021-22.  A freshman in this weight class Trevon Gray (Chesapeake, VA/Oscar F. Smith HS), the 2021 Virginia State Champion and 2019 Virginia State Runner-up.
     Mason Myers stepped in and wrestled at the Super Region I Tournament a year ago as a true freshman.  Myers, a 2019 PIAA AA state place-winner, placed second at that tournament and is expected to be the full-time starter at 133 lbs. this season.  Fellow red-shirt freshmen Dajauhn Hertzog (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem HS) and local standout Byron Daubert (Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills HS), both PIAA Regional Qualifiers, could push Myers this year.
      After Jacob Ealy's move from 141 to 149 lbs. prior to the 2020-21 season, Caleb Morris (Waynesburg, Pa/Waynesburg HS) stepped into the starting role in this weight class.  Morris, who transferred to Pitt-Johnstown after wrestling one season at West Virginia University, finished as the runner-up at the 2021 Super Region I Tournament.  Red-shirt sophomore Al Miscovich (Greensburg, Pa./Mount Pleasant Area HS) also has experience at 141 lbs.  A freshman in this weight class is Texas State Qualifier Donovan Fisher (San Antonio, TX/Winston Churchill HS).
          2021 All-American Jacob Ealy (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell HS), ranked seventh at 149 lbs., will anchor down the starting spot at 149 lbs.  Ealy, who qualified for the NCAA Championships as a freshman in 2020, moved to 149 lbs. last season.  In 2021, Ealy placed third at the Super Region I Tournament, but won a True-Second-Place Match and earned an at-large bid to the National Tournament where he became an All-American with an eighth-place finish.  Red-shirt freshmen Austin Lee (Rockwood, Pa./Rockwood Area HS) and Eric Temes (Miami, FL/Mater Lakes HS) will battle to be Ealy's back-up.
        Red-shirt sophomore Nate Smith (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional HS) took over the starting job at 157 lbs. during his freshman season and is expected to be the starter again in 2021-22.  Smith went 2-1 at the 2021 Super Region I Tournament and came away with a runner-up finish.  Fellow red-shirt sophomores Jacob Burgette (Scranton, Pa./Scranton HS) and Charlie Beatty (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center HS) could push Smith for time on the mat.  In addition, red-shirt freshmen Brock Moore (Johnstown, Pa/Greater Johnstown HS) and Colby Keane (Bradford, Pa./Bradford HS) will also look to see action this season.  Freshmen in this weight class re Kyler Crawford (Milton, Pa./Milton HS), a former three-time Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier and Tony Salopek (Munhall, Pa./Steel Valley HS), a Pennsylvania Regional Qualifier and the son of former Mountain Cat letterman Tony Salopek.
        Red-shirt freshman and 2019 Pennsylvania State seventh-place finisher Dillon Keane (McKean, Pa./Bradford HS) earned the right to wrestle at the 2021 Super Region I Tournament and should be the starter at 165 lbs. this year.  Keane placed fourth at the regional tournament.  If Burgette wrestles in this weight class, he could push Keane for the starting spot, while red-shirt freshmen Sage Parsley (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem HS), a goalkeeper on the Pitt-Johnstown soccer team, will also look to see time at 165 lbs.
          Three-time All-American and sixth-ranked Brock Biddle will look to get on the podium for the fourth time in his Mountain Cat career.  Biddle, a two-time All-PSAC selection and the 2018-19 Super Region I Freshman of the Year, won his second consecutive NCAA Regional title a year ago and placed sixth at the NCAA National Tournament after a fourth-place finish in 2019 and a fifth-place finish in 2020.  Red-shirt freshman Alex Weber (Jefferson Hills, Pa/Thomas Jefferson HS), a 2019 Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier, will back-up Biddle in this weight class.  a Freshman in this weight class is Jake Sabol (Johnstown, Pa./Richland HS), a two-time Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier.
         Red-shirt Sophomore Dalton Group (Marysville, Pa./Susquenita HS) and true freshman Gage Arnold (Smethport, Pa./Coudersport HS) will compete for the starting job at 184 lbs.  Group, a three-time Pennsylvania State AA State-Place Winner with seventh, second and third-place finishes, saw limited action as a freshman in 2019-20, and did not wrestle to due COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-21.  Arnold joins the Mountain Cats after three Pennsylvania State AA Tournament showings.  Red-shirt junior Emorson Wentz (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff HS) will also compete to get on the mat.  A freshman in this weight class is Logan Harmon (Clarksburg, Pa./Armstrong HS), a 2021fourth-place PIAA AAA State Place-Winner.
  After placing third at the 2021 Super Region I Tournament as a true freshman, Dakoda Rodgers (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville HS) looks to be the front-runner to be the starter at 197 lbs.  Rodgers could be pushed by Wentz if he does not wrestle at 184 lbs., red-shirt junior Bryce Biddle (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg HS), and red-shirt sophomore Brock Leinbach (Langhorne, Pa./Neshamany HS), or red-shirt freshman Will Small (Lancaster, Pa/Donegal HS).  A freshman in this weight class is Pennsylvania AA Regional Qualifier Bryan Allen (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy HS).
        Similar to 184 lbs., the 285-lb. weight class doesn't have a clear starter.  Red-shirt sophomore Oggie Atwood (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong HS) and true freshman Isaiah Vance (New Stanton, Pa./Hempfield HS) will compete for the starting duties.  Atwood, who transferred to Pitt-Johnstown from Mount Alive (NC) College last season, is a former Pennsylvania PIAA AAA State Place-Winner., while Vance earned fourth, second, and third-place finishes at the PIAA AAA State Tournament.  Additional freshmen in this weight class include Marvin Beatty (Marion Center, Pa./Marion Center HS), a 2021 Pennsylvania AA seventh-place finisher and the brother of Charlie Beatty, Ty Broadway (Severna Park, MD/Severna Park HS.), a 2021 Maryland State Champion, and Eric Gamble (Conroe, TX/Conroe HS).
 
        Pitt-Johnstown opens the 2021-22 season at fifth-ranked West Liberty (WV) University on Thursday, before opening its home schedule in the Sports Center with a PSAC match against East Stroudsburg University on November 18 and a non-conference match against seventh-ranked Ashland (OH) University on December 10.