With a dozen wrestlers returning with starting experience, including three NCAA All-Americans and two other National Qualifiers, Head Coach Pat Pecora (47^th season) and the Pitt-Johnstown wrestling team have all many of the pieces in place to make the 2022-23 season another very successful one.

Coach Pecora, college wrestling's all-time leader in dual meet victories with 631, and the Mountain Cats are tied for 11^th with McKendree (IL) in the 2022-23 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Preseason National Poll.

Six Mountain Cats are individually ranked, including a trio of NCAA All-Americans in three-time All-American and 12^th-ranked Brock Biddle (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Martinsburg HS), at 184 lbs., two-time All-American and No. 2-ranked Jacob Ealy at 149 lbs., and 2022 All-American No. 4-ranked Nate Smith at 157 lbs.

In addition, 2022 NCAA National Qualifiers Caleb Morris, ranked 10^th at 141 lbs., and Dillon Keane, ranked 12^th at 165 lbs., are back in the line-up.  Mason Myers (141 lbs.), Jacob Burgette (165/174 lbs.), Alex Weber (174 lbs.), Will Small (184 lbs.), Dakoda Rodgers (197 lbs.), Oggie Atwood, and Isaiah Vance (285 lbs.) are returning starters or have starting experience.  Atwood is ranked 11^th at 285 lbs. in the preseason national poll.

The Mountain Cats will also have a pair of new starters in Trevon Gray at 125 lbs., and Byron Daubert or Donovan Fisher at 133 lbs.
  With the graduation of four-year starter and 2022 NCAA National Qualifier Matt Siszka at 125 lbs., Coach Pecora will look to red-shirt freshman in this weight class Trevon Gray, the 2021 Virginia State Champion and 2019 Virginia State Runner-up, join the starting line-up.  A freshman in this weight class is Section Champion Braxton Rice.
  Mason Myers, last year's starter at 133 lbs., is expected to move up a weight class to 141 lbs., opening up a battle between red-shirt sophomore Byron Daubert  and red-shirt freshman Donovan Fisher.  Daubert is a PIAA Regional Qualifier, while Fisher is a Texas State Qualifier. Another red-shirt sophomore and Regional Qualifier, Dajauhn Hertzog could also push Daubert and Fisher this year.  A freshman in this weight class is Pennsylvania AAA seventh-place finisher Chad Ozias.
  Tenth-ranked Caleb Morris, a transfer from West Virginia University, stepped into the Mountain Cats' starting line-up a year ago and earned a spot in the National Tournament by winning his first NCAA Super Regional Championship.  Morris, the PSAC Wrestler of the Week on November 8, 2021, posted a 16-7 overall record and a 9-3 mark in dual meets.  Five of his 16 wins came by way of technical fall.  Myers, who will jump up a weight class after starting at 133 lbs. in 2021-22, is also a capable starter in this weight class.  Myers, a former PIAA AAA State Place-Winner, wrapped-up his red-shirt freshman season with five major decisions, three falls, and a fifth-place finish at 133 lbs. at the Super Region I tournament.  A freshman in this weight class is Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier Ashton Sipes.
  Two-time NCAA All-American and the No.-2-ranked wrestler at 149 lbs. Jacob Ealy, returns for his junior season after earning the starting spot a true freshman in 2019-20.  Ealy, an eighth-place finisher in 2021, posted a team-best 29-3 overall record and a perfect 13-0 mark in dual meets a year ago on his way to winning his second Super Region I title and placing third at the National Tournament in St. Louis.  The First-Team All-PSAC selection placed fifth at the Midwest Classic, tied for the team-lead with five wins by major decision and was second in both technical falls (6) and decisions (10).  Red-shirt freshman Eric Temes, a three-time Florida State Place-Winner, will also look to get on the mat in 2022-23.
  After taking over the starting job at 157 lbs. as a red-shirt freshman in 2019-20, Nate Smith, ranked fourth in the preseason national poll, continued to make strides and earned his first NCAA All-America honor in 2022 with an eighth-place finish at the National Tournament.  Smith, a First-Team All-PSAC choice last year, placed third at the Super Region I Tournament to earn his spot at Nationals.  He closed out his junior season with a 22-7 overall record and a 12-2 record in dual meets.  Red-shirt sophomore Colby Keane, red-shirt freshmen Kyler Crawford, a former three-time Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier, and Cooper Warshel, a Pennsylvania State Place-Winner, will also compete for mat time.
  2019 Pennsylvania State seventh-place finisher Dillon Keane made his second year as a starter a good one by winning his first NCAA Super Region I Championship and earning a spot in the Division II National Tournament.  Keane, ranked 12^th in the NWCA Preseason Poll, posted a 22-3 overall record and a 14-0 dual meet record and was named First-Team All-PSAC and an NWCA Scholar All-American.  Red-shirt junior Jacob Burgette, who has starting experience in several weight classes, could push Keane for time on the mat this season.  Burgette, a former PIAA AAA State Place-Winner, could also wrestle at 174 lbs. Red-shirt sophomore Sage Parsley, a goalkeeper on the Pitt-Johnstown soccer team, will also look to see time at 165 lbs.  A freshman in this weight class is Bryant Green, a PIAA AA seventh-place State finisher.
  With three-time All-American and four-time NCAA National Qualifier Brock Biddle expected to move up to 184 lbs., 2021-22 starter at 184 lbs., Alex Weber, will drop to 174 lbs.  Weber, a 2019 Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier, took over the starting spot at 184 midway through last season and placed fifth at the Super Region I Tournament.  Burgette, who can wrestle at both 165 and 174 lbs., and Charlie Beatty could push Weber, while red-shirt freshmen Jacob Sabol), a two-time Pennsylvania AA State Qualifier and Tony Salopek, a Pennsylvania Regional Qualifier and the son of former Mountain Cat letterman Tony Salopek, will also compete in this weight class.
  Biddle, ranked 12^th in the preseason poll, will move back to 184 lbs. after one season at 174 lbs.  Biddle finished his red-shirt junior season with a 25-6 overall record, an 11-2 dual meet record, and his fourth consecutive trip to the National Tournament.  The Third-Team All-PSAC selection and NWCA Scholar All-American, placed third at both the Midwest Classic and Super Region I Tournament.  Biddle's 11 wins by technical fall paced the Mountain Cats and his eight falls tied for the team lead. Will Small (Lancaster, Pa/Donegal HS) gained experience as a red-shirt freshman in 2021-22, while red-shirt junior Brock Moore will battle to get on the mat.  A freshman in this weight class is Noah Gnibus, a Pennsylvania State Qualifier.
  After placing third at the 2021 Super Region I Tournament as a true freshman, Dakoda Rodgers remained the starter at 197 lbs. for the second straight year.   Rodgers went 19-8 overall and 9-4 in dual meets on his way to a fifth-place finish at the Super Region I Tournament.  Red-shirt senior Brock Leinbach and red-shirt freshman Ty Broadway, a 2021 Maryland State Champion, are also in this weight class. 
  Junior Oggie Atwood, ranked 11^th, and sophomore Isaiah Vance will compete for the second consecutive year for the starting spot at 285 lbs.  Atwood, who transferred to Pitt-Johnstown from Mount Alive (NC) College, is a former Pennsylvania PIAA AAA State Place-Winner., while Vance earned fourth, second, and third-place finishes at the PIAA AAA State Tournament.  Vance began the 2021-22 season as the starter until an injury ended his season.  Atwood stepped in and was 14-4 overall and 9-2 in dual meets with eight falls.  Atwood just missed advancing to the National Tournament with a fourth-place finish at the regional tournament.  Red-shirt freshman Eric Gamble is also in this weight class.  A freshman in this weight class is Maryland State Champion Justin Briscoe.