The 2023-24 season should be another good one for Head Coach Pat Pecora and his Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cats.  Pitt-Johnstown returns eight starters, including three-time NCAA Division II All-American Jacob Ealy (149 lbs.) (Aliquippa, Pa.) and NCAA National Qualifiers Trevon Gray (125 lbs.) (Chesapeake, VA), Byron Daubert (Summerhill, Pa.), Dillon Keane (165 lbs.) (Bradford, Pa.), Dakoda Rodgers (197 lbs.) (Acme, Pa.), and Isaiah Vance (285 lbs.) (New Stanton, Pa.).

In addition, The Mountain Cats also have starting experience at 141 lbs. in Mason Myers (York, Pa.) and at 174 lbs. in Alex Weber.

With the graduation of All-Americans Nate Smith (157 lbs.) and Brock Biddle (184 lbs.), Pitt-Johnstown will have a pair of new starters.  At 157 lbs., red-shirt junior Colby Keane (Bradford, Pa.) and red-shirt sophomores Kyler Crawford (Milton, Pa.), and Cooper Warshel (Johnstown, Pa.) will battle it out, while junior Will Small (Marietta, Pa.) and red-shirt freshman Noah Gnibus (Mount Pleasant, Pa.) will compete to take over the job at 184 lbs.

Coach Pecora, who leads all of college wrestling with 646 career dual meet victories, college wrestling's all-time leader in dual, and his squad are ranked 14^th in the 2023-24 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Preseason National Poll.

Four Mountain Cats are individually ranked led by Ealy, who is third at 149 lbs.  In addition, Gray (125 lbs.) and Vance (285 lbs.) are both seventh and Rodgers is ninth at 197 lbs.
          Red-shirt sophomore Trevon Gray, ranked seventh in the NWCA Preseason Poll, returns to the starting spot at 125 lbs. after winning a NCAA Super Region I title and advancing to the National Tournament in his first year of collegiate wrestling.  Gray, a First-Team All-PSAC selection, posted a 22-6 overall record and a 14-1 mark in dual meets in 2022-23.  Freshmen in this weight class include: PIAA AA sixth-place finisher Mason McLendon (Duncannon, Pa.), two-time Michigan State place-winner Trennen Smith (Lakeview, MI), and Pennsylvania Regional place-winners Connor Demcher (Pottsville, Pa.) and Arontay Heningcamp (Monroeville, Pa.).
      2022-23 NCAA National Qualifier Byron Daubert is expected to reclaim the starting job at 133 lbs.  Daubert, who finished third at the Super Region I Tournament, got stronger as the season progressed and ended his red-shirt sophomore season at 10-11 overall and 3-5 in dual meets while sharing starting duties in this weight class.  Daubert could be pushed for the starting job by two-time PIAA AAA State-Place winner Chad Ozias (Connellsville, Pa.), who will make his Mountain Cat debut after red-shirting as a true freshman a year ago.  Freshmen in this weight class include:  2023 PIAA AAA eighth-place finisher Gabriel Ruggieri (Connellsville, Pa.) and two-time Ohio State Qualifier Rahul Raghuram (Dublin, OH).
          After gaining valuable experience in his first two seasons at both 125 and 133 lbs., red-shirt junior Mason Myers is in line to take over the starting spot at 141 lbs. following the graduation of two-time NCAA National Qualifier Caleb Morris.  Myers red-shirted last season and will move up a weight class.  Also in the mix at 141 lbs. is red-shirt freshman and former PIAA AAA Section place-winner Braxton Rice (Spring Grove, Pa.).  Freshmen in this weight class include: 2023 PIAA AAA State Qualifier Nate Stone (Connellsville, Pa.) and 2023 Ohio State place-winner Evan Wilcox (Germantown, OH).
          Jacob Ealy, a three-time NCAA All-American and the top-ranked wrestler at 149 lbs. for nearly the entire 2022-23 season, returns for his senior season and one final shot at a national championship.  Ealy, currently ranked third nationally, claimed his third NCAA Super Region I title and placed fifth at the NCAA National Tournament last season.  The three-time First-Team All-PSAC selection and the conference wrestler of the week on Dec. 20, won a championship at the Midwest Classic and led the team with a 29-2 overall record and a 15-2 record in dual meets.  Ealy enters this season 17 wins shy of becoming Pitt-Johnstown's 27^th wrestler to reach 100 career victories.  Freshmen in this weight class include: two-time PIAA AAA State Qualifier Carter Weaver (Williamsport, Pa.) and PIAA Regional place-winner Chad Jesko (Dunbar, Pa.).
          Coach Pecora will be looking for a new starter at 157 lbs. with the graduation of All-American Nate Smith.  Three Mountain are likely to battle for the job, including red-shirt junior Colby Keane and red-shirt sophomores Kyler Crawford, and Cooper Warshel.  Keane and Crawford each saw some action last year, while Warshall took a red-shirt after transferring from the University of Pittsburgh.  A freshman in this weight class is 2023 PIAA AAA sixth-place finisher Gavyn Beck (Murrysville, Pa.).
          At 165 lbs., 2021-22 NCAA National Qualifier Dillon Keane returns for his junior season and his third straight season as a starter.  Last season, Keane went 19-7 overall and 13-2 in dual meets, but came up a bit short of his second straight NCAA National Tournament appearance by placing fifth at the Super Region I Tournament.  Red-shirt junior Sage Parsley (Greensburg, Pa.), who also doubles as a goalkeeper on the Mountain Cat men's soccer team, will also look to see time on the mat this season.  A freshman in this weight class is 2023 PIAA AA State Qualifier Jimmy Spindler (Pittston Township, Pa.).
          Senior Alex Weber (Jefferson Hills, Pa.), who took over the starting spot at 174 lbs. last season after dropping down a weight class from 184 lbs., is coming off of a strong year that saw him post a 13-5 overall record and a 9-2 mark in dual meets.  Weber, a Third-Team All-PSAC selection, will look to advance to his first NCAA Tournament after placing sixth at the regional tournament in 2023.  Red-shirt sophomores Tony Salopek (Munhall, Pa.) and Jacob Sabol (Johnstown, Pa.) will also see action in this weight class in 2023-24.  Salopek was 6-0 overall and 2-0 in dual meets in spot starting time.  Red-shirt freshman and 2021-22 PIAA AA State seventh-place finisher Bryant Green (Towanda, Pa.) will make his Pitt-Johnstown debut.
          With the graduation of five-time NCAA National Qualifier and three-time All-American Brock Biddle, the 184-lb. weight class will have a new starter this season.  Junior Will Small and red-shirt freshman Noah Gnibus are expected to compete to take over the starting job.  Small saw limited action over his first two seasons as a Mountain Cat, while Gnibus, a former PIAA State Qualifier, will make his collegiate debut.  Freshmen in this weight class include:  Teague Conover (Abbottstown, Pa.), a 2023 PIAA AAA State qualifier and the son of former Pitt-Johnstown National Qualifier Tyke Conove, and Maryland Regional Champion Jinan Khan (Columbia, MD).
      2022-23 NCAA National Qualifier and Third-Team All-PSAC honoree Dakoda Rodgers is back in the starting lineup at 197 lbs. as a junior.  Rodgers, who won the starting job last year and is currently ranked ninth nationally, was 23-10 overall and 13-3 in dual meets on his way to placing third at the NCAA Super Region I Tournament.  Rodgers also finished eighth at the Midwest Classic.  Red-shirt sophomore and two-time Maryland State Qualifier Ty Broadway (Glen Burnie, MD) and red-shirt freshman former Maryland State Champion Justin Briscoe (Woodlawn, MD) are also expected to battle for mat-time.  A freshman in this weight class is 2023 PIAA AAA State eight-place finisher Owen Ott (Irwin, Pa.).
          At 285 lbs., Coach Pecora welcomes back a pair of talented and experienced wrestlers in 2023 NCAA National Qualifier and seventh-ranked Isaiah Vance and Oggie Atwood (Kittanning, Pa.).  Vance, a Second-Team All-PSAC choice as a sophomore, was 20-4 overall, 10-1 in dual meets, and led the Mountain Cats with 14 wins by fall.  Vance was the Super Region I Runner-up and placed fourth at the Midwest Classic.  Atwood, a senior who shared the starting duties with Vance last season, was 5-2 overall and 3-1 in dual meets.  A freshman in this weight class is two-time PIAA AAA State Qualifier Michael Mazurek (Sharon, Pa.).
 
 
        Pitt-Johnstown opens the 2023-24 season at second-ranked West Liberty (WV) University on Thursday, before traveling to the Journeymen Classic on Nov. 12.  The Mountain Cats will then make their home debut and open PSAC action against East Stroudsburg on Nov. 15 in the Sports Center.