Following an inaugural season highlighted by the program's first NCAA All-American, Pitt-Johnstown women's wrestling enters 2026–27 with a deeper roster and an opportunity to build on its early success.
 
Pitt-Johnstown finished its first season with a 2–2 dual-meet record and placed eighth in an 18-team field at the NCAA Regional Tournament with 51.0 points despite competing with only half a lineup. Makayla Paclib (131 lbs.) led the way with a third-place finish, while Rome Alvarez (124 lbs.) and Tamara Humphries (117 lbs.) each placed 5^th and Emma Hoppe (145 lbs.) finished 6^th.
 
Pitt-Johnstown tied for 32^nd in the team standings at the NCAA Nationals with 4.0 points.
 
Ranked No. 6 at 131 pounds, Paclib finished 26-6 overall and 3-0 in dual meets, with a team-high 13 technical falls, six pins, five decisions and two wins by default or forfeit. She won titles at the Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) Open and the Pennsylvania Collegiate Tournament, was runner-up at the East Stroudsburg, Wilkes and Ursinus opens, and placed third at the regional. Paclib capped the historic debut season by placing eighth at the NCAA Championships, becoming Pitt-Johnstown's first NCAA women's wrestling All-American in the program's first year.  She returns as the projected starter at 131 lbs. and provides an accomplished presence in a lineup that combines returning regional place winners with incoming state champions and state medalists.
 
Alvarez, a U-23 Puerto Rico champion, projects to start at 124 pounds after her fifth-place regional finish. Alvarez went 22-13 overall and 2-2 in duals last season, with eight decisions, seven technical falls and seven pins, placing second at the Pennsylvania Collegiate Tournament and fifth at the Ursinus Open.

Hoppe is listed as the projected starter at either 145 or 160 pounds following her sixth-place regional performance. Ranked No. 20 at 145 pounds, Hoppe finished 24-7 overall and 3-0 in duals, and her 14 pins led the team; 20 of her 24 wins came by fall or technical fall. She won the Baldwin Wallace Open and Pennsylvania Collegiate Tournament titles, was runner-up at the Wilkes Open and placed third at the Ursinus Open.
 
Several other returners add experience. Emma Cunningham (124 lbs.) went 7-4 overall and 2-0 in duals, with six technical falls among her seven wins, and placed fourth at the Baldwin Wallace Open.  Janayah Nobles (138 lbs.) went 6-4 overall and 2-0 in duals. Isabella Taranto (3-11, 2-1 in duals, 131 lbs. last season) and Leah Shoemaker (3-12, 117 lbs.) also return.
 
The lower weights feature Kristen Walzer, a three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner, at 103 pounds; Hawaii state champion Stacallen Mahoe at 110; and three-time Hawaii state place-winner Chaela Gantala at 117. Three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner Nobles projects to start at 138 pounds.
 
Reise Roach, a Texas native transferring from Frostburg State (MD) University, is projected at 180 pounds, while two-time Pennsylvania state runner-up Zoey Murphy rounds out the projected starting lineup at heavyweight.
 
Pitt-Johnstown opens the 2026–27 season Saturday, Nov. 7, at the University of Mount Olive (N.C.) Women's Trojan Open, an all-day event. The team's second event is its home opener Friday, Nov. 13, when it hosts East Stroudsburg University in a PSAC match; the start time is to be announced.
 
Added depth across several weight classes will give Pitt-Johnstown more options throughout the season. With an NCAA All-American returning, experienced regional competitors and a larger group of accomplished newcomers, the program will look to turn the milestones of its first season into continued progress in year two.
 
After the Nov. 13 home opener against East Stroudsburg, the home schedule continues with a doubleheader alongside the men's team against Lackawanna College on Jan. 16, followed by PSAC matches against Gannon University on Jan. 28 and Lock Haven on Feb. 4. The season builds toward the NCAA Super Region II Championships at Lehigh on Feb. 19–20 and the NCAA National Championships in Coralville, Iowa, on March 5–6.
 
2026–27 Projected Lineup
Projected starters appear in bold. 2025-26 overall records for returning wrestlers appear in parentheses.
 
103 lbs.    Kristen Walzer — Three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner 
110 lbs.    Stacallen Mahoe — Hawaii state champion
117 lbs.     Chaela Gantala — Three-time Hawaii state place-winner; Leah Shoemaker (3-12)
124 lbs.    Rome Alvarez (22-13) — U-23 Puerto Rico champion, fifth at NCAA regional; Emma Cunningham (7-4), Sadie Sarver
131 lbs.    Makayla Paclib (26-6) — 2026 NCAA All-American; Saphia Davis — Three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner; Isabella Taranto (3-11)
138 lbs.    Janayah Nobles (6-4) — Three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner; Sayona Harris-Haye — Pennsylvania state runner-up; Maggie Alfera — Pennsylvania state place-winner
145 lbs.    Emma Hoppe (24-7) — Sixth at NCAA regional; Ava Golding — Three-time Pennsylvania state place-winner and state runner-up; Bianca Hart — Four-time Alabama state place-winner and two-time state runner-up
160 lbs.    Ava Golding; Reise Roach; Bianca Hart
180 lbs.    Reise Roach — Transfer from Frostburg State University; Texas native
HWT.        Zoey Murphy — Two-time Pennsylvania state runner-up