Of the 20 incoming recruits, eight are Pennsylvania State Place winners, while five others qualified for the State Tournament and seven others were Regional qualifiers.
"This could be one of our best recruiting classes in the 31 years I've been at Pitt Johnstown," Coach Pecora said. "It has both quality and quantity."
Heading this year's recruiting class are State Champions Moore and Leitzel. Moore, who represented Pennsylvania in this year's PA vs. USA Dapper Dan Wrestling Tournament, posted a 36-1 record as a senior on his way to winning the 2007 state title at 160 lbs. Moore wrapped up his high school career with a 146-14 overall record. Leitzel, the 2006 PA State Champion at 140 lbs. and a third place finisher in 2007, had a 46-1 record and claimed the title at the North West Regional Tournament en route to his state title. Leitzel finished his high school career with a 156-13 overall record.
Pitt Johnstown also signed a pair of State runner-ups in Myers and Link. Myers, a two-time State runner-up at 119 lbs., was 38-2 as a senior, while Link finished second in the state at 130 lbs. with a 45-4 record in 2006-07.
In addition, four other 2005 PA State place winners signed with Pitt Johnstown. McGuffey High School's Matt Scherich (West Finley, Pa.) was the AAA Southwest Regional Runner-up and placed fourth at the state tournament at 125 lbs. Scherich recorded a 37-6 record as a senior. Jon Moore (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area H.S.), whose brother Jordan is also in this year's recruiting class, placed sixth at the states at 189 lbs. after earning the AAA Southwest Regional title. Scherich was 34-9 in 2006-07 and 73-27 in his career. The Mountain Cats also signed Zach Lungren (Dubois, Pa./Dubois Area H.S.) and Brock Leitzel (Ridgway, Pa./Ridgway H.S.), pair of eighth place finishers. Lungren, who was 36-8 as a senior, was the AAA Northwest Regional Runner-up at 160 lbs., while Leitzel, the cousin of Nikko Leitzel, finished third at the AA Northwest Regional tournament. Leitzel wrapped up the 2006-07 season with a 43-5 record.
Coach Pecora also added five PA State Qualifiers. Damian Majocha (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell H.S.), the brother of former Mountain Cat heavyweight Zach Majocha, had a 42-7 record on his way to winning the Southwest Regional title at 171 lbs., Penn Cambria High School's Paul Myers (Cresson, Pa.) placed fourth at the Southwest Regional Tournament at 125 lbs. Myers had a 40-11 record as a senior. Other State Qualifiers include: Jason Kylor (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area H.S.), Phil Slaugh (Hanover, Pa./Hanover H.S.) and Bobby Wolford (Falling Waters, Pa./Mercersburg Academy). Kylor finished third at the Southwest Regional tournament at 189 lbs., while Slaugh placed fourth at the Southeast Regional Tournament at 160 lbs. Wolford was a three-time PA State Prep School Place winner.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now