Pitt-Johnstown’s Pat Pecora will be inducted into hall of fame.
Pitt-Johnstown wrestling coach Pat Pecora will join his seventh hall of fame on Saturday, April 23, 2016 when the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inducts him and 11 others at the Sheraton Hotel Pittsburgh at Station Square.
Pecora is part of a class that includes, Dante Calabria, Wayne DiBartola, Rooster Fleming, Bob Miller, Bill Muir, Tim O’Malley, Bob Shearer, Tom Stabile, J.T. Thomas, Art Tragesser and Mike White.
“It’s a pretty impressive group,” Pecora said. “It’s a prestigious hall of fame.”
In 1994, Pecora was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame-East Boro Chapter, and in 1998, he was inducted into both the Cambria County Sports and the West Liberty State (W.Va.) College Halls of Fame. In March 2001, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, and, in 2003, he earned induction into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. In April 2015, he earned induction into the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame and in April 2016, he joined the Western Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Pecora, who also has doubled as Pitt-Johnstown’s athletic director since July 2008, took over the Mountain Cats wrestling program in 1976. In 40 years, his teams have captured 21 NCAA regional championships, including five straight from 2003 through 2007 and 10 in a row from 1992 through 2001. Pecora has been selected as the NCAA regional coach of the year 16 times. His squads have won a pair of NCAA Division II national championships and have 32 Top-20 national finishes, 21 Top-10 finishes, and five Top-5 finishes.
They have combined to win 49 team tournaments and 555 dual meets. Pecora has tutored 143 All-Americans and 12 individual national champions who have combined for 19 titles, including Shane Valko, the 2010 National Wrestler of the Year. Academically, his teams led the nation in NWCA All-Academic Wrestling Team selections from 1997 through 2000. Since 1990, Pecora has coached more than 100 NWCA All-Academic Wrestling Team members.
In 1996 and 1999, his teams captured the NCAA Division II national championship, the first and second in school history. In 1995 and 1999, Pecora was named the Division II coach of the year. Also in 1999, he received the National Wrestling Coaches Association Coaching Excellence Award, given to the best coach in all divisions. Pecora also coached the national all-star team, which showcased the best wrestlers in the nation from all divisions.
On Feb. 14, 2012, Pecora became the first in NCAA Division II history and just the sixth in all divisions to earn 500 career dual-meet victories when his Mountain Cats defeated Shippensburg University, 39-3. Pecora’s 555 wins rank third all time and first among active coaches in all levels of collegiate wrestling. His teams have averaged nearly 14 dual meet victories each year.
Pecora, who earned the 2008 United States Marine Corps Excellence in Leadership Award, is the Division II Representative for the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), a duty previously held for 10 years. Pecora, a member of the NWCA Board of Directors, was also the president of that organization for two terms.
Pecora and his wife Tracy have four children: Cristina, Marco, Marina and Nico.