Pittsburgh Panthers wrestling

Pittsburgh Panthers wrestling
University University of Pittsburgh
Head Coach Keith Gavin (1st season)
Conference ACC
Location Pittsburgh, PA
Arena Fitzgerald Field House
(Capacity: 4,122)
Nickname Panthers
Colors Blue and Gold[1]
         
NCAA individual champions
16
All-Americans
76
Conference championships
2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Conference Tournament championships
1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 2011, 2012, 2013

Pittsburgh Panthers wrestling is the NCAA Division I intercollegiate wrestling program of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pitt wrestling team competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and hosts home meets at Fitzgerald Field House on the campus of the school. Since the Pitt wrestling program began in the 1912–1913 school year, it has produced 16 individual national champions and 76 All-American selections. The head coach of the Panthers since 2013 is Jason Peters.

History

The 1914–1915 Pitt wrestling team included All-American football star and future legendary Pitt head football coach Jock Sutherland (top row, second from right)

Wrestling at Pitt began in the 1912–1913 school year[2] and eventually became one of the most tradition-rich sports at the University. Pitt's wrestling program boasts 16 individual NCAA national champions, the 15th most among all schools,[3] and 75 All-Americans throughout the program's history.[4] Pitt's all-time dual meet record, through the 2013–14 season, is 535-396-19 (0.573).

The school's most prominent years were the during the era the program was directed by head coach Rex Peery. During this stretch from 1952 until 1963, the team never finished lower than 9th at the NCAA Championship, placing second both in 1954 and when hosting the NCAA Championship at Fitzgerald Field House in 1957.[5] Peery coached 13 individual national champions and twice during this span, in 1956 and 1957, the Panthers boasted five All-Americans in one season. Pitt also won the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association tournament in 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1960.

The wrestling room in Fitzgerald Field House

Between 1979 and 2013, Pitt's wrestling team was under the leadership of head coach Rande Stottlemyer, a three time All-American wrestler for Pitt in 1974, 1975, and 1978 and a five-time Coach of the Year (1986–87, 1989–90, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2011–12) in the Eastern Wrestling League, the wrestling conference Pitt competed in between 1976 and 2013.[6] Under his direction, Pitt produced 56 EWL individual EWL champions, 33 All-Americans, and 3 individual National Champions including Pat Santoro, a back-to-back champion at 142 lbs, and the 2008 champion at 174 lbs, Keith Gavin. In 2010, Stottlemyer guided Pitt to a school record 17 dual meet wins and an overall 17-1-1 record en route to the team capturing the Panthers' first-ever EWL dual-meet championship.[7] In 2011 and 2012, Pitt repeated as dual meet champions with 6-0 EWL records in each season.[8][9] Pitt went on to win its first EWL tournament team title in 2011[10] and repeated as EWL tournament champions in 2012[11] and 2013, Pitt's final year in the conference and Stottlemyer's final season as head coach.[12] Following the 2012–13 season, Stottlemyer retired after 34 years as Pitt's all-time winningest wrestling coach with a record of 304-230-12.[13]

Pitt moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013–14 season[14] with Jason Peters, an assistant under Stottleymyer for ten seasons, taking over as head coach until 2017.[13] In its first year of ACC competition, the wrestling team swept through its conference dual meet schedule with a perfect 6–0 record to capture the university's first regular season ACC title in any sport. Keith Gavin, a former national champion at 174lbs during his time at Pitt, is the current head coach.

NCAA Championship results

Pitt wrestling has scored points in 64 NCAA Division I Championships over the years, finishing as high as second place twice and in the top ten 13 times.[15]

Pitt wrestling's NCAA Division I Championship results
Year Finish AAs NCs
19529th-t11
19536th31
19542nd32
19553rd31
19563rd42
19572nd53
19589th21
19595th3
19608th1
19615th31
19626th-t2
19634th-t41
196427th-t 
196545th-t 
196645th-t 
196852nd-t 
Year Finish AAs NCs
196928th1
19708th2
197135th-t 
197266th 
197348th-t 
197418th2
197530th-t1
197637th-t 
197743rd-t 
197820th1
197955th-t 
198244th-t 
198355th-t 
198425th-t1
198564th-t 
198625th2
Year Finish AAs NCs
198715th1
198815th11
198913th11
199044th 
199127th2
199219th-t1
199330th-t1
199424th-t1
199526th2
199624th2
199718th2
199820th3
199937th-t 
200018th2
200125th-t 
200245th-t 
Year Finish AAs NCs
200319th-t1
200438th-t 
200529th1
200635th 
200720th2
200816th11
200938th1
201026th1
201134th 
201215th2
201315th-t2
201422nd1
201521st1
201639th-t
201732nd-t
201831st-t
AAs=All-Americans; NCs=Individual National Champions. t=team tied for place in final standings.   Refs:[15][16]

Individual national champions

Pat Santoro was a four-time All-American and two-time national champion at 142 pounds

Pitt wrestlers have won individual NCAA national championships 16 different times in various weight classes. All-time, Pitt has the 13th most individual NCAA champion wrestlers among all Division I schools.[17]

  • Hugh Peery, 115 lbs (1952, 1953, 1954)
  • Joe Solomon, 167 lbs (1954)
  • Ed Peery, 123 lbs (1955, 1956, 1957)
  • Ed DeWitt, 167 lbs (1956)
  • Tom Alberts, 167 lbs (1957)
  • Ron Schirf, 191 lbs (1957)
  • Paul Powell, 123 lbs (1958)
  • Larry Lauchle, 130 lbs (1961)
  • Jim Harrison, 167 lbs (1963)
  • Pat Santoro, 142 lbs (1988, 1989)
  • Keith Gavin, 174 lbs (2008)

Hall of Fame

Pitt has three individuals inducted as Distinguished Members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a wrestler or a coach.

  • Rex Peery, coach, inducted 1976[18]
  • Ed Peery, wrestler, inducted 1980[19]
  • Hugh Peery, wrestler, inducted 1980[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Licensing and Merchandising: Licensing at Pitt". Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  2. ↑ "The Owl (1914): the annual of the University of Pittsburgh". Documenting Pitt: Owl Yearbooks: Digital Research Library, University of Pittsburgh. 1914: 294. Retrieved March 26, 2008.
  3. ↑ "NCAA Wrestling Champions By School 1928–2009" (PDF). Wrestlingstats.com. May 1, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  4. ↑ "Wilps Repeats As All-American". PittsburghPanthers.com. March 20, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Champion Stats: University of Pittsburgh". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
  6. ↑ "Rande Stottlemyer Named EWL Coach of the Year". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2012-03-22. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  7. ↑ "Pitt's Rande Stottlemyer Named EWL Coach of the Year". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2010-03-24. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  8. ↑ "Pitt Wrestling Outlasts Edinboro, 19-16, Claims Back-To-Back EWL Dual Titles". PittsburghPanthers.com. 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  9. ↑ Wunderley, Ken (2012-02-18). "Pitt captures third Eastern Wrestling League crown in a row". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Tri-State Sports & News Service. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  10. ↑ Cohn, Bob (2012-01-25). "Pitt wrestlers are reaching rarefied heights". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
  11. ↑ Mackey, Jason (2012-03-05). "Pitt senior wrestler completes EWL sweep". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  12. ↑ Brown, Scott (March 9, 2013). "Pitt claims EWL title, Wilps wins 3rd crown". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Zeise, Paul (April 9, 2013). "Longtime Pitt wrestling coach to retire after 34 years". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  14. ↑ Fittipaldo, Ray (July 18, 2012). "Pitt's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference is now official". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  15. 1 2 Official NCAA Division I Wrestling All-Time Championship Records and Results (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. pp. 13–17. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  16. ↑ Pancoe, Paul, ed. (2008). 2008–09 Pitt Wrestling Media Guide. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Media Relations Department. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  17. ↑ Official NCAA Division I Wrestling All-Time Championship Records and Results (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. p. 5. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  18. ↑ "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum Offers a Historical View of Wrestling: Rex Peery". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  19. ↑ "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum Offers a Historical View of Wrestling: Ed Peery". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  20. ↑ "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Museum Offers a Historical View of Wrestling: Hugh Peery". National Wrestling Hall of Fame. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
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