The story behind college wrestling's winningest coach, Pat Pecora (Part 1)

Coach Pat Pecora took over as the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 1976. The program was in its third year and Pecora was a 20-something wet-behind-the-ears college graduate looking to teach and coach. On February 7, Pitt-Johnstown defeated Mercyhurst 22-12, giving Pecora his 617th all-time dual meet victory, breaking the mark set by former Oregon State coach Dale Thomas. Since the win, Pecora’s added win No. 618 as the Mountain Cats head into the 2019-20 postseason. In the first part of this two-part interview with Coach Pat Pecora, college wrestling’s winningest coach in history, he’ll out line his origin story in the sport and the development of the UPJ program and coaching one of the sport’s greats, Carlton Haselrig. He’ll also talk about the old way of qualifying for the Division I tournament from Division II and Division III. 7in7 NCAA Kickoff PartyWe’d like to let our listeners know about an NCAA Kickoff Party called “7 in 7” that will be co-hosted by Trackwrestling and JROB Intensive Wrestling Camps on Wednesday, March 18 at The Barn at Cowboy Jack's in Downtown Minneapolis. Emceed by Big Ten Network commentator Shane Sparks, the event will feature 7-minute interviews with 7 high-profile guests from the wrestling community. Dan Gable is the first booked guest, and more will be announced soon. Tickets are $15, and proceeds from the event will be donated to TakeDown Cancer. A limited number of tickets are available, so visit 7in7party.com soon to reserve your spot. If you'd like to SUPPORT THE SHOW and all the on-demand audio offerings, free newsletters and historical research AND you want to get some of that cool Compound gear, you can support this program by making a small monthly contribution to the network by following this link.. SUBSCRIBE TO ROKFIN, HELP THE NETWORKSubscribe to Rokfin, a content-creator driven news outlet with exclusive and dynamic content and know your subscription revenue goes to help the independent content creators, like Mat Talk Online. Sign up and endorse @mattalkonline at Rokfin.com/mattalkonline. The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear. And if you haven't already, leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts. SUBSCRIBE TO SHORT TIMEApple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | Google Podcasts | Spotify | iOS App | Android App | RSSWant an ad-free version of the show AND the best in wrestling news from around the world? Sign up for the Daily Wrestling Newsletter presented by Resilite on Substack at https://www.mattalkonline.com/news Links to FollowJoin the Discord: https://www.mattalkonline.com/discordDaily Wrestling Newsletter: https://www.mattalkonline.com/newsContribute: https://www.mattalkonline.com/contributePatreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattalkonline The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear: https://www.mattalkonline.com/compound Quick Subscribe: https://www.Podfollow.com/shorttime