Pat Pecora has coached many talented wrestlers in his legendary career at Pitt-Johnstown. All-Americans. National champions.

But there’s only one Carlton Haselrig. Pecora calls him “the greatest heavyweight of all time,” and there’s not a lot of hyperbole in Pecora’s assertion. Haselrig won three NCAA Division II titles and three Division I titles. He lost only two of 146 collegiate matches (with one draw) and was 15-0 in the Division I national tournament.

Pecora said wrestling never will see the likes of Haselrig again.

But among his current stable of wrestlers is a heavyweight Pecora said is “the closest thing we’re going to get” to Haselrig at UPJ. That would be junior Isaiah Vance.

The Hempfield grad is having a breakout season, sitting at 24-1 and ranked seventh nationally by Intermat. His 14 victories by fall rank No. 2 in Division II.

While flattered by Pecora’s statement, Vance said he has no illusions about reaching Haselrig’s stratosphere.

“I can’t be Carlton Haselrig,” he said. “I just have to be the best version of me I can be. I think that’s what really set me apart is when I started feeling good about myself. Because if I know I can be the best I can be, I’m happy at the end of the day.”

Vance has plenty to feel good about right now. That includes a title at the Midwest Classic held in December in Indianapolis. Vance, seeded third at heavyweight, won all six of his matches, including two by fall.

In the final, he routed Chadron State’s Mason Watt, 8-1.

“He was just crushing people,” Pecora said.

But the road to get to this point has been bumpy for the affable Vance. During his freshman year, just as he was getting adjusted to college competition, he suffered a knee injury — at the Midwest Classic, no less — that ended his season.

That led to more than six months of rehab and recovery. When he returned for his sophomore season, Vance said he felt like he was starting from scratch.

“I knew it was going to take a lot of dedication and determination,” he said. “So I decided I just have to step up my game. I just added more workouts, got help from more people. My coaches and teammates helped me to get back to where I was.”

Back at the Midwest Classic in December 2022, Vance felt like all of his hard work had paid off. He finished fourth and, later in the season, qualified for the NCAA championships for the first time.

Vance went 0-2 at NCAAs and made an early exit. But that, he said, gave him a taste of what he might be able to accomplish. So this past offseason, he dedicated himself to his craft even more fervently.

His grandfather, Michael Kirkland, also had been a wrestler at Hempfield, and Vance said the two of them worked out all summer. They dissected video of Vance’s matches, trying to pick out any minutiae that could make a difference.

Back in the wrestling room at Pitt-Johnstown, Vance buckled down with Pecora and his teammates.

“You know high school heavyweights,” Pecora said. “They’re pushing and shoving. I think he’s learning how to leg attack a lot better. … He’s able to attack both sides. He’s hand-fighting a lot better.

“On the bottom, he’s always been explosive and could get off the bottom. I think the area of his biggest development is on top. He’s getting real good pinning combinations and keeping these big guys down.”

Vance also credited his practice partners for helping him develop. In addition to going one-on-one with fellow Mountain Cat heavyweights Ogden Atwood and Michael Mazurek, he faces lighter opponents, even 125-pounder Trevon Gray, to help with speed.

Slowly, Vance began to see the results of his work. But the real breakthrough, Pecora said, was at the Midwest Classic.

“The confidence thing hit him,” Pecora said. “He finally realized how capable he is of dominating. He is rare. You don’t see a lot of heavyweights who have the physical tools that he has.

“He walks different now, I tell people. His chest is out when he walks, and he has turned into a real leader in the room.”

Vance, unprompted by Pecora’s remark, also has noticed a difference how he carries himself.

“(The Midwest Classic) was huge,” he said. “It put in my perspective that I am able to compete with these guys all the time. And I can out-compete them, too. Now I walk around like I can do that. It has really been impactful in my everyday life, not just wrestling, but outside, too.”

With the dual-meet season concluded, Vance and the rest of the Mountain Cats turn their attention to the NCAA Super Regionals, which open March 2 in Kutztown. Vance and his teammates will be vying for spots in the Division II national tournament, scheduled for March 15 and 16 in Wichita, Kan.

Vance, understandably, was not pleased by his performance at NCAAs last winter, so he is focused on a better showing this time. Pecora said he believes Vance has the makings of a future national champion.

“You don’t want to get ahead of yourself, but as a coach, I’m always looking for every wrestler to accomplish as high as they can accomplish,” Pecora said. “And with him, yeah, no doubt that’s what you think about.”

Vance said he thinks about it, too. Because of his injury, he received a medical redshirt and has two more years of eligibility after this, so even though he might not be Carlton Haselrig, he could achieve the same national champion status.

“I dream about it a lot,” Vance said. “Sometimes I can’t even get to sleep. I’ll be lying in my bed thinking about it. … I’m just too excited.”

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