Stottlemyer to be enshrined in Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame

Aug. 12—University of Pittsburgh Director of Athletics Heather Lyke announced the 2022 Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame induction class on Thursday.

The 12-member group, which represents nine different sports, includes Hickory High graduate and Mercer County Hall of Famer Rande Stottlemyer.

Stottlemyer was one of the greatest wrestlers developed in Mercer County, who became one of the top collegiate coaches in the country at Pitt.

At Hickory, he never lost a dual meet in four years and was the only three-time District 10 champion in school history. He lost in the state finals his senior year.

During his high school years, he was a two-time National Junior Freestyle Champion and featured in an article in Wrestling USA Magazine. He won numerous independent tournaments as well.

Stottlemyer's association with Pitt wrestling spanned nearly four decades. He was a three-time All-American for the Panthers from 1974-78, compiling a career record of 68-16-2 and winning the 1976 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) 134-pound title.

Following his 1978 graduation from the university, Stottlemyer served Pitt as an assistant coach for one year before taking over as head coach in 1979. He led the Panthers for 34 seasons and retired in 2013 as the winningest coach in program history (304-231-12).

Stottlemyer produced 56 EWL individual champions, 33 All-Americans and three national champions. He was selected the EWL Coach of the Year five times.

His final four years as Pitt's head coach ranked among the program's finest. During that span, the Panthers won three EWL regular-season championships (2010, 2011, 2012) and three EWL Tournament titles (2011, 2012, 2013).

Pitt placed 15th in the nation in each of his final two seasons as head coach. Stottlemyer's many Hall of Fame recognitions include selection to the EWL Hall of Fame, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.

Stottlemyer, who was enshrined in the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 2013, died in Jan. 2018.

The other inductees: Keisha Demas (track and field); Russ Grimm (football); Larry Harris (basketball); Rickey Jackson (football); Jerome Lane (basketball); Debbie Lewis (basketball); Angela Lopez Callahan (swimming); Ann Marie Lucanie (volleyball); Jerry Richey (track and field); Donna DeMarino Sanft (gymnastics student-athlete and coach); Pat Santoro (wrestling)

The 2022 class will receive induction at the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner on Sept. 30 at Acrisure Stadium. On Oct. 1, the inductees will be introduced at Acrisure when the Panthers take on Georgia Tech.