March 5, 2008

EWL Championship Information

PITTSBURGH--The Eastern Wrestling League will welcome seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 8, as the Class of 2008 will be formally inducted at the 33^rd annual EWL Tournament at Fitzgerald Field House. The seven new members will swell the EWL Hall of Fame membership to 73 inductees.

 

This year's group includes five University of Pittsburgh representatives: Mark Bodo, Carl Fronhofer, Rob Loper, head coach Rande Stottlemyer and John Withrow, and two former competitors from Penn State - Dan Mayo and Tim Wittman.

 

"This is a tremendous Hall of Fame class and an outstanding group of men," commented Bruce Baumgartner, the EWL's tournament director. "The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State have been very instrumental to the growth and success of the EWL and each of these men is certainly deserving of this honor."

 

Below is a synopsis of the seven inductees, in alphabetical order.

 

Mark Bodo (Pitt '98)

 

A three-time All-American, Bodo was selected as team captain during his redshirt senior season. He compiled a 31-7 overall record in 1997 and placed fourth in the nation in the 190-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships. He helped the Panthers place 18^th that year at the NCAA's, which was the team's highest finish since 1989. Bodo ranks fifth on Pitt's lists for most wins by a sophomore with 31 and finished his career with 106 victories, placing him 13^th on the all-time list. He graduated from Pitt with a biology degree in 1998 and currently works for Natus Medical Inc. as a district sales manager. Bodo resides in Greenville, Pa.

 

Carl Fronhofer (Pitt `03)

 

A four-time NCAA qualifier, Fronhofer earned an All-America honor with a runner-up finish at the 2003 Championships. That same season, he was named as the EWL's Wrestler of the Year. Fronhofer claimed the EWL title in 2001 at 165-pounds after a fifth-place showing the previous year. He followed his championship run with a third-place finish at the 2002 conference tournament and completed his career with a second-place plaudit in 2003. He currently stands in fourth place on Pitt's all-time career wins with 123 victories. He also made his way into the school record books after compiling the sixth-most wins by a freshman (30) in Pitt history. Fronhofer is a 2003 Pitt graduate and currently works as an assistant wrestling coach at Bloomsburg University. He and his wife Amy reside in Danville, Pa.

 

Rob Loper (Pitt '01)

 

Loper was a two-time EWL Champion and four-time place-winner at the EWL tournament from 1997-2001. He qualified for the NCAA meet four times during his career, one of only 11 Pitt wrestlers to achieve this feat. Loper garnered All-America honors in 2000 at 133-pounds, going 38-6 with 14 major decisions and eight technical falls. He was honored as the EWL Freshman of the Year in 1997 and recorded the third-most career wins in Pitt history with 131 during his four year career. He also ranks fifth for most wins in Pitt history by a freshman (31 in 1997); eighth for most wins by a sophomore (30 in 1998) and second for most victories by a junior (38 in 2000). Loper graduated in 2001 with a degree in communications and currently works as a Regional Manager for Providence Insurance. He currently lives in Sewickley with his wife Holly and their new-born daughter, Dulcinea.

 

 

Dan Mayo (Penn State '88)

 

Mayo won three consecutive EWL Championships from 1986-88, making him one of only 21 men to have been crowned three times. He grabbed a runner-up showing at the NCAA Championships in 1988. He currently ranks 12^th on Penn State's all-time wins list with 110 career victories and is tied for first on the dual winning percentages list for a season with a 14-0 (1.000) record in 1987-88. Mayo is tied for eighth-place on PSU's list for most wins by a senior with 34 victories during the 1987-88 season. He captured 47 career dual meet victories, placing him in a tie for 14^th place on Penn State's all-time list. Mayo graduated from Penn State in 1988 with a B.S. in public relations. He currently works for Inventiv Health in their sales department and has two children, a daughter Logan, 14, and a 10-year old son, Daniel. Mayo resides in Skillman, N.J.

 

Rande Stottlemyer (Pitt '78)

 

As a student-athlete, Stottlemyer qualified for the NCAA Championships in each of his four years at Pitt, making him one of only 11 Panthers to accomplish the feat. Out of those four appearances at the national tournament came three All-America honors, including two sixth-place finishes at 134 pounds. Stottlemyer served as a team captain in each of his varsity seasons and is one of only seven Pitt wrestlers to have been named an All-American on three separate occasions. He became Pitt's first EWL Champion after claiming the 134-pound crown in the conference's first year of existence. In his 28 years as head coach of the University of Pittsburgh, Stottlemyer has produced a two-time national champion in Pat Santoro, 26 NCAA All-Americans, 111 national qualifiers and 28 Eastern Wrestling League Champions. In 18 of the past 24 years, Stottlemyer's teams have finished in the top-30 nationally and have seen at least one wrestler achieve the status of All-American. His teams have finished in the nation's top-25 in six of the past 11 seasons. He graduated from Pitt in 1978 with a B.S in physical education. Stottlemyer and his wife Regina have four daughters: Tara, Rebecca, Jaclyn and Kelsey. The Stottlemyers currently reside in Charleroi, Pa.

 

 

John Withrow (Pitt `98)

 

Withrow, a three-time NCAA qualifier, returned as an All-American after each visit to the national tournament. He was a three year place-winner at the EWL Championships, finishing third in three different weight classes from 1995-98. He completed his collegiate career with 122 victories, placing him fifth on Pitt's all-time list. A four-year letter-winner and team captain in 1997 and 1998, Withrow compiled a 26-6 record as a fifth-year senior. He was a two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association tour participant and was selected to the 1997-98 GTE Academic All-America Third Team. Withrow was also a 1998 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic First Team honoree and the recipient of the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Department's Blue and Gold Award for his academic and athletic achievement. Withrow graduated with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and obtained his Master's Degree in bio engineering from Pitt and later received his MBA from Duke. He is currently working for Old Lane as a Head Fund Portfolio Manager on Wall Street. Withrow and his wife Jessica live in Scotch Plains, N.J., with their 18-month-old son, J.T., and are expecting another son in June.

 

Tim Wittman (Penn State '92)

 

A three-time All-American from 1990-92, Wittman was also a two-time EWL Champion in 1991 and 1992. At the 1992 conference tournament, he was honored with the Outstanding Wrestler Award. His best showing at the national tournament was a fourth-place finish in 1990. The following year he came in seventh before finishing his career with a sixth-place plaudit in 1992. He occupies ninth-place on Penn State's list for career victories (14) at the NCAA Championships. Wittman helped the Nittany Lions to back-to-back third place finishes at the NCAAs and their second-highest point total (89.25 points) in school history at the 1992 championships. He earned a B.S. in landscape contracting from Penn State in 1992 and is currently employed by Landscaping Management Services. He and his wife Alley reside in Hibernia, N.J.

 

The 2008 EWL Championships will begin at 10 a.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. For ticket information, please call (800) 643-PITT or click here.