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Willie Harris Named Wrestling Coach; Looking Forward To Inaugural Season

Willie Harris has been hired as the first head coach of the Men’s and Women’s Wrestling program at Pennsylvania Highlands Community College.

Willie Harris, Wrestling Coach

Harris will lead the Black Bears into their inaugural season of competition, which begins in Fall 2025. The wrestling program is set to ignite a new era of athletic achievement at the College, with recruitment efforts already underway to assemble a competitive team.

“This is exciting,” Harris stated. “Penn Highlands is a place that many people thought would be a good spot for a program, considering the success of wrestling within the area. I want to help give these athletes an opportunity to chase their goals and be at the next level for both wrestling and education.”

Harris is a former standout wrestler for Greater Johnstown High School, where he won both a District 6 and Northwest Regional Championship at the Class 3A level. Over his three years as a Trojan, Harris compiled a 90-15 overall record.

His performances led to a scholarship offer to wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown under legendary coach Pat Pecora, where he competed for two years before transferring to Saint Francis University to play football.

After the completion of his athletic career, Harris spent nine years as the head wrestling coach at Greater Johnstown from 2014-23. He also coached multiple youth programs in the Laurel Highlands area and served as an assistant at Westmont Hilltop High School last winter.

“Coaching within the area has been a big plus,” Harris stated. “A lot of the kids I’ve interacted with are now starting to get into the college age. That should be a big advantage for us in the hopes we can build something special at the College.”

Black Bear Athletics competes in Region 20 as a member of the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference.