City wrestling star who earned historic crown found dead at 27
Former PIAA wrestling champion Godwin Nyama Cutler, who became the first City League wrestler to win a state title as a senior at Brashear High School in 2012, died. He was 27.
Widely considered the greatest wrestler in City League history after compiling a 124-19 record in four seasons at Brashear, Nyama Cutler capped off his remarkable career with a PIAA Class 3A 120-pound title and a 38-2 record as a senior. He is the only City League wrestler to win a state title.
Nyama Cutler was found deceased in his home Friday.
“We’re just sick about it,” said former Brashear wrestling coach Nate Geller. “It seems like it wasn’t that long ago, but I had him over at my house at the beginning of the year.”
Nyama Cutler got into wrestling in eighth grade after watching his older sister, Makisa, become the first female wrestler to win a medal in the City League. Makisa used to beat him in practice when he first started as a freshman, but his skills rapidly progressed as the season went on. He finished his debut season with a 19-10 record and a City title at 103 pounds.
“He would do whatever you asked him to do,” said Geller, who coached at Brashear from 1999-2012. “He was willing to do whatever you thought needed to be done to prepare for that point. He just wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Sensing his immense potential in the sport, coaches began driving him to various camps and tournaments in the offseason to help speed up his development. Nyama Cutler always credited former Brashear assistant coaches Terry Hanna and Chaney Lewis for acting as father figures toward him.
“I was known as the candy guy at work,” said Lewis, now the head coach at Westinghouse. “I worked at Presbyterian Hospital as a transmitter. I would go on every floor and ask all the nurses, and every day I would sell two boxes [of Sarris candies]. They all supported me. And all the money would go to Godwin.
“He was going to Fargo, Super 32, and we would pay for camps, clubs — he was all-in. That was my favorite wrestler. Still is.”
By sophomore year, Nyama Cutler was wrestling year-round at Pittsburgh Wrestling Club and Pit Bull Wrestling Club. He finished 33-3 as a sophomore, won another City League title and came one win short of qualifying for the PIAA tournament.
His junior year, Nyama Cutler won a third City League title and finished the season 34-4 — and this time, he qualified for states by winning a PIAA Class 3A Northwest Regional title. Nyama Cutler went 3-2 in his first trip to the state tournament and finished seventh, becoming the first City League wrestler to place at the PIAA meet.
Still, he wanted more, and he knew he would have to work even harder to achieve his goal of winning a state title. So his coaches took him out to train against some of the top talent in the country, and Nyama Cutler held his own.
As a senior, Nyama Cutler became the first City League wrestler to win the prestigious Powerade ournament, and he also placed fifth at the 2011 Walsh Jesuit Ironman tournament, widely considered the toughest high school tournament in the nation. After defending his title at the Northwest Regional tournament in Altoona to make it back to Hershey, Nyama Cutler won three consecutive matches to reach the 120pound final.
There, he faced two-time PIAA champion and fourtime finalist Connor Schram of Canon- McMillan in a match that will stand the test of time as one of the most thrilling finishes in PIAA history.
With the match tied, 1-1, in the waning seconds, Nyama Cutler appeared to score the winning takedown, but Canon-McMillan coaches protested the call and the points were waved off the board. NyamaCutler was distraught, but he gathered himself before overtime, and the crowd went wild when he took Schram down to secure a 3-1 win and a historic PIAA championship.
“He wouldn’t be denied,” Geller said. “Coach Hanna was able to calm him down, and Godwin went out there and took care of it.”
After high school, Nyama Cutler accepted a scholarship to wrestle at Pitt, where he wrestled for one year before transferring to Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He eventually transferred again to Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he ascended to the No. 1 ranking in NAIA in his weight class and finished third at nationals.
Nyama Cutler then stepped away from competing after his college days, but he always made time to give back to the youth programs in the city and impart his wisdom. He spent a lot of time working with Geller’s sons, and he also helped out with Westinghouse’s youth wrestling program.
In the decade since he graduated, Allderdice has sent several wrestlers to the PIAA tournament, while Westinghouse grad Rodjrecko Christian made it in 2013 and Nyama Cutler’s younger brother, Joe Mwete, qualified for Brashear in 2019.
Lewis, who was still close with Nyama Cutler, said the two spoke on the phone about three times per week and would always get together to watch big matches.
“It’s just a shame, man,” Lewis said.