#38 Jonah Wisch

It doesn’t really matter what you call Jonah. You know what you’re getting from him every time you cross paths: a man on a mission who hasn’t forgotten how to smile. Jonah immerses himself in ultimate like it’s a foreign language, whether it’s programming the team workouts as the strength and conditioning coach of ESN, giving advice and offering a fresh perspective to others as a teammate, outfitting himself in a motion capture suit to analyze his throwing form as a student researcher, or doing yoga in the living room and cooking meals alongside the frisbee players he sleeps across the hall as a roommate. Jonah doesn’t balk at the commitment that our team demands of him; he takes it as a challenge.

On the field, Jonah fits the mold of hard-working field general. His persistent engine, quickness paired with physicality, and x-ray field vision prime him to step into the forefront of the national conversation for his senior year after missing the majority of 2016 with a shoulder injury. Jonah’s crafty throws and unpredictable movement make him a nightmare for any handler-cover. Trust us when we say that Jonah is going to hit the ground running.

At the same time, Jonah is always game for late night Fuel & Fuddle or just sitting on a couch and trading banter with the guys. For every second he spends training or studying, he matches it laughing or grinning like an idiot. If somebody farted, and Jonah was in the room, it was him.

Most inspirational activist: Tie between Gaindhi and Morgain Freeman
How he likes his defenders: Heavily toasted
Present he would give everyone if he were Santa: The gift of lift
Favorite President: Donald Pump
Favorite hairdresser at Puccini’s: Mary Beth because she lovingly shampoos your hair
Signature uniform: A reversible tank top so tight, it cuts off your circulation (Refer to CCC 2016)
Favorite throw: Whichever one breaks your soft, lazy mark

Still, though, Wisch walks onto the Pitt Ultimate team as one of the most polished players The Program has seen in years. With smooth breaks, quick steps and smart decision-making, this freshman is the kind handler Pitt hopes to lean on in the years to come. Despite Wisch’s experience in top-level Ultimate, he admits that he’s never been explicitly taught the strategy of the game.

“Most of what I do on the field is instinctual,” he said. “Now that I am at Pitt, I have all the resources to heighten my understanding of complex strategy.”

While Jonah is certainly concerned with his academic career, he doesn’t hide the fact that Frisbee is a big reason for his decision to come to Pitt. Apparently, when asked why he chose Pitt, Wisch usually drops the clich? line about “being in state” or “having a good rehab sciences program,” but he’ll quickly admit that the real reason he came to Pitt to is to win a National Championship.

With a Philadelphia background, Wisch joins some fantastic Pitt alum the likes of Sean McComb, Zach Kauffman, Pat Hammonds, Rich Coker, Kyle Baynes, Jason Kunsa and many more that came from the City of Brotherly Love and crossed into western Pennsylvania to compete with En Sabah Nur.

Quickly, Wisch has found players to look up to.

“On the track I try to emulate Aaron Watson,” he said. “Someday I will hold the record for 400 knockdowns.”