A January, 2003 article in Penn State’s Daily Collegian student paper summed up Pat Cummins, calling him, in no particular order, “sensitive” and a “beast” who according to his coach, Troy Sunderland, “leads by example,” along with teammate testimony as “someone people can look up to because of how hard he works on the mat.” Sunderland added: “It’s not just Cummins' fierce desire to wrestle that has brought him success, it was his commitment to get bigger and stronger.”

Cummins moved up from 189 since graduating high school in 1999 and had a 7-8 W/L mark in tournament competition his first year. Hard work plus eventually hitting 250 helped Pat become one of the top heavyweights in the nation, finishing 4th, then 2nd in the NCAAs in ’03 and ’04.
Not bad for an over-achiever who never even placed at PA States in high school!

Cummins earned his honors the hard way – by hooking horns in the Big Ten Conference, home of the nation’s toughest heavyweights (Pat placed 7th, 3rd, 2nd in three league championships). An impressive 12 of 16 NCAA Top 4 places during his four years from 2001-04 were from the Big Ten, including seven of the eight finalists and the top two contenders for the 2008 Olympic Team, 4-time All-Americans, Tommy Rowlands, Ohio State and Steve Mocco, Iowa (later Oklahoma St).

Not once in six post-season tourneys (Big 10 and NCAAs) did Pat fail to match or better his projected finish (seed). He then had to start over as a post-grad grappler climbing the Senior Freestyle rankings: in 2006, his best finish was a 3rd place at the Dave Schultz Memorial International; in 2007, Cummins finished 7th at the U.S. National Open, but then managed a true 3rd at the World Team Trials (after finishing 2nd to ’08 Olympian, Steve Mocco, in the Challenge). He repeated a similar sequence by placing just 6th at the the 2008 National Open (defeating Tolly Thompson, who finished 4th)—then placed 3rd in the most arduous of all ’08 Olympic Trials Challenge Tournament, before claiming a true 4th place.

A huge help to the Lehigh Valley Athletic Club during the 2008-09 year, Pat credited his work ethic to his older brother Ryan, a PA state 2nd and PSU 197 pounder, with the duo hailing from Lititz, PA. Off the mat he enjoys pottery and describes himself as "sensitive,” enjoying pottery as a hobby (he majored in art) and snakes as pets. He’s inspired by disabled citizens because of how hard they work to get through life.