Johnny Orr was one of the best wrestlers to compete for Altoona High School in Pennsylvania, where he would rack up an 86-6-1 record (undefeated in dual meets), was a 3x District 6 champion, a 3x Northwest Region place winner (including one championship title), and a 2x PIAA Class AAA medalist including a state runner-up finish. He was also a runner-up in the Cadet National Freestyle championships and 3x PA state freestyle finalist.
He would take his winning and champion mindset to Princeton University, where he competed for the Tigers in the 142-pound weight class. He owned an overall record of 89-9, was a 2x EIWA place winner, plus became the EIWA Champion in 1984 while also collecting the Outstanding Wrestler Award that year. Orr was a 2x NCAA finalist in 1984 and 1985, a 2x All-American, a 4x First Team All-Ivy, and a 2x Ivy Outstanding Wrestler. He captained the Princeton team twice, helping lead the Tigers to being the Ivy League team champions in 1985. He graduated that year with a degree in Ancient History and was the recipient of the William Winston Roper Trophy, which recognizes one member of the Princeton senior class for high scholastic rank and outstanding qualities of sportsmanship.
Orr would continue competing once leaving Princeton, placing 5th in the 1988 final U.S. Olympic Freestyle trials while serving as a graduate assistant coach for Penn State. He would go on to coach youth wrestling over a 15-year period for the Lakeland Predators (IL) and then the Flemington Elks (NJ). Orr also played a key role in helping rebuild the Princeton Wrestling program and is an inductee in the PIAA and Blair County (PA) Halls of Fame.
Orr has been in the automotive and pharmaceutical industries for over 33 years. He is currently the Senior Director of Supply Chain and Operations for Clario Inc. He currently resides in Flemington, NJ with his wife Wendy, and they have three grown sons: Alexander, Grady, and Hunter.
