Jake Giamoni ’00
Career Record: 107-32, D11 Champ, Regional Champ, 2x State Medalist, State Champ
Tournament Championships: Manheim Champ
College; NC State (3x NCAA Qualifier)
2000 – 135 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Champ (40-4)
1999 – 135 lbs.: District Runner-Up, Regional Runner-Up, State Third (36-8)
1998 – 119 lbs.: District Runner-Up (26-15)
1997 – 103 lbs.: lost postseason wrestle-off to Chris Kelly (5-5)
Jake Giamoni made the steady climb from part-time starter to state champion over his four years with the Red Rovers, dominating his way to a title in 2000.
As a freshman, Giamoni was a part-time starter on the 1997 Easton team that came into the season ranked #1 in the country. He went 3-3 at Walsh Ironman as their second entry at 112 pounds, then saw varsity action again at Elite Duals down at 103 pounds against national powerhouses St. Edward and Blair Academy. He went 2-0 in local dual before Willie Saylor and Chris Kelly descended to 103 and 112, respectively, for the postseason, knocking him out of the lineup.
As a sophomore, Giamoni was the entrenched starter at 125 during the season. He battled through the consolations at Beast of the East to medal after dropping his first round match. He took fourth at Manheim, then rolled to an 11-3 post-holiday record. Giamoni descended to 119 pounds for the postseason. In his first D11 tournament, he won a semifinal thriller with Mason Messinger (Nazareth), 10-8 to make his first D11 final, where he fell to future state finalist and budding rival Seth Lisa (Northampton), 1-0. He went 1-2 at Northeast Regionals, with losses to two-time state champ Anthony Rivera (Shikellamy) and state medalist Jim Morgan (West Scranton).
As a junior, Giamoni made the leap, starting the season 4-0 in duals then placing fourth at the Reno Tournament of Champions and fourth at Manheim. He went 14-1 in duals in January and February, only falling to rival Corey Guenot (Bald Eagle Area). He earned a second straight D11 finals trip, where he again lost to a Northampton wrestler, falling 6-5 to Justin Haupt. It was a similar story at regionals, where Giamoni bonuses his way to finals before losing 2-1 to Haupt for the second week in a row. At the state tournament, Giamoni dropped his first bout, a 4-3 loss to John Krulock (Mechanicsburg). However, he was the iron man of the tournament, running five straight wins off to take third. Those wins included a blood round victory over Haupt 5-3 to keep the Konkrete Kid off of the podium. He also beat future NCAA All Americans Derek Zinck (Upper Perkiomen) and Scott Moore (Franklin) to more than earn his third place finish.
As a senior, Giamoni took third at Reno, falling only in semifinals to California bronze medalist Tony Aparicio (Calvary Chapel). He won his first Manheim by bonusing his way through the tournament. His only other season loss came to National Prep champ Zack Esposito (Blair Academy), 8-4 in their dual with the Bucs. He crushed Ohio state champion Aaron Woodruff, 11-5 in the Rovers 30-24 win over Walsh Jesuit. In their dual with Northampton, Giamoni avenged his 1998 D11 finals loss by knocking off Seth Lisa 6-4 in overtime. In the D11 Dual finals, Giamoni bumped took on state runner-up Tommy Rohn, but fell 5-3, as the Rovers dropped the dual final to the KKids. After spending the season bouncing between 140 and 145, Giamoni cut to 135 for the postseason, where he had to beat state #2 Andy Ciasulli in a wrestle-off just to earn the postseason spot at his chosen weight class. In the D11 tournament, Giamoni went fall, tech, major to set up a rematch with Seth Lisa in the D11 finals. This time, Giamoni stretched the margin with a surprisingly comfortable 8-2 win over Lisa. The same story unfolded at regionals, with Giamoni going pin and major to set up a third match with Lisa. This was a third victory, with Giamoni scoring twice in the first two periods to win 4-1. At the state tournament, Giamoni opened with a second period pin of Dan Ciampoli (Altoona) and a major of Kyle O’Connell (Solanco). On the other side of the bracket, Lisa fell in quarterfinals to WPIAL champ Troy Millhouse (Hempfield) to spoil a three-week series with Giamoni. In semis, Giamoni faced off with old foe Jim Morgan (West Scranton), who denied him a state tournament trip as a sophomore. This time, Giamoni would battle to a 5-4 win to earn a berth in the state finals against Millhouse. Giamoni dominated the match opening up a 9-3 lead in the first period, then taking on two more takedowns and a set of backpoints in a 20-5 technical fall 46 seconds into the third period to earn a state title.
After Easton, Giamoni initially went to Boston University before transferring to North Carolina State, where he won a pair of ACC titles for the Wolfpack and made three NCAA tournaments, advancing all the way to the blood round in 2003.
History of Easton Wrestling 