Bryan Snyder ’97
Career Record: 112-12, 2x D11 Champ, 2x Regional Champ, 3x State Medalist, State Champ
Tournament Championships: Reno Champ, 2x Manheim Champ, 2x Ironman Champ
College: Nebraska (2x NCAA Finals, 4x All American)
1997 – 135 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Champ (40-1)
1996 – 125 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Fifth (35-4)
1995 – 103 lbs.: District Runner-Up, Regional Runner-Up, State Fourth (34-7)
1994 – 103 lbs.: Lost wrestle-off to Jamarr Billman (3-0)
Dr. Bryan Snyder was a second generation star for the Red Rovers who has gone on to be one of the major figures in college wrestling as a star and future head coach at Nebraska and a key piece in the development of American legend Jordan Burroughs. Snyder and his father Barry are the only father-son combination in Easton history to both make state finals, with Snyder capping his 1997 campaign with a title.
As a freshman, Snyder was stuck behind classmates Jamarr Billman and Gary Rute for the starting spot at either 103 or 112 pounds. He won his varsity debut against William Allen in overtime and also saw spot starts against Stroudsburg and Whitehall.
As a sophomore, Snyder won the spot at 112 to start the season and made an impact right away by majoring Ohio state champion Brent Thompson in Easton’s clash with Walsh Jesuit at Easton-P’Burg Duals. Snyder took second at Walsh Ironman later that December, beating California state runner-up Gabe Araujo (Independence) in semis before falling to local rival and state champ Denny Liberto (Northampton) in the final. Snyder won his first tournament title by rolling through Manheim without giving up an offensive point, including a win over two-time state finalist Hunter Guenot (Bald Eagle Area) in semis. Snyder wrestled the rest of the regular season at 112, going 10-2 in duals, only losing to 2A state finalist Gary Olivi (Bethlehem Catholic) and Liberto. Snyder dropped to 103 for D11 Duals and the postseason. He had a pair of falls in Easton’s championship run at D11 Duals, including a 36 second pin of future state finalist and NCAA All American Chris Vitale (Nazareth). In the D11 Tournament, Snyder made his first District final after beating Omar Porreta (Liberty) in overtime, but fell to Liberto in the final, 9-5. At Northeast Regionals, Snyder met Liberto again in the final, and closed the gap but still fell 8-6. Snyder got off on the right foot in his first trip to Hershey, beating Joe Preslovich (Bald Eagle Area) 6-4 in his opener. His quarterfinal, however, would unveil his career nemesis, the overtime rideout period. He battled Bill Smith (Greensburg-Salem) to a 4-4 score at the end of regulation and overtime yielded a scoreless minute on their feet. Snyder scored first and took bottom in rideout, but was unable to get away from Smith in the thirty second tiebreaker and fell to the consolation bracket. There, Snyder won three straight, including a 13-9 win over state finalist Andy Migyanko (Trinity), but lost to Smith in the bronze medal match, unable to get out from bottom in a 1-0 loss.
As a junior, Snyder was an anchor on one of the greatest Easton teams of all time. He pinned Brian Rawling in the Rovers classic dual with national #1 Walsh Jesuit, which they lost on criteria in a 29-29 match. The Rovers would travel to Akron the next week for the Walsh Ironman, where Snyder took home the title with a 9-4 win over National Prep champ and future All American Sean Gray (Blair Academy). At Manheim, Snyder beat state finalist Bob Patnesky (Canon McMillan) in semis to face future NCAA All American Rob Loper (Erie Cathedral Prep) in what was an expected preview of the 125 pound state final. In the first installment of the series, both wrestlers escaped in regulation, and it was Loper who pulled out a takedown in overtime to knock Snyder off, 3-1. In early January, Easton traveled to the inaugural Reno Tournament of Champions in what was to that point, the deepest and most star studded tournament in the history of high school wrestling. Easton, of course, came out with the title and the nations’ #1 ranking in part thanks to Snyder’s runner-up finish as one of four Easton finalists. Snyder fell in the final bout to future All American Jason Silverstein (Blair Academy), 7-6 on a late takedown. Snyder bonused his way through the rest of the regular season schedule, including an 18-8 major of future state champ Derek Jenkins (Parkland). At the D11 Tournament, Snyder dominated with two pins, a tech, and a major as he was one of seven Easton champions in the first seven weight classes. His dominance extended to Northeast Regionals, where he did not allow an offensive point in three wins to claim his first Regional championship. At the state tournament, Snyder rolled in his first two bouts to set up the presumptive state final in semis with Loper. Much like their Manheim final, the two were cautious and generated no offense in regulation. The overtime period was much the same, with no score. Snyder, via second period escape, scored first and took bottom, much like his 1995 quarterfinal with Bill Smith. Once again, Snyder was ridden out in the OTRO period and devastatingly fell into the consolation bracket. He looked sluggish in a consy semi with Mark Mentzer (Big Spring) and lost 9-2, then rebounded for a disappointing fifth place finish by majoring Matt Picarsic (Penn-Trafford). Easton took home the team title.
As a senior, Easton was the preseason #1 team in America thanks in large part to wrestlers like Snyder returning for one final season. Snyder kicked his season off with a second Walsh Ironman title, beating Sean Gray for the second straight year in the finals. He blitzed the Manheim field for his second title there. In the second Reno Tournament of Champions, Snyder joined Jamarr Billman on the top step of the podium. Snyder dominated his way to the final, going pin, pin, 13-6 win, and 22-7 tech to square off with National Prep champ Marat Tomaev (Blair Academy) in the final. Snyder scored three takedowns to beat the Bucs star 6-4. Snyder beat Tomaev again, 1-0 in the Rovers dual with Blair in January. Snyder would roll undefeated into D11 duals, where in the finals Nazareth bumped up returning state finalist Andy Cote to take a crack at Snyder after years of frustration against Billman. Cote used a reveral and the bout’s only takedown to knock off Snyder 4-2 in Nazareth’s second straight D11 Duals win over the Red Rovers. In the D11 tournament, Snyder put on a command performance, going tech, tech, pin, and a major of Steve Rohn (Nazareth) to match his dad with two titles. He’d do the same at Regionals the following weekend, going tech, major, before a thrilling final where Snyder was headlocked to his back and nearly pinned, but stormed back to beat Dave Shafer (Hazleton) 15-11. In his final trip to Hershey, Snyder opened with a first period fall, then had to survive a 4-3 war in quarters with future NCAA qualifier Marc Hoffer (Manheim Central) where Snyder nearly ended up on his back in the third period after botching a cement mixer, but scrambled through then scored with 18 seconds left to advance to semifinals. His return trip to semis had him squaring off with future All American Cory Ace (Franklin), and for the third straight year he faced a nailbiter. However, Snyder managed to avoid overtime, scoring a late takedown to beat Ace 2-1 and advance to his first state final. That evening, Snyder left no doubt, scoring three takedowns and rolling to a 7-4 win over four-time NCAA qualifier Jeff Rusak (Muhlenberg), the second Red Rover title of the night and third in total as Easton snuck past Nazareth for their second straight team title. Snyder represented Pennsylvania at the Dapper Dan, where he fell to future World Team member Mike Zadick.
After Easton, Snyder wrestled for Nebraska, where he became one of the greatest Huskers in history. He was a four time Big 12 champion, four time All American, and a two-time NCAA finalist, losing both of his finals bouts in rideout. Snyder has been a long-time assistant for the Huskers and is the presumptive “head coach in waiting” following the retirement of Mark Manning.
History of Easton Wrestling 