Willie Saylor ’97
Career Record: 82-26, Medalist
Tournament Championships: Manheim Champ
1997 – 103 lbs.: District Third, Regional Champ (27-10)
1996 – 103 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Fourth (36-7)
1995 – 103 lbs.: lost postseason wrestle-off to Bryan Snyder (19-9)
Willie Saylor has become one of the most colorful and influential figures in wrestling media, but he was also an anchor of the Easton lineups that won back-to-back state championships and were some of the best teams in the country.
After a freshman season behind the logjam of classmates Jamarr Billman, Gary Rute, and Bryan Snyder, Saylor earned a spot at 103 in his sophomore season. Saylor made his varsity debut in a 3-0 loss to Steve Forsythe in Easton’s loss to Walsh Jesuit, with his first varsity win coming a week later in round one of his rivalry with Parkland standout and future state finalist Troy Minarovic. At Ironman, Saylor pinned North Dakota state champ Andy Steen (Century) and beat West Virginia state champ Dustin Collins (Parkersburg South) before falling in an all Lehigh Valley affair to Chris Vitale (Nazareth) to miss the medal stand. Saylor took fifth at Manheim, then went 8-4 during January and February duals, including a major of New Jersey medalist Terrell Johnson (Phillipsburg) in his first match against the Stateliners. When Bryan Snyder came down to 103 and Jamarr Billman came down to 112 for District Duals, Saylor was squeezed out of the postseason lineup.
As a junior, Saylor kicked off the greatest run of lightweights in District 11 history. He opened the season by teching Nate Daughery (Walsh Jesuit) in the 29-29 criteria dual with the Warriors. Saylor took fifth at Walsh Ironman, then won Manheim, hammering future state finalist Corey Guenot (Bald Eagle Area) 8-1 on his way to the title. In Easton’s triumph at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Saylor took third, beating future NCAA All American and Ohio state champion MIke Kulczycki (St. Edward) for the bronze medal. Saylor defeated future NCAA All American Brad Dillon (Emmaus) and New Jersey state finalist Bob Piccone (Phillipsburg) to close out the regular season. In District 11 Duals, Saylor beat Minarovic (Parkland) for a second time, and turned the tables on Eric Kelly (Nazareth) from their regular season match-up, taking the Blue Eagle down to his back in overtime for a 9-4 win. In their final conference dual of the year (after D11 Duals), Minarovic turned the tables on Saylor by taking him down in OT for a 5-3 win to narrow the series to 2-1 Saylor. At the District 11 Tournament, Saylor led off the “Magnificent 7”. He ran through state medalist Brad Washburn (Liberty) 10-5, Dillon 4-3, then beat Eric Kelly 8-6 for the D11 championship. Saylor was the first of seven consecutive Easton champions, one of the great nights in program history. Saylor followed up his D11 title with a similarly dominant performance at Northeast Regionals, going major, 10-4 decision, and a third straight win over Kelly, this time 7-4 for a Regional title. In his first trip to Hershey, Saylor opened with an 11-2 major of John Lorenz (Kiksi Area), then beat fellow wrestling media personality Brock Hite (Indian Valley) 10-6 in quarters. In semifinals, Saylor finally met his postseason match with talented sophomore and future state champion Andy Migyanko (Trinity), who blanked Saylor 7-0 to make his first finals. Saylor won his fourth consecutive match over Eric Kelly in the consolation semis before dropping to Larry Mazzerle (Upper Merion) for fourth. Saylor was one of five state medalists for Easton as they won their first PIAA Tournament championship in thirteen years.
As a senior, Saylor started the season up at 112 pounds, where he dropped an 8-7 barnburner in his season opener against future three-time NCAA champion and state champ Greg Jones (Greensburg-Salem). Saylor did not medal at Walsh Ironman, getting knocked out by Ohio state champ and NCAA All American Mark Jayne (St. Edward). Saylor followed that up with a runner-up finish in Manheim, losing his second match of the year to Jones, this time 11-6. Easton flew out to Reno for the second RTOC in early Janaury. Saylor won four straight to make the Reno finals, before finally getting stopped by National Prep champ George Cintron (Blair Academy) to finish second. Saylor missed Elite Duals while descending from 112 to 103, where he would remain for the postsesaon. Saylor fell in a rematch with Bob Piccone (Phillipsburg) but pinned future NCAA All American Mario Stuart (Liberty) to close the regular season. At District Duals, Minarovic evened their career series in semifinals with a 4-1 win over Saylor. But in their final conference dual, Saylor retook the series lead with a 3-1 win to gain the top seed for the D11 Tournament. At Districts, Saylor and Minarovic were on the same side, and hit in semifinals for their third match-up in two weeks. Minarovic evened the series back up and sent Saylor into the consolation bracket with a 5-1 win. Saylor beat Mario Stuart (Liberty) for third. At Regionals, once again, Saylor and Minarovic were on the same side of the bracket. Both took care of business in their quarterfinals to set up a Saturday morning match up. This time, Saylor scored the bout’s only offensive points to take the seventh match in the series 3-2 and give himself a shot to defend his regional title. He did so that evening against Brad Dillon (Emmaus), taking down the talented Green Hornet sophomore three times in the first period, then holding on for a 7-5 win. Saylor was one of five regional champions for the Red Rovers. Saylor opened the state tournament with an 18-2 tech of Ryan Gil (Marple-Newtown) and looked like one of the favorites to win a state title. However, disaster struck in quarters when Saylor was put on his back in a scramble and fell to future state champion Harley Anderson (Mount Pleasant) 9-4. To make matters worse, Saylor had to sit back and watch Saturday morning as Dillon and Minarovic met in the state semifinals. Saylor dropped his medal match to Aaron Brown (Owen J. Roberts) to finish off of the podium, while Minarovic lost an overtime match in the state final and Dillon took fifth.
After Easton, Saylor has gone on to fame in wrestling media, first by founding The Open Mat, then working for FloWrestling, where he hosted the popular “FloWrestling Radio Live” podcast and doing all of Flo’s national high school rankings. He’s since made his name as the “Greatest Mind in Wrestling” while staking out on his own and purchasing legacy wrestling brand Intermat.
History of Easton Wrestling 