Matt Lear ’03
Career Record: 111-37, District Champ, 2x State Medalist
Tournament Championships: Reno Champ
2003 – 160 lbs.: Injured (16-4)
2002 – 152 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Runner-Up, State Third (43-6)
2001 – 152 lbs.: District Third, Regional Runner-Up, State Eight (37-12)
2000 – 145 lbs.: District Fifth (15-15)
Matt Lear was a four year starter with two state medals and robbed by injury of a chance to compete for a third. He was a staple middleweight in Easton’s dominant run in the early 2000s.
Lear earned a varsity spot as a freshman at 152 pounds for Easton’s trip to Reno, where he went 0-2. He earned his first varsity win in the opener at Manheim, pinning Roy Salisburg (Cumberland Valley) in the first period. After losing to state champ Justin Nestor (Reynolds), Lear pinned future football phenom Austin Scott (Parkland) before bowing out of the tournament. He showed his mettle in a 4-1 match with National Prep runner-up Joe Casella (Blair Academy) in Easton’s tight loss to the Bucs. He posted his first huge win with a 7-5 victory over future Ohio state champ Mike Grogan (Walsh Jesuit). In his first D11 Tournament, Lear opened with a 9-2 win over Brent Standorf (Pleasant Valley) and pushed top seed and state runner-up John Carr (Blue Mountain) to the limit in a 5-3 win. Lear was pinned by Ryan Wasser (Northampton) for the second time in his freshman year to drop to fifth and miss a spot in regionals.
As a sophomore, Lear started the year at 160. He made a run to the Manheim finals as one of seven Red Rover finalists as they set the team scoring record. He had a pair of finals against WPIAL powers Connellsville and North Allegheny in their dismantling of both schools at the Easton Invitational. He beat Ohio state medalist Chris Leabu (St. Edward) to put Easton within striking distance of upsetting the Eagles. He put up bonus points in NHSCA Final Four wins over Archbishop Moeller (OH) and Midwest City (OK) and nearly upset Mike Waite (Blair Academy) in the nightcap. Lear handled future two-time state champ Josh Haines (Northampton) 7-4 in Easton’s regular season win over the Konkrete Kids. Lear went 2-1 in D11 Duals, with Haines returning the favor in finals with a 3-2 win, though the Rovers won 28-21 to make their first State Duals. At State Duals, Lear majored Jesse Blount (Corry) in the quarterfinals, but had a brutal draw in the final two rounds. Eventual state bronze medalist and future two-time state champ Zac Fryling (North Penn) pinned Lear in the second period of their semifinal bout. In finals, Lear pushed eventual state finalist Jeremy Hart (State College), but could not secure a bout winning takedown in a 3-2 loss. In the D11 Tournament, Lear pinned his way into the semifinals, Lear got into a scramble and was pinned by returning D11 finalist Adam Kulak (Bangor). On the back side, Lear beat Mike Heist (Parkland), then pinned Josh Haines (Northampton) to move to 2-1 against the Konkrete Kids star and finish in third. Lear was shapr the following weekend at Regionals. He outscored his foes 18-5 to make the finals, where he’d match up with Kulak for the second straight week. But Lear ran out of gas, and was taken down five times in an 11-6 loss to finish as the Regional runner-up. In his first state tournament, Lear dropped his opening bout to Mike Cardamone (Penn-Trafford), 6-4. He recovered in his first wrestle-back to beat Adam Horne (Conneat Lake). Kulak lost to Jeremy Hart in quarterfinals, dropping him into a medal match with Lear. Unlike the past two weeks, Lear was on the offensive early and often, taking to Kulak in a 10-2 major decision to end the Slater’s season and get the precocious Easton sophomore on the medal stand. He dropped his next to bouts to finish eighth, but he was one of a record seven Easton medalists as they set the school record for points in the PIAA tournament.
As a junior, Lear was one of the anchors of an excellent Easton lineup. Lear went undefeated into the Reno Tournament of Champions, where he beat Olahoma bronze medalist Nick Terhune (Westmoore), then knocked off future Ohio state champion and NCAA qualifier Rocco Caponi (St. Vincent-St. Mary’s) for fifth. Lear cruised at Manheim pinning his way to finals before a 6-4 win to win his first tournament title. He had a rematch with Fryling at the Easton Invitational, and trimmed the margin to 8-6 with the eventual state champion. In Easton’s stunning domination of St. Edward, Lear pinned Ohio bronze medalist John Konyesni in the second period to clinch the Easton victory with three bouts to go. At the NHSCA Final Four, Lear defeated Ohio state champion Vinny DiGiovanni (Solon) 6-2 in the marquee bout of the afternoon session. He also beat future state champ and state medalist Nick Guida (Parkland) 5-3 in their dual with the Trojans. He closed the regular season by earning the Brad Weaver Memorial Award for his 8-6 win over New Jersey bronze medalist Dave Post (Philipsburg) in Easton’s 45-12 win over the Stateliners. He had two pins and a tech as Easton romped through D11 Duals. At State Duals, he merely went major-fall-fall as Easton rolled to their second straight state title. He dropped to 152 for the postseason and was the top seed at the D11 tournament. He cruised to a district title, Easton’s third of the evening, with a pin and three comfortable decisions for his first postseason championship. The following weekend, Lear won by fall in quarters and majored D4 champ Kyle Rauch (Jersey Shore) in his semifinal. In the Northeast Regional final, Lear met undefeated Seth Martin (Selinsgrove). Lear nearly put Martin on his back in the first period, but was called out of bounds. Martin escaped in the second, and Lear opted for a full two minutes on his feet in the third. That nearly paid off when Lear was in on a potential match winning takedown in the final fifteen seconds, but could not convert before time expired to settle as the Regional runner-up. Martin was an eventual state finalist. At the state tournament, Lear opened with a dominant 13-1 win over Zach Brower (Boyertown). That set up his quarterfinal with two-time defending state champ Nathan Galloway (State College), the top ranked 152 pound wrestler in America. Lear and Galloway battled to a stalemate in the first period. Lear went underneath in the second, and stunningly reversed Galloway and rode him out, the first deficit the Little Lions star faced all season going into the third period. In the third, Galloway escaped, then took Lear down for what looked like the winning takedown. But Lear was able to escape in the final thirty seconds to send the bout to overtime. They traded offensive exchanges in OT, but neither could. With multiple two-time state champs already losing in Hershey that weekend, Galloway was feeling the pressure headed into rideout. Lear chose bottom and looked as though he had Galloway on his back for a reversal. But Galloway was able to settle his hips and throw in a leg and a side headlock, desperately holding onto Lear as the clock ticked down and winning the match in rideout. Galloway went on to pin Martin for his third state title. On the back side, Lear majored Neil Bretz (Cumberland Valley) to secure a medal then beat future Division II NCAA champion Albert Miles (Canon McMillan) for a spot in the bronze medal match. There, he hammered local foe Kyle Huddle (Parkland) 10-2 to secure third place as Easton won their second straight PIAA tournament title.
Lear came back as a senior determined to win a state championship. He dominated the early going, rolling undefeated into Reno, where he’d put together the best stretch of his career. He opened by teching California state qualifier Paul Lujano (Buchanan), then pinning Oklahoma medalist Chris Culp (Broken Arrow). In the quarters, he met Rocco Caponi (St. Vincent-St. Mary’s), the eventual Ohio state finalist and 2004 state champ who would win Fargo the following summer. Lear showed him absolutely no mercy in a 12-1 romp when he turned Caponi three times. He beat Fargo Cadet All American Nick Orlando (Pittsburg, CA) in semis, setting up a California vs. PA final against eventual California state champion Brett Sloane (Vacaville). Lear scored takedowns in the first and second period and added a third period reversal to finish his dominant run through Reno as Easton crowned three champions for the first time in the national event. Lear rolled to the finals at Manheim, though suffered a setback to Neil Bretz (Cumberland Valley) in the final. The following week, Lear was wrestling in practice when he tore a ligament in his ankle after getting it rolled up on. That cost Lear all of January and most of February. He tried to return for D11 Duals with his ankle heavily taped and not fully healed. But he was clearly not himself in a 2-2 OTRO loss to unheralded Matt Hemhauser (Stroudsburg) in the quarterfinals. He hung on to beat Todd Israel (Liberty) in overtime during their semifinal bout, but was held out of Easton’s win over Northampton for their third straight D11 title. He also dropped a bout in Easton’s dual with New Jersey state champions Absegami in a top ten national match up before the NWCA All Star Classic. He gave it a go at State Duals, going 2-1, but losing again to Brentz in their semifinal match against Cumberland Valley. Lear had enough seeding points to earn the top seed at 160 in the D11 tournament. But after sneaking past 16 seed Chris Farkas (Northampton) 3-2, he met Zeke Lane (William Allen) in his quarterfinal match. Lane, who finished fourth in the state, was no ordinary eight seed, but also missed time during the season. Lane took it to Lear, beating him 8-2, though afterwards Lane noted that he was not excited about the victory because “that was not the same Matt Lear”. Lear also sustained a collarbone injury during the bout, and made the tough decision not to weigh in the following morning and default out of the tournament, ending his high school career.
History of Easton Wrestling 