Beyond the Matt

With music blaring and lights gyrating in the dance club Metropolis, Matt Feast entered the spotlight for what would be the highlight of his 21st birthday.

Just hours after competing at the Cliff Keen NWCA National Duals last weekend, the Penn wrestler and his teammates mustered up enough energy to explore Cleveland's nightlife. Yet everyone was caught off guard when Feast -- all 240 pounds of him -- summoned the strength to attempt a backflip.

"There was a lot of techno music going on. It's kind of fast-paced dancing," the Wharton junior said. "After 12:30 or 1, I was out there on the floor doing the best I could. There was actually a little breakdancing, too.

"I tried to upstage this girl that was doing some weird dance, so I just tried to backflip across the dance floor."

Days later, the success of Feast's aerial display was still in question. But what has never been disputed is the driving force behind it.

Feast is a competitor. He's the No. 3 heavyweight in the country, with a record of 17-4.

His only losses have come at the hands of the nation's two top-ranked wrestlers in his weight class -- No. 1 Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State and No. 2 Pat Cummins of Penn State.

"He's a great example of someone who's established himself among the nation's elite," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "The next step for someone who's done that is to spread the gap. The guys ranked between No. 10 and 20 in the country, now he's beginning to win by bonus points against those guys.

"Matt's already proven that he's closing the gap against Cummins and Rowlands."

Feast is a co-captain and the Quakers' lone returning All-American, having finished seventh at NCAA Nationals last season.

Most importantly, Feast has contributed to team success. He leads No. 13 Penn in both points and falls with 36 and seven, respectively.

"The leadership that he provides in the training room environment is going to be critical to our team success," Reina added.

Dwelling on Feast's athletic accomplishments, however, means ignoring his depth as a person. Yes, the man is imposing, but he is anything but a stereotypical jock.

"This went all the way back to high school," Feast said. "A lot of people just wouldn't come up and talk to me. I guess they're intimidated by my size.

"But once people get to know me, they know I'm a light-hearted guy."

Reina went so far as to classify Feast as a "gentle giant." The wrestler, in fact, hasn't been in a fight since 10th grade.

Beyond being friendly and soft-spoken, Feast is intelligent. Last season, he was named second-team NWCA All-Academic and Academic All-Ivy.

"Matt takes the same kind of heartfelt approach to his academics as he does to wrestling," Reina said. "He has very high standards for himself in all areas -- in school, wrestling [and in] how he handles his friendships and relationships.

"He has one of the highest grade point averages on our team, and is a student in the Wharton School. I think he's a very good candidate to graduate with honors."

Feast said that education is his top priority because in 30 years, his wrestling career will have long passed. Balancing sports with books is not a problem, so long as he keeps focused on "the task at hand."

"My social life suffers during the wrestling season," he added. "For those five or six months, people who see me at parties won't see me -- they'll probably think I fell off the face of the planet."

The mentality of working toward short-range goals is what landed Feast on Penn's wrestling team. During his freshman year at Blue Mountain High School in Cressona, Pa., Feast made the decision to focus exclusively on wrestling and to work toward a state championship. His senior year, he achieved it.

When it became clear that he could accomplish more, Feast set the bar higher. Months later, he had taken top spots at the High School National Championships and at the Junior Nationals in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle wrestling.

Feast's goal now is to win the NCAA Championships. Although he's stumbled against Cummins and Rowlands, he pinned Michigan's sixth-ranked heavyweight Greg Wagner on Jan. 3, at the Lone Star Duals. Just a year prior to the dominating victory, Feast struggled to a 3-2 decision, defeating the Wolverines' heavyweight in November of 2002.

"I'd say if he keeps working the way he is and continues to improve like he has through the year, I don't think anyone can beat him," said Adam Cooney, Penn's freshman heavyweight who won the High School National Championships in 2003. "A lot of things have to go right to win a national title, but he definitely has just as good an opportunity as anyone in the country."

So Feast toils in practice and goes home to study, ignoring the temptation to daydream about pinning Tommy Rowlands for the national championship.

But if that day comes, don't bet against Feast. When Feast meets a challenge, chances are, he'll overcome it.

Unless, of course, it's a backflip.

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