Penn State Wrestling: Inside the Singlet – Wrestler Profiles for 149

Imran Heard

Year: Senior
Weight: 149
Major: Recreation, Park, Tourism Management
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Penn State Career

Imran transferred to Penn State in the fall of 2020 and he did not participate in any matches during the shortened 2020-2021 season.

In his second season as a Nittany Lion, Heard took part in 11 matches between the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, Mat Town Open, and Edinboro Open.

For the current 2022-2023 season, Imran has yet to see any action on the mat.

Prior to Penn State

Imran originally committed to wrestle for Lock Haven following his senior year in high school. And in his two year wrestling for the Bald Eagles, Heard took part in 47 career matches while competing at 141 pounds.

Prior to college, Imran attended the St. Paul’s School for Boys in Timonium, Maryland. There he compiled over 200 career wins, was a two time District of Columbia Champion, a two time National Prep All-American, and was a member of both Maryland’s freestyle and Greco national teams.

I spoke with Paul Bernstorf who was the Athletic Director at St. Paul’s when Imran was there.

“Imran was a great teammate and was always around the room and fitness area. He was extremely focused on being the best he could be. He interacted well with all of his classmates and was great to be with. I remember the first time he wrestled. He was extremely quick and very aggressive. He was all over his opponent and was relentless. I loved his aggressive style and liked the way he carried himself.”

During his time at St. Paul’s, Imran’s coach was Rob Eiter who was previously the head coach at Penn and an assistant coach at Maryland. But their paths met well before their time at SP.

While Coach Eiter was an assistant at Maryland, Imran was going to him once a week for private training at the university. During one of their training sessions, Imran’s father, Anthony, approached Rob and said that they wanted to commit to him and to commit to wrestling at the University of Maryland. Where ever Rob went, Imran wanted to go.

But what the Heard’s didn’t know was that Eiter was being courted by a high school in New Jersey to be their head wrestling coach, and he was a finalist for the heading coach job at Columbia. Not being deterred, Anthony once again sought after Rob and asked him about being the coach at a small private school in Maryland called St. Paul’s.

After much deliberation, both Rob and Imran ended up heading to St. Paul’s.

"“Imran’s mind is always working. He’s always asking questions like ‘Coach what do you think about this, what do you think about that?’, so I had to reel him in at times during practice. We would be going over stuff and working on positions and Imran would be doing something completely opposite. And I would tell him that’s great but we’re not working on that [laughing]. Imran was always wanting to do better and improve himself. But there were always a lot of questions about technique, conditioning, cutting weight, and strategy.” -Coach Rob Eiter"

Coach Eiter said multiple times that Heard was one of the most ridiculously athletic kids he’s ever seen and been around.

“He’s a real humble person and he never raised his voice,” Eiter continues, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him yell. He would get mad, but he would internalize it during a match or during practice.”

Outside of wrestling, Imran was the same person in the classroom as he was on the mat. Humble, likable, and always asking question. But through the constant barrage of questions, all of his teachers loved him and all of his classmates loved him.

“What makes us different is that we attack the cause with fashion and positive vibes. Some may ask, ‘why is it called Classified Era?’ It’s called this because we believe that people make mistakes, and if you’re headed in the right direction your past is classified to the world and doesn’t really matter. If you put on one of our shirts, you’re doing the right thing simply because of what we stand for.”

And I bet you didn’t know Imran also owns a company, did you? Well he does and it’s call Classified Era.

His company became an idea in Imran’s head before he was even in high school. Heard thought of the idea in 2014 and he wanted to start a movement to help promote morals and values in society. After asking around for better ideas on how to get more people involved, the realization came to him that everyone likes clothes. So at that point Imran decided Classified Era should sell apparel that supports creating a better society for future generations.

Keep in mind, Heard couldn’t even legally drive a car yet and this is what he was thinking about.

But Classified Era doesn’t stop at selling just clothing. Imran and his company take action by supporting charities financially and by helping out and giving back to impoverished areas. Heard says that they can make this “The Era Of Change” one step at a time.

Coach Eiter adds, “He had a really good following his junior and senior year. Kids from other teams and kids from all over the country were wearing his gear.” He really pushed Imran to follow a curriculum in college which would gear his studies towards business and entrepreneurial practices.

Heard heeded the advice of his coach and he is currently working towards a degree in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. Imran sees himself as a young and motivated entrepreneur and his goals are to create life changing experiences through festivals and concerts. He says he is still working on his brand while wrestling for Penn State and that he’s extremely excited to fulfill his goals and change lives.