The 2000-01 season was a momentous one tor Reynolds High School, as the northwestern Pennsylvania school became the first in the state to record 500 dual-meet victories. Neal Lineman accounted for 201 of them in a coaching career that spanned 16 years.

He enlisted in the Army following high school, serving from 1954 to 1957, then enrolled at Purdue University. While at Purdue he won an Indiana State AAU title in 1958, lettered in wrestling for the Boilermakers in 1959 and 1960, then graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1961.

He was hired at Reynolds High School in 1961 and took over the wrestling program that had started up the previous year. It was a match made in wrestling heaven as Neal guided Reynolds to a 201-10 record before retiring from coaching in 1977. During that time, he had 10 undefeated seasons, suffering only one loss on the mat in his last 10 years as a head coach. He coached 10 county championship and section tournament teams.

Neal coached 77 individual sectional champions, 27 District X champions, 11 Central Northwest Regional champions and 13 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state place-winners, including five state champions and five runners-up. One of those was Brian Hills, the 167-pound silver medallist in 1975, who today continues the work begun by Lineman, coaching Reynolds over the 500-victory mark.

Neal was a 10-time Section III Coach-of-the-Year - 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1977. He was named District X Coach-of-the-Year in 1986, 1975, 1977 and 1986. His 1977 team won the PIAA Class AA Team Championship, earning him PIAA Coach-of-the­ Year honors.

He also coached the USA team against Pennsylvania in the Pittsburgh Press Classic in 1977.

He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 1983.

He and his wife of 42 years, Mary, live in Greenville. They are the parents of Robyn Weaver and Vicki Hildebrand and David Lineman.