Steve Diacont ’65
Career Record: 22-16-2, D11 Champ, NE Regional Champ
College: NC State – football
1965 – 180 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Semifinals (14-5-2)
1964 – 180 lbs: District Semifinals (8-11)
Superstar linebacker Steve Diacont was also one of the elite upperweights in District 11.
As a junior, cracked the lineup for the Boiling Springs Invitational when state champion and football teammate Chuck Amato made the descent from 180 to 165. Diacont took fourth after a semifinal loss. Diacont had a rough regular season, going just 3-8 until the Phillipsburg match, where he upset undefeated state qualifier Pat Russamano, 4-3 to get the Rovers within striking distance going into the final match. He took that momentum into the D11 tournament, where he stormed out of the pigtails to make semifinals, getting revenge for a regular season loss against Dean Berg (Northampton), and scoring a pair of falls before losing to Jay Rabold (Bethlehem), 3-0 in the semis.
Diacont was a new man as a senior, splitting time between heavyweight and 180, going 6-2-2 at 180, including a draw with returning D11 champ Les Miller (Dieruff). Diacont caught fire for the D11 tournament, opening with a 5-0 decision, then defeating top seed John Stevens (Hellertown) with a 6-3 win, his second win of the season over Stevens. The following week, Diacont knocked off his second undefeated wrestler of the tournament with a 5-3 win over Curt Baehler (William Allen), avenging his lone regular season dual loss. He completed his run by avenging his draw with Don Brown (Bethlehem) by shutting out the Hurricane, 5-0 for a D11 championship. Diacont’s streak continued the following week, where he claimed a Northeast Regional championship with a 6-1 semifinal win then a narrow 3-2 decision over Bob Kopenhaver (Shamokin) to send Diacont to states. In his state semifinal match, he dropped a 4-1 decision to fellow Big 33 football pick and future Virginia defensive tackle Dick Constantine (Uniontown).
Diacont went on to play linebacker for NC State alongside Amato, where he was the team captain in 1968 and was a star of the famous “White Shoes” defense that was ranked as high as #3 in the country and beat Georgia in the 1967 Liberty Bowl.
History of Easton Wrestling 