Sean Richmond ’04
Career Record: 109-26, D11 Champ, 2x Regional Champ, 2x State Medalist
Tournament Championships: Manheim Champ
College; Pittsburgh (NCAA Qualifier)
2004 – 160 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Champ, State Fourth (31-4)
2003 – 152 lbs.: District Runner-Up, Regional Champ, State Fifth (45-5)
2002 – 145 lbs.: District Third, Regional Fourth (33-12)
2001 – 145 lbs.: (0-5)
The workmanlike Sean Richmond was the heart and soul of the Easton class that was the first to win four consecutive state dual championships.
As a freshman, Richmond made spot starts in Easton’s lineup, going 0-5 for the state champions.
He broke into the lineup as a sophomore at 145 pounds and immediately became a steadying presence in the Easton middleweights. He earned his first varsity win in a 6-5 decision over John Dugey (Nazareth) in Easton’s season opening dismantling of the Blue Eagles. Richmond made the Round of 12 at his first Reno, including a win over Oklahoma medalist Jon Ramesh (Edmond North). He took third at Manheim, losing in the quarters to local rival and state bronze medalist Brad Herman (Parkland) before bouncing back for a bronze medal. Richmond capped Easton’s incredible run of seven wins in the first eight bouts against St. Edward when he tripped up Ohio state medalist Bryan Wolff 6-3. At D11 Duals, Richmond wrestled the first match in an incredible series with Billy Haydt (Northampton), knocking off the Konkrete Kid in overtime, 3-1 in a preview of three years worth of tense bouts with high stakes between the two. In the D11 tournament, Richmond won his first two matches to match up with Bobby Zuber (Northampton) in the semis, where the Konkrete Kid captain took out Richmond 3-2. Richmond came back to finish third with a 38 second pin of Gary Hoosier (Emmaus) for the bronze medal. At Regionals, Richmond opened with a major, then fell to state bronze medalist Andy Hoffman (Shikellamy) in the quarterfinals. He wrestled back with a pair of wins, including an OTRO escape to knock out Hoosier, but fell in a rematch with Hoffman for a trip to states, 8-2.
As a junior, Richmond bonused his way into tournament season, including a 17-5 drubbing of future state champ Brent Fiorito (Upper Perkiomen). At Reno, Richmond put together the finest tournament of his career. After losing in the prequarters to Cavin Rathjen (Sheridan ID), Richmond tore through the consolation bracket, beating Oregon state champ Ronald Lee (Crater) 13-2, pinning California bronze medalist Ryan Houck (Clovis West) and Utah state champion Randy Callicoat (Timpanogos), before defeating Idaho state champ Paul Ricks (Skyline) to advance to the bronze medal match. There, Richmond took down Olympic Gold Medalist, two-time NCAA champion, and three-time California state champion Jake Varner twice in a 4-1 win for third. Richmond was one of two Easton wrestlers in the tournament to beat a future Olympic Gold Medalist. At Manheim, Richmond advanced to finals, where he fell to Parkland’s Herman, 12-10 in a wild overtime bout. Richmond used that momentum to rip through January, pinning three opponents in a row, beating future D11 champ Eric Bauder (Emmaus) 12-6, then showing out at the NHSCA Final Four, pinning Oklahoma bronze medalist Brett Behanna (Edmond North) in 1:12, handled Virginia state finalist Nick Pullano (Great Bridge) 9-3, and handled NCAA All American and National Prep champion Hudson Taylor (Blair Academy) in a stellar 3-0 day. He kept that momentum rolling with a 22-10 decision against Phillipsburg and a revenge win over Herman, 10-9 in a blowout dual win over Parkland. Richmond ran his winning streak to 15 with a 3-0 day at D11 Duals, beating archrival Billy Haydt (Northampton) in Easton’s stunning 34-23 win over the Konkrete Kids. Richmond bonused his way through state duals, including a record nine second pin in the state final as Easton romped to a state title. Richmond was the top seed for the D11 tournament, where he had two falls and a major to make his first D11 final. There, he’d get round three with Haydt. Once again, they were 1-1 through regulation, but this time Haydt converted the offensive opportunity with eight seconds left in overtime to beat Richmond 3-1 for the D11 title and cut his series advantage to 2-1. The following week at Regionals, Richmond scored 59 points in three matches to cruise to a rematch with Haydt in the finals. This time, Richmond got his offense going in regulation, scoring the bout’s only takedown and holding on for a 3-2 win over his KKid rival. In his first state tournament, Richmond took Harry Keyser down four times in a 10-5 win. In quarterfinals, Richmond was in a barn-burner with Jason Hollar (Red Lion), where Hollar was hit with stalling four times, the last a two-point penalty to tie the match with ten seconds left. In overtime, Richmond was in twice on deep shots, the second of which came in the final ten seconds. But despite having Hollar upside down on the mat, Hollar was able to pass an ankle and scramble for the winning score as the buzzer sounded to knock Richmond out of title contention. Hollar was the eventual state runner-up. Richmond beat two District 1 opponents to make it onto the medal stand before losing his consolation semifinal then beating Hudson Harrison (General McLane) for fifth place in the state.
Richmond was named a captain as a senior. However, in the preseason, Richmond suffered an elbow injury that would eventually require “Tommy John” surgery following the season. He did not make the trip to Nevada for the Las Vegas 100 or Reno, instead making his season debut at Manheim. There, Richmond won his first title as one of seven Easton finalists in the event. Following Manheim, Richmond went tech, fall, tech, fall, fall, fall leading up to the NHSCA Final Four, including a first period pin of future D11 champ PJ DiStefano (Whitehall). At the Final Four, Richmond wrestled Ohio state champion David Erwin (St. Paris Graham), and severely aggravated his elbow injuryand was eventually pinned by Erwin. He missed matches with Apple Valley (MN) and Blair Academy. He returned to the lineup to beat Alex Shafer (Upper Perkiomen) in a 29-25 win over the Indians that was anticipated to be a possible state dual final. He kicked off his final Phillipsburg match with an 18-7 win over Mike Duffey, that started a rivalry record 59-6 win by the Red Rovers. The following Saturday, Easton took on Northampton for the Lehigh Valley Conference championship. Northampton won the flip, which allowed them to control match ups and bump Billy Haydt up to 171 away from Richmond. Richmond majored Brett Wandler, 19-6, but Haydt pinned Kyle Dailey which helped propel Northampton to a 31-30 win. The following weekend was one of the Rovers’ finest hours, with Richmond leading the charge. After throttling Parkland and Nazareth in the first two rounds of D11 Duals, they got their second straight rematch with the Konkrete Kids after a loss. This time, Easton won the flip, allowing them to control match ups, bumping Jordan Nettuno, Mike Rogers, and Richmond up to 152, 160, and 171, cementing Richmond-Haydt as the deciding bout of the dual. With the dual 23-19 with four bouts to go (and Northampton state champions Josh Haines and Jon Oplinger looming), Haydt and Richmond battled to a 1-1 score at the end of regulation, with both earning quick escapes and mostly handfighting on their feet. Overtime on their feet was similarly cautious, with neither coming close to scoring. Richmond’s second period escape gave him choice in rideout and he went underneath Haydt in the biggest dual meet OT in Easton history. Richmond caught Haydt’s wrist and hit a Peterson roll, nearly getting caught halfway on his back before powering through and putting Haydt to his back for the dual meet (and essentially state championship winning) reversal. Famously, Richmond came up facing the Easton crowd, whose wild celebration let him know the call went his way. The match finished a 29-25 Easton win and propelled them to a fourth straight state dual. Richmond teched Adam Norman (Clearfield) in their quarterfinal bout, then handled state qualifier Jonathan Wentz (Erie Cathedral Prep) in the semis. In the finals, Richmond got what he hoped was just his first crack at returning state champion and top ranked Jarrod King (Connellsville). With the dual already clinched, Richmond went for broke and pushed King in a 6-4 loss. At the D11 tournament, Richmond was the top seed and looked it, going tech, major, major to make his second straight D11 finals against Haydt. For the third match in a row, Richmond got the better of Haydt, this time with one regulation takedown standing up for a 3-2 win. At Regionals, Richmond was pushed in his first round match by Dave Sullivan (Delaware Valley), hanging on for a 6-5 win, then throttled Justin Kulp (Southern Lehigh) to make his second regional final. He’d, of course, see Haydt again and run his winning streak to four against his Konkrete Kid rival, again winning 3-2 to claim his second Northeast Regional crown. Richmond was bracketed with King, the returning state champ and future NCAA champion, so he’d have to see him in the semifinals as the top two ranked wrestlers in the state. In his opening match, Haydt defeated 2005 state champion Corbin Semple (Waynesburg) 8-7 to kick start his tournament. He majored Harry Keyser (Norristown) in semis to secure his second straight medal and set a semifinal date with King. In the semis, King and Richmond went scoreless in the first period and King escaped in the second. Wanting to give himself a full period to win and not get stuck under King, Richmond went neutral in the third. The strategy nearly paid off when Richmond seemed to take King down on the edge to an explosion of the crowd at the Giant Center. But the referees determined Richmond did not quite drag his toes on the edge, and waved him out of bounds. King was able to handfight and hold onto a 1-0 win and send Richmond into the semifinals. On the back side, Richmond defeated Corbin Semple for a second time, this one by major, to set up one final date with Billy Haydt, who had lost to the other finalist, Mickey Moran (Shaler) in the first round and wrestled all the way back to the bronze medal match. In the final installment of their rivalry, Richmond and Haydt traded haymakers, with Haydt breaking his losing streak and taking the bronze medal with an 8-5 win.
After Easton, Richmond went to Pittsburgh, where he was an NCAA qualifier for the Panthers. He came back to Easton to teach history and serve as an assistant coach. He was an assistant at Delaware Valley before becoming the head coach and athletic director at Stroudsburg.
History of Easton Wrestling 