Ryan Kilpatrick ’01
Career Record: 78-25, 2x D11 Champ, Regional Champ, State Medalist
Tournament Championships: 2x Manheim Champ
2001 – 171 lbs.: District Champ, Regional Runner-Up, State Third (37-8)
2000 – 160 lbs.: District Champ, Injured (19-2)
1999 – 152 lbs.: District Fourth (22-13)
1998 – 140 lbs.: (0-2)
Ryan Kilpatrick is one of the most underrated two-time D11 champs who was an injury away from multiple state medals.
Kilpatrick got his beak wet as a freshman, going 0-2 in a pair of spot starts. He won his wrestle-off at 152 as a sophomore and got his first varsity win by pinning state medalist Mark Knock (North Schuylkill). He had 1-1 showings at both Reno and Manheim. He earned a 13-7 win over Joe Casella (Blair Academy) in Easton’s 31-23 upset win over the Buccaneers. His 3-1 win over John McRoberts was the difference in a dual meet win over Phillipsburg. In the D11 tournament, Kilpatrick lost a quarterfinals match to Kurt Pryor (Parkland), then rolled off three straight wins on the back side before Pryor beat him again in the bronze medal bout. At Northeast Regionals, Kilpatrick lost his opening bout, then won two to stay alive, including a 5-4 win over future rival and state finalist John Carr (Blue Mountain) before Pryor knocked Kilpatrick out in consolation semifinals.
As a junior, Kilpatrick moved up to 171 pounds where he made headlines early with a 7-4 win over future NCAA All American and state champ Travis Frick (Nazareth). Kilpatrick won Manheim with a 5-2 win over Mike Dubbs (Dallastown). After another win over Blair, Kilpatrick sustained a back injury at practice and missed nearly two months with the injury. He came back to post a 12-6 win over Craig Kempinski (Phillipsburg) as Easton manhandled the Stateliners. He gutted out a 5-4 win over Marty Limpar (Northampton) in the D11 final, though Easton dug itself too big of a hole for Kilpatrick’s win to swing the team score. At the D11 tournament, Kilpatrick made his first District final, with a pin and two comfortable decisions. In the finals, he hammered future D11 champ John Steiner (Freedom) 10-5 as one of three Easton champs on the night. However, Kilpatrick re-aggravated his back injury and had to medically withdraw from the Northeast Regional bracket, ending what was a very promising postseason. District third place finisher Brad Youwakim (Northampton) ending up placing sixth at the state tournament.
As a senior, Kilpatrick opened the season helped clinch Easton’s dual win over 2A champions Wilson with a 7-3 decision over two-time D11 champ Ed Johnson at 171. After falling to state champ Travis Frick (Nazareth) 5-3 in their dual with the Blue Eagles, Kilpatrick made a run to quarterfinals in Reno. He took California medalist Jimmy Becerra (Santa Ana) down three times in an 8-3 second round win, and had a 6-5 lead on California state finalist Willie Parks (Calvary Chapel) in quarters before giving up a takedown to fall 8-6. Kilpatrick lost his medal round match to finish just off the podium. Kilpatrick came back east to dominate Manheim, pinning his way to the finals before majoring Adam Nyman (Bald Eagle Area) 15-4 for his second straight Manheim championship. Kilpatrick had a pair of falls in wins over western PA powers Connellsville and North Allegheny and pinned two-time Delaware state champ Brian Willis in a 40-22 thrashing of St. Mark’s. His pin of Adam Swift (St. Edward) gave Easton a 27-18 lead going into the final two bouts with the Ohio powerhouse. He majored Ohio state champion NIck Lukens (Archbishop Moeller) at the NHSCA Final Four then pinned Oklahoma state champion Connor Sanders (Midwest City) thirty five seconds into their afternoon session bout. He beat rival John Steiner (Freedom) 12-8 to clinch the top seed at the D11 tournament. At District Duals, he met John Carr (Blue Mountain) for the first time in 2001 and dropped a 7-5 decision during their quarterfinal dual. He recovered with a pair of wins, including getting an injury default from returning medalist Brad Youawkim (Northampton) in the finals. At state duals, Kilpatrick gave up an escape in rideout to state medalist Christopher Bailey (Corry), but earned bonus in semis and finals as Easton romped to their first state duals title. At the D11 tournament, Kilpatrick was a scoring machine, with a 19 second pin, then put up 14 and 10 points to make his second straight D11 final. There he’d meet Carr for the second time that season. Once again, it was a high paced match, with both wrestlers scoring from their feet. Kilpatrick’ s second takedown held up for a 6-5 win and his second straight D11 title. The following weekend, Kilpatrick finally wrestled in his first Northeast Regional and hammered Walter Henry (Liberty) and snuck by Kyle Huddle (Parkland) with a third period rideout to set a date with Carr in the finals for the second straight weekend. This one was much more cautious, with Carr scoring the bout’s only takedown in the second period of his 3-1 win. The Regional loss dropped Kilpatrick into the bottom half of the bracket, with heavy state title favorite and national #1 Troy Letters (Shaler) looming in the semifinals. He opened by majoring Andy Martin (Manheim Central), then got a rematch with Christopher Bailey (Corry) from state duals. Unlike their first match, Kilpatrick and Bailey both earned two takedowns in regulation and went to OT at 6-6. In overtime, Kilpatrick hit an inside trip and took Bailey to his back for four points and a 10-6 sudden death win to punch a ticket to semifinals. There, he hit Letters, and the future NCAA champion majored Kilpatrick 11-1 to send him into the consolation bracket. Letters would pin John Carr in the state finals later that evening. On the back side, Kilpatrick beat future NCAA All American James Yonushonis (Phillipsburg-Osceola) in the consolation semifinal, then won a rubbermatch with Christopher Bailey to earn a bronze medal as Easton set a school record with 117 points and won the team title.
History of Easton Wrestling 