Heartbreaking news out of District 11. On Saturday evening, Stroudsburg athletic director and wrestling coach Sean Richmond died in a car accident on Route 380 when he was struck by a tractor trailer. Richmond was 38.
First and foremost, Sean was beloved in wrestling and Lehigh Valley athletic circles. A 2004 Easton graduate, Sean was a staple in Lehigh Valley wrestling from his days as a competitor on some of the greatest teams in Pennsylvania history and then immediately entered the Lehigh Valley coaching fraternity after graduating from Pitt, first at his alma mater, then at Stroudsburg. After being named the AD at Stroudsburg, Richmond was affectionately knows as “Mr. Mountie” for how much he threw himself into the Stroudsburg athletic program. He was at everything, took on the chairmanship of D11 Softball, and generally became as much of a fixture in the Stroudsburg community as he was at Easton, where Richmond was the quintessential Red Rover.
Richmond was hard working, humble, thoughtful, quick to deflect credit and take blame, and student-athlete first in everything he did. His workman-like, no nonsense style as a wrestler extended to his coaching style and his life. I know we talk about how coaching has changed, but Richmond was a throw-back, the kind of guy who was going to coach at Stroudsburg for 30 years, get the gym named after him when he retired, and would continue to be a lynchpin of their athletic community for generations. He was also wise beyond his years when it came to program building and the health of the sport in the Valley, and was poised to be a leader in his generation of coaches and keepers of the sport. You’re seeing an outpouring from across the Valley and state right now, because people loved Sean Richmond. NWCA Hall of Famer Steve Powell said Richmond was like a son, and I think if anybody in the Valley was going to have a Steve Powell-like career of 40 years in service of athletes, it was going to be Sean. It’s a tragic loss.
Richmond took over as the Stroudsburg head coach in 2017-18. In seven seasons, Richmond coached seven state medalists (accounting for about one-third of the medalists in Stroudsburg history), two state finalists, and a state champ in Lenny Pinto (now a college star at Nebraska). He led Stroudsburg to an 8th place finish at the 2020 PIAA Tournament, far and away their best finish in program history. Richmond’s teams advanced to District Duals five times, the only five team postseason appearances in Stroudsburg history, and advanced to quarterfinals twice. Richmond was 109-42 in his coaching career, at a program that had very little wrestling history compared to their peers.
Prior to Stroudsburg, Richmond was the head assistant at Easton from 2009-2015 and ran their offseason club program. He was on staff for their run of four straight D11 duals titles from 2010-2013, including a run to state finals in 2011. His Rover teams finished fourth in the state in 2010 and 2013. He also cornered Mitchell Minotti’s state championship in 2011. Richmond remained on staff until the retirement of Steve Powell, then took a brief position on staff at Delaware Valley before taking over at Stroudsburg. Rather infamously, Richmond was not selected to succeed Powell, a decision I think a lot of the Easton wrestling family regrets in hindsight.
A three-year starter at Pitt, Richmond was an EWL finalist in 2007 and an NCAA qualifier at 165 pounds, and a two-time EWL medalists. Overall, Richmond started in three seasons at Pitt after medically redshirting as a freshman, but passed on an opportunity to take a fifth year and complete his eligibility when the teaching and coaching job opened up at Easton.
At Easton, Richmond was a three-year starter, captain, and two-time state medalist during one of the great runs in school and state history as the Red Rovers won four consecutive state champions. Richmond won 109 matches in his career – including a victory over future Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time NCAA champion Jake Varner – and went 76-9 over his final two seasons, despite missing chunks of his senior season with the elbow injury that cost him his freshman year of college. He finished 3rd, 2nd, and 1st in D11, and won a pair of Northeast Regional titles (after painfully finishing 4th and a match away from Hershey as a sophomore). As a junior, he took 5th in the state, losing a 9-7 quarterfinal in overtime to runner-up Jason Hollar, with a pair of wins over future state champ Corbin Semple. As a senior, he advanced to state semifinals, where he dropped a classic bout with two-time state champ and future NCAA champ Jarrod King, losing 1-0 and having the winning takedown waved off on the edge in the final minute. He wrestled back to take 4th. He was also a two-time Reno Tournament of Champions medalist, a Manheim Lions Classic champion, and holds the Easton and PIAA record for fastest fall at the state duals with his 9 second pin against Kiski Area in the 2003 PIAA finals.
Many District 11 fans will remember Richmond’s incredible rivalry with Northampton’s Billy Haydt in 2003 and 2004. Richmond finished 5-2 in his career against Haydt (plus 1-0 in college), with four wins coming by 3-1 or 3-2 scores and a pair of wins in NE Regional finals. The two split D11 championships, and Haydt took the final battle of their careers in the state 3rd place match in 2004. But most impactfuly, Richmond went 2-0 against Haydt in D11 Duals finals, scoring an 7-3 win over Haydt in Easton’s surprise romp in the 2003 finals and one of the most iconic victories in D11 history in 2004.
In 2004, Easton and Northampton were ranked #4 and #3 in the country and Northampton had defeated Easton the week prior to win the LVC regular season, and only one team advanced from D11 to the state tournament. Richmond and Haydt did not wrestle in the regular season dual as Northampton bumped Haydt up to 171. But in the D11 final, Easton won the coin toss and controlled match-ups, and could send Richmond up to chase Haydt when Northampton bumped up their middleweights. The bout was a classic, 1-1 after regulation, and nobody scored in the one minute sudden victory period on their feet. Richmond scored first and chose bottom in the rideout. In front of a sold-out crowd at Liberty, Richmond locked up a Peterson roll (a specialty of the Red Hawk wrestling club where he trained as a youth) and rolled Haydt to his back, nearly getting caught on halfway on his own back as he rolled. As Richmond sat through, he was locked sitting facing the Easton crowd, and described seeing the entire side of the gym blow up as the reversal was awarded was the most incredible site of his career. The win catapulted Easton to their fourth straight D11 duals title and sent them to win their fourth straight state championship. Somewhere (in the Call or Express archives), there is a picture of Richmond holding Haydt down and beaming, that is one of my favorite sports photos of all time. That’s how I’ll remember him.
