ADVERTISEMENT

Former PSU wrestler Billman will be back at Easton as head coach

GhostK

GhostK

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2018
79
21
1
https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/19956

Excellent news!

Sounds like a crazy situation:

Then, at a meeting of the Easton school board on Tuesday, March 20, representatives from the Easton branch of the NAACP called for the firing of Easton Area High School's AD along with principal Kyle Geiger for their alleged roles in the dismissal of varsity wrestling coach JaMarr Billman the previous week.

Marvin Boyer, political action chairman for Easton's NAACP, provided details of an incident March 10 involving Billman being attacked verbally and physically by family members of a wrestler who failed to make weight on the last day of the 2018 PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) Wrestling Championships, the Morning Call reported.

According to Boyer, some members of that wrestler's family "became enraged" and started calling Billman names, swearing at him.

"The wrestler's grandfather went so far as to choke Mr. Billman, used racial epitaphs, called him [the N-word], threatened his life.

"Throughout the verbal and physical assault, Billman remained calm and reported the incident to his direct supervisor, the athletic director, shortly after the incident."
 
I saw some of the enraged folks in the hallways of the Giant Center that morning. It wasn't pretty. One of the jackhats threw a full cup of coffee against a wall during his profanity-laced tirade. :rolleyes:
 
Billman hit a cement special at Dapper Dan and was PA's OW that year (link: 1997).

Team USA's OW was some kid from Utah, "Cael Sanderson". He gave up the first takedown, and I recall thinking briefly, "Utah kids can't wrestle with PA kids!!!". But then he hit a Peterson, scored another 500 points in about 3 minutes, and pinned our guy. Probably was a fluke, though, because I haven't heard his name since.

EDIT: welp, it was Brian Burrows who hit the cement job. Can't read my own link.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CholleyVandine and Reslo
Billman was a huge recruit for Penn State. Iirc, academics were an issue with him.
 
NoVa Lion said:
Yep, I was there. Clint couldn't get off the bottom against Casey. Of course, that was true of pretty much everyone.
Click to expand...
Me too. Good seats for that one. It was odd. I think the score was something like 2-1. It didn't seem that close though. Casey looked much bigger and was in control of the entire match. I just looked it up though and Casey escaped with 6 seconds left for the deciding point. Musser had the riding time point. That's not how I remembered it.

Memory. Unreliable.

Here is the match:

https://www.flowrestling.org/video/...unningham-michigan-vs-clint-musser-penn-state
 
Last edited:
mn78psu83 said:
Me too. Good seats for that one. It was odd. I think the score was something like 2-1. It didn't seem that close though. Casey looked much bigger and was in control of the entire match.
Click to expand...

We had nosebleeds through the season ticketholder process for the tourney, but scored "finals only" seats outside for the finals (obviously). That was also the year some freshman from Iowa State won his first of four titles and four OW awards. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: mn78psu83
bscaff1 said:
Billman hit a cement special at Dapper Dan and was PA's OW that year (link: 1997).

Team USA's OW was some kid from Utah, "Cael Sanderson". He gave up the first takedown, and I recall thinking briefly, "Utah kids can't wrestle with PA kids!!!". But then he hit a Peterson, scored another 500 points in about 3 minutes, and pinned our guy. Probably was a fluke, though, because I haven't heard his name since.

EDIT: welp, it was Brian Burrows who hit the cement job. Can't read my own link.
Click to expand...
Close though: Billman hit 2 consecutive standing mixers 3 sec into the state finals. Poor guy had no idea what hit him.

 
  • Like
Reactions: bscaff1
Easton had 2 hammers that year of 1997. Billman would wrestle 145 and Bryan Snyder would go 152 during during the regular season. Both went on to win states. Snyder's father Barry was one of the great assistant coaches in the area. Easton was so loaded back then Bryan could not even break the lineup his Freshman year.
 
freshman Billman also had two good matches with that year's NCAA champ McGiness from Iowa. Lost 12-11 and 9-7. McGiness avenged a regular season loss to Cunningham in the NCAA finals.
 
El-Jefe said:
Close though: Billman hit 2 consecutive standing mixers 3 sec into the state finals. Poor guy had no idea what hit him.
Click to expand...

lol, thanks for the link. I haven't watched that state final match in several years. Wilson was a state finalist, but the highlight for him was the handshake. It must have been a long offseason for him.
 
As a non-wrestler growing up in the Lehigh Valley Billman was the influence that got me to watch the sport. He was so athletic and fun to watch and I have been hooked ever since.

If I recall, he had a domestic violence issue when at PSU which may have led to his move to Lock Haven. I don't say this to knock him but its also a testament to demonstrate his maturity and growth since then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Richie O

Wrestling PRESS RELEASE: Nittany Lion Wrestling Welcomes Jimmy Kennedy as Assistant Coach, Promotes Jake Varner to Head of Penn State Olympic RTC

Replies
1
Views
1K
The Lions Den
10002268
10002268
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back