Billman was a two-time Pennsylvania state champ at Easton before going on to Penn State, then Lock Haven University.
The two Lehigh Valley newspapers presented the "return of Billman" news with varying degrees of confidence.
The Express-Times opened its story with this assertive statement: "Easton's new wrestling coach definitely comes from the Red Rovers family.
"Jamarr Billman will succeed Steve Powell as the head wrestling coach at Easton Area High School, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation."
The Morning Call was a bit hedgier, making it clear that any announcement regarding Billman's hiring would have to wait at least a week. Easton's athletic director, Jim Pokrivsak, would not name names, but said, "All I can say is we contacted a candidate about the job. We had 17 applicants and two withdrew. We interviewed five of them and brought two back for second interviews.
"We should get confirmation back from the candidate about whether he's going to take the position by Monday or Tuesday for sure. And then as long as he's approved by the school board [at its June 21 meeting], everything should be fine. Until then, everything is tentative. So we're not done with the process."
Neither paper was able to reach Billman for comment.
Billman does not have head coaching experience, but has served as an assistant coach at Wilson Area High School, and prior to that, as an assistant under Powell at Easton.
Billman graduated from Easton in 1997, where he was a three-time District 11 champ and two-time Northeast Region champ. In addition, he was a four-time PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) placewinner, winning back-to-back state titles in 1996 and 1997. Billman launched his collegiate career at Penn State, where he was Big Ten freshman of the year, placing fifth at 142 pounds at the 1998 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. He then transferred to Lock Haven where he completed a 61-7 record and finished fifth in the NCAA championships at 149 pounds in 2001 and 2002, becoming a three-time NCAA All-American. Billman's overall collegiate record was 117-13.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now