THE FRONT ROW WITH BRUCE BOURQUIN, December 20, 2013

When Josh Richmond was only 5 years old, his father David took him to get a flu shot at a clinic in St. Maries.

His father told Josh he would sign his son up for wrestling, on one condition.

"One day, my dad told me I had to get a flu shot," said Richmond, who finished fifth last season at the 126-pound weight class in the state 2A wrestling tournament and is a junior this season. "He told me that if I didn't cry during the flu shot, because I hate needles, he said I could go sign up for wrestling. I didn't cry, so I was able to sign up for wrestling. I watched WWE one time and I was fascinated by it."

That toughness carries on today, as the St. Maries High junior wrestler is one of the best in the region at the 2A level in the 145-pound weight class.

In the fifth-place match at the state tournament in February, Richmond defeated RJ Cotant of Challis 11-5, to finish the season with a 34-10 overall record. Richmond had earlier defeated Cotant by the same score.

"I beat him once in the (second round)," Richmond said. "I beat him pretty good, I continued to dominate him."

ONE OF Richmond's long-term goals is to work in law enforcement.

"I want to become a highway patrolman," Richmond said. "That'd be cool. I have a cousin who's in his late 30s, Joe Matt, who was a police officer in Plummer and is now with the Spokane Police Department. He told me it's a pretty cool job, it looks like a fun job ... it (wrestling) would help with law enforcement. It'd be a lot easier to arrest them than if you didn't know anything about wrestling."

RICHMOND SAID the highlight of this season so far, with a 6-1 dual meet record at the beginning of the week, was picking up a comeback win over No. 1 seed Jared Monroe of 5A Lewiston 4-3 at the Dick Griswold Invitational on Saturday in Potlatch.

Monroe won the 145-pound championship at the Griswold Invitational, with Richmond coming in third. He was actually in a three-way tie for first place, but Richmond had fewer points than Monroe and second-place finisher Cody Appa of McCall-Donnely.

"Coming back, being down by (a few) points and winning over Lewiston was great," Richmond said. "Coming from a 2A school, and beating a 5A kid, actually meant a lot to me."

DENNIS HUMPHREY, the co-coach of the Lumberjacks wrestling team, has coached Richmond in wrestling and football since he was in fourth grade. Humphrey said Richmond, who played wide receiver and defensive back on the Lumberjacks football team, should have big seasons in both sports next season when he is a senior.

"The biggest difference I've seen in him from last year to now is he's gotten more mentally tough," Humphrey said. "He's got a few of his favorite moves. He's fundamentally strong."

Richmond's parents are David and Wendy Richmond. David works as a construction worker in Spokane, while his mother, a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, is a line cook at the Coeur d'Alene Resort and Casino in Worley. Josh is a descendant of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

Josh has an 18-year-old older half-sister, Kiah Madison, who attends Washington State University, played high school softball, basketball and volleyball at Tekoa-Oakesdale in eastern Washington, and is now a nursing major. He also has an 8-year-old younger brother, Josiah Richmond.

SINCE WENDY Richmond is a chef, that would be a nice advantage for a high school wrestler, right? Not necessarily, as Richmond's mother has taught him a bit of self-reliance.

"She gets tired of cooking all day," Josh Richmond said. "So she makes me cook for myself, so I cook stuff like macaroni and cheese. My favorite food is apple dumplings and after matches, I usually eat a protein bar."

But like a lot of parents, Wendy does this for a good reason.

"It's more so during wrestling season," Wendy Richmond said. "He has to maintain his weight."

Wendy Richmond has watched her son blossom into the top-notch wrestler he is today.

"Wrestling is his passion," Wendy said. "I don't think proud is the word. The growth and the maturity, the time and effort he's put in, no words can describe it."

RICHMOND AND his St. Maries teammates have adjusted smoothly to the new co-coaches, Humphrey and Mike Walters. Both were assistant coaches the past few years.

"It's good to know he's been around," Richmond said of Walters. "It's kind of an easy change. He's tougher on us, but in a good way. He's really serious about our conditioning."

Another big goal of Richmond's is to try to wrestle for a team like North Idaho College, or possibly Boise State.

"I want to go to a smaller school in Idaho," said Richmond, who earned a 2.8 grade-point average as a sophomore last school year. "I'd love to be able to wrestle in college. I heard the University of Idaho's trying to get a wrestling program together. I need to be more mentally strong and know I can beat anyone."

Richmond can certainly come close to beating anyone as he attempts to make an encore on his strong fifth-place finish at state last season.

And no, he does not cry nowadays when he gets his flu shot.

Bruce Bourquin is a sports writer at The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2013, or via email at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @bourq25