Highland Community College Athletic Hall of Fame
Inducted August 23, 1997
In the spring of 1952, Richard Paul Cotton, along with Jake Tinsley, became the first track and field team at Highland Community College. They asked Dean Howard Seaman if they could participate in track, and the request was granted with the stipulation that they plan their own workouts, with Dean Seaman seeing that they got to the meets. Richard won the 880 yard run and the mile at the state junior college meet in the spring of 1952. The two man team placed 6th in a field of 14 junior colleges that represented the NJCAA Region VI.
Richard continued his education at Peru State College graduating in the spring of 1956. Since 1956 Richard has spent 41 years coaching basketball, football, cross country, and track on the secondary level in Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. His coaching career has been recognized with many achievements and awards on the national and state level, including induction into the Wyoming Coaches' Association Hall of Fame in 1992 and two time (1989, 1992) National Cross Country Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches' Association. Richard gives credit to Dean Seaman and the faculty, as they cared about the individual and not just the student in starting his journey of athletic coaching success.
