March 20, 2008

(St. Louis, Mo.): Clarion sophomore 149-pounder Hadley Harrison (McKean - General McLane) gave it his all, and was leading in both matches, but lost both in overtime at the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Championships on Thursday.

Held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Harrison, Clarion's lone national qualifier, went 0-2 on day one and is out of the national tournament.

In his opening match against Kyle Larson of Oregon State, Harrison came out like a house on fire. He opened with a takedown and a two-point near fall for a 4-0 first period lead. After Larson escaped, Harrison notched another takedown to lead 6-1 at the end of one.

In the second he chose down, escaped and took Larson down for a 9-1 lead. But that lead wouldn't hold. Larson got an escape and a takedown before the period ended to narrow the margin to 9-4.

In the third Larson escaped, then, with both wrestlers shooting, the duo hit heads and Harrison took injury time. Following the timeout Larson posted three takedowns to tie the match and send it into overtime. Unfortunately Harrison had 59-seconds of riding time at the end of regulation. A minute would have given him the winning point. Larson got the takedown in overtime to win 13-11.

In his wrestle back match, Harrison lost 5-3 in overtime to talented Scott Ervin of Appalachian State. Ervin, a red-shirt junior, was ranked 9th in the nation at 149 by Intermat entering the tournament and had a season record of 35-5. Harrison got the opening takedown to lead 2-0. Ervin escaped and Harrison led 2-1 at the end of the first.

In the second Ervin chose down and Harrison rode Ervin the entire period. In the third, Harrison chose neutral and with about a minute left, nearly had a match clinching takedown on the edge, but the official ruled the wrestlers out of bounds. With 25-seconds left Ervin got a takedown and Harrison could not escape. With the riding point in hand Harrison ended tied 3-3 and the twp went to overtime, where Ervin won the bout with a takedown.

"I was really proud of the way Hadley came out and wrestled a great bout tonight against #9 ranked Ervin", praised Clarion head coach Teague Moore. "Losing that first match 13-11 today was really tough, and would have affected most athletes, but he has great heart and character and showed that coming back strong tonight. The experience he gained is immeasurable. With hard work, and we know Hadley will do that, he can be right back here in 2009 and hopefully use this experience to his advantage."

Harrison finishes his season with a 23-12 record and has a two-year mark at Clarion of 44-31.