‘Hurricane’ Harrison to blow into city as No. 1 in NAIA
By Steven Allspach, Journal sports writer | Posted: Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Hayden "Hurricane'' Harrison is going to roar into Sioux City as the No. 1-ranked NAIA wrestler nationally at 157 pounds.
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University junior, though, would like nothing better than to fly into town piloting his own aircraft, jet or otherwise.
Instead, last year's NAIA national tournament runner-up at 157, will have to hop a commerical jet from near his home in McKean, Pa., fly to Omaha and make the drive up to compete in the inauguaral Collegiate All-Star Challenge Saturday in the Long Lines Family Rec Center.
"I'd love to be flying my own plane to Sioux City, but I'm not yet fully qualified to do that, but I will be soon enough,'' said Hayden from his home in McKean, in the far northwest corner of the Quaker/Keystone State. "My schedule at Embry-Riddle includes approximately three hours of flight training a day.
"On top of that, my other classes and wrestling workouts keep me awfully busy.''
Harrison, who acquired his intriguing nickname at General McLain High School in Edinboro, Pa. -- "I'm pretty aggressive and explosive on the mat'' -- is scheduled to wrestle NCAA Division II All-American Austin Scarset of Augustana in the Saturday meet that begins at 7 p.m. Scraset is ranked fourth nationally in Division II.
Harrison will take a 22-6 record into the match after going 3-2, losing twice to Division I grapplers, in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions last week.
Among his six losses are two to Arizona State's Brian Stith, ranked second to Iowa State's Trent Paulson in Division I, and one to Hofstra's James Strouse, ranked ninth in Division I.
Harrison was back home in McKean (10 minutes from Edinboro) for a short holiday break and he'll return to classes at Embry-Riddle's campus in Prescott, Ariz. ERAU, which offers the foremost curriculum in aerospace studies in the country, also has a campus in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 20-year-old who began his college career at Edinboro University has over 100 hours of flight training.
"I began my college career at Edinboro and love it there,'' says Harrison. "It's a Division I wrestling school and I was ready for that challenge along with the academics.
"The one and only reason I left Edinboro was because my dream has always been to become a pilot and Embry-Riddle is the foremost school for that.
"It was a chance to continue with the wrestling, too, and that's been a bonus.
"Eventually I'd like to fly commerical jets, but there's always other lures, like business jets or even flying sports teams around the country or world.''
Last year, Hayden went 37-16, losing by pin to Mike Rio of Lindenwood (Mo.) in the national title match.
"Rio pinned me in the third period after I'd come back to tie the match,'' recalls Harrison. "Usually is someone gets me to my back I'm in trouble because I'm not much of a top-notch bridger.
"It was something to learn from, but to forget about, too, because I was a little stupid in the match.''
This season, Harrison is coached by Ken Ramsey, a former All-American at The Ohio State University.
"This a sweet opportunity for me to wrestle in a meet like this,'' says Harrison. "It's exciting in another way for me, too, because my old coach, John Petty, might be able to be there to watch.''
Petty, after guiding ERAU to a fifth-place finish in the national tournament at the Tyson Events Center last season, resigned to become the head coach at Northwestern College in Orange City.
One of Petty's Red Raider grapplers, Enoch Francois, will face Cody Henriksen of Augustana in the 174-pound match Saturday.
Two of Harrison's teammates will also compete, second-ranked Richard Byrd at 125 pounds and No. 2 Joffre Lander at 184. Lander will tangle with top-ranked Jasper Lockett of Missouri Valley.
Lockett was fourth and Lander seventh in the national tournament last season.
The Saturday meet includes 13 matches and will feature nine returning national champs from either NAIA, NCAA Division II or III and the junior college ranks.
The event is endorsed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All tickets are general admission and available at the door.
The Long Lines Center is located adjacent to the Tyson Events Center, which will host the NAIA national tournament for the third straight year March 2-3.
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University junior, though, would like nothing better than to fly into town piloting his own aircraft, jet or otherwise.
Instead, last year's NAIA national tournament runner-up at 157, will have to hop a commerical jet from near his home in McKean, Pa., fly to Omaha and make the drive up to compete in the inauguaral Collegiate All-Star Challenge Saturday in the Long Lines Family Rec Center.
"I'd love to be flying my own plane to Sioux City, but I'm not yet fully qualified to do that, but I will be soon enough,'' said Hayden from his home in McKean, in the far northwest corner of the Quaker/Keystone State. "My schedule at Embry-Riddle includes approximately three hours of flight training a day.
"On top of that, my other classes and wrestling workouts keep me awfully busy.''
Harrison, who acquired his intriguing nickname at General McLain High School in Edinboro, Pa. -- "I'm pretty aggressive and explosive on the mat'' -- is scheduled to wrestle NCAA Division II All-American Austin Scarset of Augustana in the Saturday meet that begins at 7 p.m. Scraset is ranked fourth nationally in Division II.
Harrison will take a 22-6 record into the match after going 3-2, losing twice to Division I grapplers, in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions last week.
Among his six losses are two to Arizona State's Brian Stith, ranked second to Iowa State's Trent Paulson in Division I, and one to Hofstra's James Strouse, ranked ninth in Division I.
Harrison was back home in McKean (10 minutes from Edinboro) for a short holiday break and he'll return to classes at Embry-Riddle's campus in Prescott, Ariz. ERAU, which offers the foremost curriculum in aerospace studies in the country, also has a campus in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The 20-year-old who began his college career at Edinboro University has over 100 hours of flight training.
"I began my college career at Edinboro and love it there,'' says Harrison. "It's a Division I wrestling school and I was ready for that challenge along with the academics.
"The one and only reason I left Edinboro was because my dream has always been to become a pilot and Embry-Riddle is the foremost school for that.
"It was a chance to continue with the wrestling, too, and that's been a bonus.
"Eventually I'd like to fly commerical jets, but there's always other lures, like business jets or even flying sports teams around the country or world.''
Last year, Hayden went 37-16, losing by pin to Mike Rio of Lindenwood (Mo.) in the national title match.
"Rio pinned me in the third period after I'd come back to tie the match,'' recalls Harrison. "Usually is someone gets me to my back I'm in trouble because I'm not much of a top-notch bridger.
"It was something to learn from, but to forget about, too, because I was a little stupid in the match.''
This season, Harrison is coached by Ken Ramsey, a former All-American at The Ohio State University.
"This a sweet opportunity for me to wrestle in a meet like this,'' says Harrison. "It's exciting in another way for me, too, because my old coach, John Petty, might be able to be there to watch.''
Petty, after guiding ERAU to a fifth-place finish in the national tournament at the Tyson Events Center last season, resigned to become the head coach at Northwestern College in Orange City.
One of Petty's Red Raider grapplers, Enoch Francois, will face Cody Henriksen of Augustana in the 174-pound match Saturday.
Two of Harrison's teammates will also compete, second-ranked Richard Byrd at 125 pounds and No. 2 Joffre Lander at 184. Lander will tangle with top-ranked Jasper Lockett of Missouri Valley.
Lockett was fourth and Lander seventh in the national tournament last season.
The Saturday meet includes 13 matches and will feature nine returning national champs from either NAIA, NCAA Division II or III and the junior college ranks.
The event is endorsed by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. All tickets are general admission and available at the door.
The Long Lines Center is located adjacent to the Tyson Events Center, which will host the NAIA national tournament for the third straight year March 2-3.
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Phil from Erie PA wrote on Dec 26, 2006 11:44 PM: