Colony wrestling standout to continue career at Coast Guard Academy

PALMER — In December of 2016, Robert Haan capped a stellar high school wrestling career. But at that point, the Colony High School senior wasn’t quite sure if his time on the mat had officially come to an end.

Staying in state, possibly attending UAF, was an option. There were wrestling programs interested, but not necessarily a fit for Haan.

Then the Coast Guard Academy hit Haan’s radar. And the service academy based in New London, Connecticut, turned out to be an ideal fit for Haan, with both athletics and academics.

Wednesday, surrounded by coaches, classmates and family, Haan signed his National Letter of Intent to attend the Coast Guard Academy and wrestle for the Division III program.

“Everything seemed to fit,” Haan said.

Haan said his desire to attend the academy was sort of a last-minute thing. After considering other options, including not wrestling at the next level, Haan became interested. His focus first shifted toward attending a service academy, and applied to the Air Force Academy. But after doing more research, and reading the Coast Guard Academy’s mission statement, he knew where he wanted to start the next chapter in his life.

“Everything fell into place,” Haan said. “I feel really blessed.”

Haan said he contacted the academy’s wrestling coach, which sparked his interest to return to the mat. He also said, overall, being a part of the academy appealed to him.

“Helping other people, feeling like I’m part of something bigger,” Haan said. “I’m not just doing a job for myself, I’m helping other people. Helping make other people’s lives better.”

Haan said he plans to study civil engineering. There’s an added bonus, he said. The Coast Guard has a civil engineering unit based in Honolulu, Hawaii.

“Kind of my final goal is to get to Hawaii,” Haan said.

But before that, Haan, a decorated wrestler with the Knights, will have an opportunity to compete for the Bears.

“I think he has great potential at the Division III level,” Colony head coach Todd Hopkins said. “He’s strong. He’s fast. He knows a lot of technique. It’ll probably be an adjustment to the next level, but I think he’ll find a lot of success.”

Haan will wrestle at 197 pounds as a freshman.

Haan was a three-time Northern Lights Conference champion for the Knights. He finished first at 138 pounds as a freshman, first at 170 as a junior and first at 195 as a senior. He was second at 160 as a sophomore, forfeiting the championship match to a teammate. Haan also earned a state title as a junior and finished second as a senior. He never finished lower than third in state, also logging third-place finishes as both a freshman and sophomore at the state tournament.

“When I found out about the wrestling team at the Coast Guard Academy, I thought about it. After being away from the sport for a little while I started missing it,” Haan said. “I thought I’d regret it if I didn’t try.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.