Houston grappler grabs state title

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Sports Editor

SEWARD -- Since Dan Harvey first stepped onto a wrestling mat, he chased one goal -- a state championship.

Harvey's quest for a state title started at the middle school level and continued through his freshman season at Houston, before moving to California and competing in the Los Angeles area as a sophomore and junior. But Harvey returned to Houston for his senior season and Saturday he completed his quest with an individual title in the 171-pound weight class of the 1-2-3A state championship tournament in Seward.

Harvey said it was hard to describe the emotion he felt after capping off a successful prep wrestling career with a state title.

"I was finally able to achieve something I have been chasing for six years," Harvey said.

With 28 seconds remaining in the second period, Harvey -- seeded third in the bracket -- pinned Zach Klein, of Bristol Bay.

Harvey scored a late takedown in the first period to take a lead against the fourth-seeded Klein. Harvey chose the bottom position to start the second period and scored a reversal, sending Klein straight to his back.

A pair of upsets in the bracket matched the third-seeded Harvey against the fourth-seeded Klein.

Klein scored the biggest upset in the class, defeating Nick Shellabarger, the top seed from Mt. Edgecumbe, 7-1 in the semifinals. Shellabarger, who had previously edged Harvey 5-4 in the finals of the Anchorage Christian School tournament, was the top wrestler in his class for most of the season. Harvey said if anything he was disappointed Shellabarger was upset.

"It didn't matter; I would have liked to have seen Shellabarger. I didn't get a chance to beat him," Harvey said. "It didn't matter at the time, I was happy I made it to finals."

Harvey's toughest match of the tournament, and possibly the toughest of his senior season, came in a 6-4 overtime victory in the seminfals. Harvey notched a takedown with a head-and-arm move midway through the extra period to edge Sterling Reardon, of Bethel, the second-seeded grappler in the class.

"It was a tough match," Harvey said. "I got the takedown in the first period, had the upper hand."

Harvey scored four early points in the match, but nearly saw his quest for a state title come to an end late in the contest. Late in the match Reardon put Harvey on his back and tried to work a pin combination for nearly 45 seconds.

"There were a bunch of thoughts running through my mind," said Harvey, who hasn't been pinned in a match since the seventh grade.

Harvey was one of three Hawk wrestlers to advance to the championship round.

Clinton Banzhaf (189) and Matt Gardner (135) advanced to the finals and each placed second.

Gardner scored one of the biggest upsets in the tournament, defeating defending state champion Skylar Graika, of Valdez, in the semifinals.

"He finally got it in his head he can win," Harvey said.

Gardner trailed early in the match, but pinned Graika with 12 seconds left in the first period.

The trio of Harvey, Gardner and Banzhaf led the Hawks to a fifth-place finish in the team standings -- a tremendous improvement for the Houston wrestling squad.

"Our goal was to get into the top five," Harvey said. "In a way we fulfilled our expectations, but there were a couple people we thought could do better."