Leader of the Hawks

JEREMIAH BARTZ /Sports Editor

HOUSTON -- Dan Harvey is enjoying his return and farewell to Houston High School, all in the same school year.

After spending the last two years in California, Harvey opted to return to Alaska and Houston High for his final year of high school. Since returning to HHS, Harvey has been a spark for Hawk athletics. He not only earned all-conference honors and nearly helped lead a young Houston football squad into the playoffs, but this weekend he could become the first Hawk wrestler since 2001 to win a state championship.

Harvey's leadership was felt immediately on the football field for the Hawks. After being out of football for both years while he lived in California, Harvey returned to the Hawks and became a catalyst in Houston's running game on the offensive side of the ball, and efforts to stop the run on defense.

And on the Hawk wrestling team, it was much of the same -- Harvey became an instant leader.

Houston head wrestling coach Chris Roggie said Harvey is one of the reasons why the Hawks were able to grow and mature as a team this season.

"He has given us a leader -- definitely," Roggie said. "Last year we were really lacking leadership, this year we have that team leadership."

With just one man on the mat against a common opponent, wrestling is often a sport seen on more an individual basis than team basis. In his first stint at HHS, Harvey said the wrestling program had that overall attitude.

"A bunch of people were wrestling for themselves," Harvey said.

But Harvey, the lone senior on the Hawk squad, and Roggie, the second-year Hawk mentor, have changed that.

"(Now) the team feels like kind of a family," Harvey said. "Everyone pushes each other, hangs out with each other -- it's a family type of atmosphere."

That feeling of brotherhood has helped the Hawks develop a solid corps of talent in the upper weight classes. At last weekend's Kachemack Conference regional tournament, Houston placed five wrestlers in the top-three in weight classes ranging from 171 pounds to 215.

Harvey earned a region championship in the 171-pound class and Clinton Banzhaf won the title at 189. Chris Hanson placed second at 171, taking an injury forfeit in the match against Harvey, and Brad Erickson (189) and Jeremy Grube (215) each placed third.

Harvey said the opportunity to wrestle a number of quality wrestlers at or around his weight class has driven him to become a better grappler.

"I've never been on a team where I was able to have decent practice partners," Harvey said. "It's a better workout, more variety. None of us really like losing to each other."

"My philosophy is, you're only as good as your practice partner," Roggie said.

In California, where he attended high school in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, Harvey was a city conference champion at 171, but despite attending a school substantially larger than HHS, he was on a small wrestling team.

"I had to wrestle our 130 pounder, he was the best opponent," Harvey said.

Harvey, who finished the regular season with a 29-5 record, is expected to be ranked third in his weight class in the 1-2-3A state championships, which started today in Seward.

Nick Shellabarger, of Mt. Edgecumbe, and Stearling Reardon, of Bethel, are the top two ranked wreslters of the class, respectively. Harvey has wrestled each, losing to both opponents by slim 1-point margins. The trio of wrestlers are right within a step of each other.

"Whoever has the best day will win the tourney," Roggie said.

Harvey dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Shellabarger in the semifinals of the Anchorage Christian School tournament. Shellabarger won his bracket in the tourney known as the premiere invitational of the small school wrestling schedule, and Harvey finished third.

Harvey dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Reardon in the finals of the Bob Bailey Invitational, a large school tournament at Chugiak High School.

Harvey said of the two, Reardon may be his top competition.

"He's the toughest for me to beat," Harvey said. "My personal opinion is, he's a better wrestler."

In practice, Harvey said, his teammates wrestle similar to Shellabarger and Reardon so he can

prepare.

"(Dan) has a real desire to work on his mistakes, fix those mistakes, reverse the outcome of some of those matches," Roggie said.

And Harvey, who hopes to continue wrestling on the college level and has looked into schools such as Western State and the Colorado School of Mines, hopes that outcome is reversed on the main stage of the state tournament.

"My goal is a state championship," Harvey said.