HBI

Dalton Walker
dwalker@harrisburginfo.com

March 05. 2010 6:00AM

Taylor Harris can't stand losing.

So it probably wasn’t a surprise to the reigning high school heavyweight wrestling state champion when he went undefeated this season, which included a 4-2 victory in the Class A state title match.

“I didn’t want to lose at all,” the Harrisburg junior said. “I hate losing more than winning sometimes. But the goal is not to lose and win the state championship.”

Harris can check both of those off his list. He went 33-0 and defeated Mitchell’s Kyle Larson on Feb. 27 in Rapid City to capture his first state title.

“As a heavyweight,” Harris said, “I don't really wrestle like one because most heavyweights just kind of push around, don’t really do much. But I like taking shots and stuff, kind of making things happen.”

That couldn’t be more true than during the championship match when Harris caught his opponent off guard early with a quick spin move and take down that earned him two points.

Joe Brown, first-year head wrestling coach at Harrisburg, said Harris is a hard worker and earns everything he gets.

“He works extremely hard in the wrestling room,” Brown said. “He has a great technique. He always stays positive, works hard in the weight room and goes the extra mile outside of practice.”

As soon as Harris won the state championship he walked towards his coach and embraced as Brown gave the junior a bear hug.

“For Taylor, sky is the limit,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if takes wrestling as far as he can go. His future looks really bright.”


WATCH A REPLAY of SDPB's broadcast of Harris' match here