Austin Harris, Former Roseburg Wrestler Qualifies for NCAA Championships
Austin Harris who wrestles for Oklahoma State University received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships today, which was decided on by the national committee. The former Roseburg wrestling graduate is one of six at-large bids that were given out in the heavyweight division to make up the field of 33 wrestlers. “I was nervous, I didn’t know if I was going to get the bid,” Harris said. “I wasn’t too sure, today. I got the news right before practice, I was super excited and ready to go compete.” “Yea I just found out during the last period,” Roseburg wrestling coach Steve Lander said. “They picked the wild cards last night and they announced them today. It’s real exciting. One of the most interesting things is he wrestled 113 pounds at Roseburg, now he weights 230. He started for two years for them, he’s doubled his wrestling weight from Roseburg high, he’s undersized. I’m proud of him for all the extra work he’s done with his diet and weight training.” Lander has kept in touch with Harris throughout his time at Oklahoma State. “I would talk to him a couple days after each match,” Harris said. “That guy has meant the world to me, I met him in sixth grade and he’s still helping me out four years after high school, means the world to me." “All season, we usually visit after every match,” Lander said. “The very first one, I asked if it was alright, if I bothered him still. And he said he’d love it. And we’ve been in communication about after every match.” Harris is 9-6 on the year and currently ranked No. 20 in the nation according to FloWrestling. Although he didn’t earn an automatic qualifier in the Big 12 tournament, he had a strong enough season to earn one of the at-large bids. “I think the Big 12, we had 7 or 8 eight guys ranked in the top 12," Harris said. "The top qualifiers were really highly ranked guys, I just happened to be one of the guys who got a bid." “Austin and Northern Iowa kid got the at-large bids, just about everyone from the Big 12 is ranked,” Lander said. “Five automatic spots from Big 12 from the heavyweight go to the NCAA championships, and the NCAA picked up two more from that conference. It’s a strong group of heavyweights which that was in Austin’s favor as well. The only losses for the year were from qualifiers for the NCAA championships and he had quality wins against the Air Force heavyweight who was ranked all year. For sure a quality win for him.” Harris went 130-30 overall at Roseburg high school. He was a four-time state placer and won the 2017 state title at 182 pounds. “I think it’s pretty cool how I get a lot of love and support from Roseburg,” Harris said. “I really appreciate that whole community.” The Division I NCAA Wrestling Championships will be March 18-20 in St. Louis, Missouri. Seeding and brackets for the NCAA tournament will be revealed tomorrow, March 10, during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Selection Show on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. ET.