NEWARK — “The Beast” of Newark might sound like the title of a B-movie from the 1950s, but there was nothing second-rate about Justin Harrison”s performance Saturday at the North Coast Section Wrestling Championships in Newark.
Harrison, the No. 3 seed from Lower Lake High School in the 217-pound division, needed a grand total of 162 seconds to pin the top two seeds in the final rounds and win a sectional championship, something no other Lower Lake wrestler has done.
“If I said he wrestled brilliantly, it would have to be an understatement,” said a goatee-less Lower Lake coach Ed Fuchs, who promised to shave it off if Harrison reached this weekend”s CIF State Championships in Bakersfield.
“He was better than brilliant … I don”t have a word for it,” Fuchs said in summing up the 5-0 record Harrison posted at the sectional tournament, including wins over the sixth, second and first seeds.
“Going into the tournament we knew that”s what he was going to have to do and he did it,” Fuchs said.
But the way he took care of business even impressed Harrison, who was introduced by NCS announcer Rich Swift as “Justin ?The Beast” Harrison” while receiving his coveted first-place medal Saturday night during the awards presentation.
“No, I thought it was going to take a lot longer than that,” Harrison said of first-round pins against No. 2 seed Jordan Felix of DeLaSalle (1:13 into the semifinals) and No. 1 seed Tyler Wilson of Maria Carrillo (1:29 into the finals). I mean in one of my matches (Friday, in the second round), I won only 6-5.”
Harrison said he did expect to beat both Felix and Wilson and had “a game plan” in place for each of his final two opponents.
“I was kind of prepared,” Harrison said. “I had seen them wrestle before and I kind of knew what to expect.”
Against Wilson in the championship match, Harrison said another element that contributed to his win was patience.
“I stayed calm and waited for him,” Harrison said.
“Tyler hit Harrison with a beautiful single leg (in the opening seconds) and Justin used perfect technique to get out of it, just like we show the kids in practice,” Fuchs said.
For every move initiated by an opponent during the two days of the tournament, Harrison answered with the perfect counter, according to Fuchs.
In fact, Harrison employed a move known as the “Pearl Harbor” to drive Wilson into the mat face first in the championship match.
“It”s used if the guy has you from behind and you”re both in a standing position,” Fuchs said. “It”s a reversal move. You fall forward and once you grab the guy”s thigh, you spin your hips all the way around to get behind him. You let the momentum of falling forward help you.”
Harrison”s move stunned Wilson and the takedown soon resulted in a quick pin.
“The place was going nuts,” Fuchs said of the reaction of the crowd. “They love to root for the underdog … they love to root against the No. 1 seed.”
While Harrison remained composed following his title-clinching win, Fuchs” emotions burst forth.
“I probably jumped up 10 feet after the pin,” Fuchs said. “Justin was calm as he could be, real good composure. He was just waiting on the mat to shake hands (with Wilson). No showboating, nothing like that.”
Fuchs and Harrison locked in a bear hug moments later.
“One of the best feeling you can have,” Fuchs said of Harrison”s victory.
The pin of Wilson also gave Harrison the Lower Lake single-season record for most pins (36). He already owns the school”s all-time record of 81 pins.
Now 39-3 on the season, Harrison registered his 35th pin of the season five hours earlier against Felix in the semifinals.
Before the two wrestlers had much of a chance to do anything, Harrison ducked under Felix, spun him around and slammed him to the mat. Felix tried to roll out of trouble but Harrison rolled right with him and never let go, according to Fuchs.
“Once he (Felix) was on his back, he tried to fight for a little bit, but it was over,” Fuchs said.
Harrison”s long wait before taking on Wilson in the finals probably helped him more than not, according to Fuchs.
“He was happy, but he didn”t overcelebrate,” Fuchs said. “We went out and had some lunch and went to the mall … it was my 31st birthday, so it was fun and everyone was real relaxed, not stressed. We kept him hydrated, full of energy.”
Once he had beaten Felix in the semifinals, Harrison was assured of a spot in the CIF State Championships, as the top four from each weight class automatically advance.
“I told him to continue to have fun, that I was already proud of him regardless of what happened in the finals,” Fuchs said.
“I thought that would be his toughest match,” Upper Lake coach Tom Cox said of the Harrison-Felix semifinal. “But Justin really tore him up.”
Cox, who will be taking one of his own wrestlers to the state championships this weekend (142-pounder Brandon Sneathen, see related story), said he was thrilled to have experienced Harrison”s success up close.
“We couldn”t think anything more of Justin than we already do,” Cox said on behalf of himself and assistant head coach Ron Campos. “He”s a top-notch student, the kind of kid you would want your daughter to date. He has a smile on his face all the time.”
Cox said both of Harrison”s high school coaches, Fuchs and former Lower Lake coach Justin Gaddy, were on hand for his section-winning performance Saturday.
“He was the talk of the tournament, he really was,” Cox said. “He really took it to the next level. You see kids in the zone not very often in your life, but he was in that zone. It might sound corny, but it was kind of a meant-to-be type of thing.”
