A stronger, healthy Eric Harmon ready to attack the postseason

DEXTER – If Wednesday’s practice was any indication of the health of Dexter High School senior wrestler Eric Harmon, then the three-time MSHSAA Class 2 state qualifier is ready to go for the upcoming Class 2 District 1 Tournament at Ste. Genevieve High School on Feb. 17.

Harmon, who sat out the recent SEMO Conference Tournament while recovering from a shoulder injury, battled his teammates in an intrasquad challenge on Wednesday to earn a coveted “championship belt” which Bearcat coach Cody Boyer bought in Poplar Bluff at one point and now uses the 13-pound, Japanese wrestling belt as a motivational tool for his athletes.

For Harmon, his success on Wednesday was indicative of his potential – when healthy.

“His drive,” Boyer said of what separates Harmon from most wrestlers.

That inner fire is genetic in the case of Harmon, whose father, Wesley, was a former Bearcat wrestler, and Boyer said the lineage goes even further back for the young 132-pounder.

“Even when he is out of (practice),” Boyer explained, “his grandpa pushes him and his dad pushes him. They are out running. They are out working out.”

The effort has paid off.

Harmon recently won his 100th career match and has his sights set on a fourth trip to the MSHSAA Class 2 State Championships on Feb. 22 at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

“He wants (success),” Boyer said. “He is going to wrestle in college. That was his goal, so his drive pushes him.”

Harmon finished second in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 Tournament as a 126-pound junior.

He won 34 of his 42 matches a year ago before losing by a pin in both of his state matches.

“I've put in the work,” Harmon said. “I don’t slack off. It’s my senior year, so it is my last chance.

“That is a big motivator.”

Harmon said his post-practice routine a year ago included video games following dinner.

That diligence has now resulted in his strength becoming, well, his strength.

“My stamina has always been my weak point,” Harmon said. “I’m really trying to work on it right now. My strength… there are not a lot of 132 (pounders), who are lifting as heavy as I am.”

Harmon, who will study Cybersecurity, as well as wrestle at NCAA Division III Fontbonne University in the fall, also said he has grown from a mental aspect on the mat.

“A lot of wrestling is mental,” Harmon said. “I have that over a lot of people. It is not very often that I get mentally broken down in a wrestling match.”

Harmon won both the Class 2 District 1 Tournament, as well as the SEMO Conference Tournament at the 120-pound level as a sophomore, and has tallied seasons of 26, 24, 34, and now 26-plus and counting this year.

“His physicality (is special),” Boyer said. “He has been our most aggressive wrestler, but you can tell that there has been a change (this year). When he goes out there, he looks stronger, and he feels stronger.

“Just him going out there and moving people around, that has helped him this year.”