IMLAY CITY — Imlay City wrestling standout Joe Harper signed a national letter of intent to join Tiffin (Ohio) University’s wrestling team recently.
Tiffin is a Division 2 school that competes in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
As mentioned before, Harper had no shortage of schools interested in him competing for their program. However, after visiting Tiffin back in October it became obvious that is the school he wanted to attend.
Joe Harper signs his letter of intent with Tiffin as dad Jason, mom Lisa and sister Alison look on.
Tiffin has a strong wrestling program. They finished the year ranked ninth in the nation for Division 2 squads.
Their head coach, Joey Simcoe, was named the Super Region 3 Coach of the Year and the team had five of their grapplers earn individual All-America accolades.
Harper brings plenty of talent to their program, having gone 49-2 with 35 pins during the 2019-20 campaign.
He earned the distinction of weight class champion at the Caro Tournament, Mayville-based Ryan Mercer Tournament, Imlay City Tournament, Imlay City-based Blue Water Area Conference Tournament, Division 2 districts hosted by Fenton High School; and a Gaylord High School-based Division 2 regional; plus provided a second (claiming All-State accolades) during the Division 2 state finals contested at Detroit’s Ford Field.
This was his fourth year on Imlay City’s squad.
He wraps up his high school career with a 153-25 mark, including 103 triumphs via the pinfall route.
Kevin Kissane has been covering high school sports for the Tri-City Times since 1985. When not standing on a field or court with his camera and notepad, he enjoys golf, travel and family. Kevin is a 1980 graduate of Capac High School, and is also a grad of St. Clair Community College and earned a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.
