Hatboro-Horsham's Harkins Headed to Hershey

Heading into his senior year at Hatboro-Horsham, Matt Harkins had one goal that he set for himself as an acceptable end to a brilliant high school wrestling career.

A gold medal in the PIAA State Tournament to held in Hershey next week.

After his breathtaking overtime win in the semi final and a dominating 14-6 victory to claim the PIAA class AAA Southeastern Regional gold medal, Harkins will be packing his bags for Chocolate Town USA as a number one seed in the 119-weight class.

“This is what I have worked for all year,” said Harkins, “Last year I fell short, this year I don’t want to settle for anything less than a gold medal. The final today was actually easier than my early match. He (Dutrow) was really strong and I had a hard time countering his shots.”

Harkins improved to 39-2 on the year as he heads into Friday’s action at the Giant Center, and he will face his toughest challenge yet as needs four wins to achieve his ultimate dream of being a state champion and Hatboro- Horsham's first in three decades.

“Matt is a special wrestler,” said head coach Glenn Kaiser “He’s not just a wrestler."

"Everything he does from the time he takes the mat has a purpose. He approaches like no other that I have coached, it is a part of him, which is what makes him so great.”

Harkins’s road to the final almost had an unexpected detour in the person of Council Rock North sophomore John Dutrow, as Dutrow pushed Harkins to overtime before succumbing 2-1 as Harkins recorded an escape to snag the win.

Dutrow was still feeding off of the energy from a 16-0 technical fall over Jake Sacchetti, as he took the mat against Harkins and was almost able to pull off the upset.

“There were some tough no calls in the early match,” added a jubilant Kaiser. “But that’s part of the game, matt got it done and really stepped it up I the final, as a coach this is when we have fun, when we see a kid do so well, it’s a special feeling.”

In the final, Harkins wasted no time getting to work against Pennsbury’s Josh DiSanto, who dropped to 43-2, as he stormed out to a 7-3 lead before burying DiSanto in the final period with a take down and four back points to close out the final with a 14-6 win.

DiSanto’s only loss prior had been in a dual back in December, and he had won the three prior matches on this weekend by a combined score of 22-4 plus one fall.

“I am so glad to be going back to Hershey,” added Harkins. “This weekend wasn’t too bad, physically but next week everybody you face can potentially put you on your back. That’s why it was it was so important to get the one seed. I have to be ready mentally and physically. This is one step, but I still have four matches to win to reach my goal.”

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