Signs wrestling scholarship to Lakeland College in Wisconsin
Despite a devastating injury that took away her senior high school season, St. Cloud’s Miley Harrison will compete at the next level – signing to wrestle at Lakeland University in Wisconsin during a ceremony at the Bulldog Gymnasium Monday.
The signing is significant on several fronts, as school officials believe Harrison is the first girl to sign to wrestle at the collegiate level. The signing comes after a pre-season injury, that was later diagnosed as a broken bone and torn ligaments, ended her senior season before it began.
“It was really a shame, because I really thought she was headed for a great season,” Coach Mike Short said. “She had a solid junior season where she qualified for regionals. She had worked her tail off during the off-season and really looked ready to go. Unfortunately, she had the injury before she had a chance to excel.”
Harrison still attracted enough attention during her junior season to secure the college offer and was excited about the opportunity to compete at the next level.
“They expressed an interest in me for several years and kept inviting me to their summer camps,” she said about attending Lakeland. “Even after the injury they were still interested in signing me and I am really grateful for their belief in me.”
For Harrison, wrestling was a family affair. Her mother wrestled at Tallahassee Godby High in the late 1990s, where she was the lone female on the boys’ varsity team, and the sport has always been a part of her family.
“It was always a big part of her life and she really encouraged me to participate in it,” she says. “I just started with the youth programs in St. Cloud and grew up with the sport.”
Harrison, who had been a part of the county’s now-defunct middle school program and had been wrestling since she was eight, noted that the discipline and family aspect of the sport is what appeals to her the most.
“In wrestling, there’s no excuses, it’s you against your opponent, and that’s one of the things I like most about the sport.” she said. “The dedication, work ethic and discipline the sport requires and how it makes you push yourself past what you think you are capable of is another part of the sport I love. And while it is an individual sport, your teammates are your family. Because of the support you get from them, you feel like you part of a tight-knit group.”
Harrison said being part of history is humbling.
“If I am the first from St. Cloud High, I would just say I am honored. Girls’ wrestling has grown so much in the four years I have been in high school. Both in the number of participants and the skill level of what these girls can do.”
Harrison says she hopes to major in sports science with an ultimate goal of being a sports dietician.
