Feb. 26, 2003

CLEVELAND - Senior Gerald Harris (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) once was crowned homecoming king at Cleveland State: now he can lay claim to being king of the Viking wrestling program.

With the 184-pounder's victory at West Virginia Sunday, nationally #7-ranked Harris picked up his 113th career victory to become CSU's all-time leader. Harris passed Toby Matney, who recorded 112 wins at 158 and 167 pounds from 1976-79.

Harris has racked up a stellar 35-3 mark this season, including victories over then #2 Greg Parker of Princeton and #5 Mark Becks of Penn State at the Midlands Tournament. His junior season, Harris produced a 25-11 mark at 174 pounds and qualified for the NCAA Championships after a fourth-place finish at the Eastern Wrestling League tournament.

During his freshman season in 1998-99, Harris became the first rookie since Dan Carcelli in 1992-93 to win more than 20 matches, posting a 26-12 mark. He also qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing sixth at the EWL tournament. As a sophomore, Harris notched a 27-11 mark.

In addition to taking the career mark, Harris also established the single-season dual meet victory record this year. Harris completed the dual meet portion of the Viking schedule with 18 wins, passing the mark of 16 held by John Reid (118-126 pounds), 1973-74; Gary Sorace (126 pounds), 1873-74; Tom Cavanaugh (150-58 pounds), 1973-74 and Tony DiGiovanni (142 pounds), 1975-76.

Harris will seek another crown when the Vikings travel Morgantown, W.Va., to compete in the 2003 EWL Tournament at West Virginia University on March 8 and 9. A good showing would earn Harris his third trip to the NCAA Championships, to be held from March 20-22 in Kansas City, Mo.