Penn State Q&A: Harbor Creek coach offers insight on Lions wrestling commit Connor Pierce

Penn State picked up its latest wrestling commitment last month.

Four-time PIAA medalist Connor Pierce announced that he would be a Nittany Lion in April. Pierce finished second at 138 pounds as a senior and compiled a 139-18 record in high school. He will join head coach Cael Sanderson’s program later this year.

“After a long journey, I am excited to announce that I will be furthering my academic and athletic career at The Pennsylvania State University,” Pierce wrote on social media. “I would like to thank everyone who helped me along the way.”

To learn more about Pierce as a wrestler and a person, Blue-White Illustrated recently caught up with Harbor Creek head coach Don Capan. The conversation is presented in a question-and-answer format below.

When did Pierce’s ability shine through?

Almost every person involved with a high school athlete’s rise to stardom can remember the moment they realized that participating in major college athletics, such as wrestling at Penn State, was a possibility.

Capan has heard stories of Pierce struggling to succeed at first in his earliest days of wrestling. But, his drive to master the sport led to more wins than losses in a hurry. The Harbor Creek head coach can still remember his earliest interactions with Pierce as a high school freshman.

“He made team captain as a freshman,” Capan said. “When you saw his agility and his commitment to training on a lot of stuff, I mean, you could see it his freshman year. It wasn’t just the wins. It was how he got in and got after it.

“Very, very technique-oriented. When you saw him going out against some of these guys, we take tournament trips to Pittsburgh, Phillipsburg-Osceola, different places like that. Seeing him holding his own as a freshman against juniors and seniors, and beating a fair amount of them. That was probably the real first clue that he could possibly be a D-I candidate.”

Pierce finished seventh at states as a freshman.

What is Penn State getting in Pierce off the mat?

According to Capan, Purdue, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all expressed interest at one point or another. Penn State did too, of course, and the Lions won out in the end.

What are the Lions getting in the Class of 2022 recruit?

“You watch him when he wrestles, and he’s usually smiling about 98% of the time,” Capan said. “That’s just part of his nature all the way across the board. You’re going to get somebody that’s very active, I would presume in the Penn State community, as much as he is with us.”

Pierce was a member of his school’s Homecoming court. He was also the president of student council, a stellar student, and active in fundraising and other community service efforts.

“You’re definitely getting somebody that I think would represent Penn State well academically, athletically, and personally.”

Capan also noted that a large contingent of Harbor Creek fans made the trek to Hershey to see Pierce compete in the state tournament. To his head coach, it spoke volumes to the impact the wrestler has made off the mat in his community.

What about on it?

Pierce won 102 of his 139 prep matches by either major decision, technical fall, or fall. He is an active wrestler who looks to score in bunches when the opportunity presents itself. It’s no wonder, then, that his style was intriguing to a Penn State program that emphasizes exactly that.

“People push kids who wrestle year-round around,” Pierce said. “He got the point that he loved it enough that he does it year-round.”

Capan was quick to point out that many people helped make Pierce who he is on the mat. The list includes but is not limited to the Bad Karma Wrestling Club and Harbor Creek assistant coach Hunter Cox.

“I got to give my assistant coach, Hunter Cox, a lot of credit,” Capan said. “Hunter’s taken a lot of time to actually push some of those boundaries. We’ve instituted the idea of always taking ground. You got to keep the guys on their heels, keep pushing them, keep getting after them.

“Success breeds success. He did really well his freshman year. It was just, how do we expand that? And, that was just between the other clubs that he works with and what we do in our room. Like I said, my assistant coach really deserves all the credit for really making sure to get that drilled into his head.”

Where could Pierce wrestle at Penn State?

While most of his high school success came below 141 pounds, Capan thinks Pierce could wrestle above that at Penn State.

“I would say bottom end, I think he’s still got a little growth in him,” Capan said. “He’s probably looking at 49 to start. Maybe a little higher. It’s going to depend. He does really good with his conditioning.

“But, if you look at where he’s wrestled each year, he’s definitely had a push of growth from when he started at 113 four years ago to going up to 138 now. I’d put him at 49 at least as a start.”

Final word

Capan wanted Penn State fans to know one final thing about Pierce. It all ties back to how he helped the Harbor Creek program and his teammates, some of which were new to the sport, throughout the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He was able to do some heavy lifting of his own,” Capan said. “We threw as much as we could at him with all of that, but he was able to still help mentor and teach any of the other new guys that we had in the room. He’s going to be a teammate that guys are going to be glad to have around the room.

“COVID changed everything for all of us. Even with all that stuff, he still managed to hit 100 wins in the COVID season of his junior year. I thought that was pretty special as well.”