Taunton High athlete Ethan Harris shatters wrestling records, goes for 3-peat in baseball
TAUNTON - Wrestling is thousands of years old, and it is widely known as the most basic form of recreational combat. Its athletes are said to be the most athletic of the martial arts.
Ethan Harris not only excels at wrestling, but he may be the best athlete at Taunton High School. The senior does it all.
"Football, baseball, and wrestling," Ethan said. He said his favorite is wrestling. "I feel that it is all on you, and I am working my hardest and whatever I put in is what I get out," he said.
That winning energy that he brings to wrestling is taking him to the school's record books. He has shattered the record for total wins with 136 and is currently on a 34 match win streak.
"Wrestling is the most important to me, I love it the most," Ethan said. "It's very rewarding and taking at the same time just being able to push myself every single day and work hard and reward me at the end with my hand being raised is huge to me."
The school almost shut down the sport due to a lack of student participation. That was until Coach Adilson Galvao brought it back to life about a decade ago.
He believes that Ethan's work ethic has made a huge difference.
"Dedicated, hardworking wrestler, always the first on the mat, always the last one off the mat. Always doing his best and he's always super critical of himself but always trying to get better," Galvao said.
Galvao said most opponents are aware of Ethan's success. "They probably have game plans against him but you can't game plan against a kid like Ethan, he will change it up," Galvao said.
Pretty soon Ethan will be the one changing it up, going from the wrestling mat to the baseball diamond. The Taunton baseball team is looking to go for the three-peat, as they are the defending back-to-back champions.
WBZ-TV's Steve Burton surprised Ethan with his second championship ring during the interview.
Ethan is also considered a gift to his community and finds time to make a difference when he is not participating in any of his three sports.
He is an active with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Through DECA, he participates in wrestling clinics for elementary and middle school students, and he is a member of the National Honors Society which recognizes outstanding high schoolers.
"I am amazed that he has so much in him that his academics don't suffer, his way he treats his family doesn't suffer," Ethan's mom Terry Harris told WBZ. "He's just so dedicated in it and he realizes how fortunate he is."
