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SALEM, Ore. – Corban University Director of Athletics Bill Pilgeram announced a slight leadership role change within the men's wrestling program earlier this morning, as former associate head coach Nolan Harris will step into the driver's seat for the 2023-24 school year as the stand-alone head coach, while interim head coach Kary Hadden will remain on staff and reclaim his assistant coach title, effective this month.

"The Corban wrestling program has been in great hands and will continue to be so," Pilgeram stated on the pair of collegiate wrestling icons. "I'm excited to be able to keep both Kary and Nolan on staff, as they are both great men, coaches, and leaders within our University. Corban wrestling will continue to grow with Nolan's guidance as the head coach."

Harris and Hadden worked wonders in recruiting one of the best rosters in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) last season, as the program continued its upward growth with the highest individual finish in school history and some key upsets throughout the CCC and NAIA tournaments.

Redshirt sophomore David Rubio secured his second-consecutive CCC Championship in the 165-weight class under the guidance of Harris and Hadden, cruising to an NAIA National Runner-Up spot in the national tournament the following month to become the most decorated wrestler in the program's short history. Three additional wrestlers reached the NAIA National Championships in the 2022-23 season, including returning senior Matthew Boyd and sophomore Tyson Stover, alongside one of Harris and Hadden's most coveted recruits coming into last year, freshman Brayden Boyd.

A former NAIA wrestler himself, Harris competed at fellow CCC school Southern Oregon University and quickly earned a high-profile of worthy recognitions, serving as a team captain and earning three NAIA All-American accolades during his time as a Raider. During the 2000-01 season, Harris was a staple in securing the program's fourth team national championship since 1978, and the first under Raiders' legendary head coach Mike Ritchy.

Prior to the beginning of his high school and collegiate coaching career, Harris earned his Bachelors of Arts in English and Writing from SOU in 2004, before securing his Master's Degree in Teaching from Western Oregon University in the spring of 2007.
As he entered his first season as the Warriors' associate head coach in the fall of 2022, Harris brought a length resume with him that featured success at both the high school and NAIA level as a coach. He originally assisted alongside Hall of Famer Mike Ritchy at SOU shortly after graduating from WOU, before he assisted at Sprague High School alongside Hadden in what would be the first of many crossovers between the two wrestling legends.

He then traveled to North Medford High School in what would eventually become his first head coaching gig of his career, where he spent the next twelve years teaching and educating young wrestlers about the sport he holds near and dear to his heart down in southern Oregon. In three short years, Harris upgraded the Black Tornado program from a 2-point 6A State Tournament appearance team to a 120-point squad, clinching a third-place finish and the school's first-ever state championship team trophy. In his six years as the head coach, the Black Tornado finished conference runner-up on four occasions, took home twelve conference championships, eighteen state placements, and four state finalists.

In 2015, Harris took over the reins from Hadden at Sprague as the program's newest head coach, leading to yet another successful outing for the up and coming leader of young men. In six seasons at Sprague, his teams clinched all six conference titles and earned five team trophies at the 6A State Tournament, two of which represented State Runner-Up placements. His program recorded a 42-2 head-to-head dual meet record during that time span, crowning 37 individual conference champions, 42 state placers, nineteen state finalists, and eleven state champions. Thus far, Harris has been honored as the Coach of the Year in six different seasons through his head coaching career.

"I'm honored to be the next head coach of the Corban men's wrestling program," Harris stated. "Coaching and helping athletes achieve success in their academics and athletics, as well as in their spiritual lives is a passion of mine that equates to more of a mission's field than a job."

When asked what this means to him and his family, Harris stated, "My wife, kids, and I are all excited for the opportunity to contribute to growing the Oregon wrestling community while building Corban's program into a top-tier national program. I can't think of a more worthy cause in athletics than using the sport of wrestling to bring truth and Christ to our athletes and the at-large community, and I'm thankful that Corban University has provided this opportunity."

Pilgeram and the rest of Warrior Nation are ecstatic about Hadden continuing to stay aboard with Corban, as his many years of teaching and educating Christian student-athletes are far from over. Hadden has been with the program since the inaugural season in 2019-20 and has done an exceptional job in continuing to maintain the values and beliefs that student-athletes can expect to adopt as their own as they traverse the mats as Warriors.

Under the guidance of Harris and Hadden, the Navy and Gold are once again revamped and reloaded to take on the ever-competitive CCC and have their sights set on the program's first-ever conference team title.
 
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