THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Newly signed North Idaho College wrestler Hasaan Hawthorne isn’t like any of the other incoming freshmen in coach Pat Whitcomb’s 20th year at the school.
But don’t expect anything less out of him that his best effort each and every time he takes a match.
HAWTHORNE, AN 18-year old from Pelham, Ala. — a 21-mile drive from Birmingham — was born without a tibia in either his right or left leg. When he was only two days old, he had both legs amputated below the knee.
He hasn’t let that slow him down.
“He’s tried all kinds of different sports,” Whitcomb said. “He’s just a competitor in whatever he does. As soon as he started wrestling and puts on his knee sleeves, he’s all business. He goes on the attack right away and just doesn’t sit back and wait for something to happen. He’s going to bring a lot to the team.”
“Wrestling just fits my lifestyle,” Hawthorne said, in a phone interview from Alabama. “It’s the best fit for me considering my situation.”
Hawthorne, who also competed in swimming and played baseball, opted to focus on wrestling only in his final two years of high school. He uses prosthetic legs to walk.
“I think I’ll fit in just fine with the rest of the program,” Hawthorne said. “Everyone has been really good and hopefully I’ll fit in and get a starting job.”
Whitcomb watched Hawthorne during a senior national tournament in Georgia in March.
“We’ve kept an eye on him throughout the year,” Whitcomb said. “He’s a great kid and good student. I watched him at high school nationals, and convinced him to come out and visit. We’re a long way from Birmingham, especially for a kid that’s a double amputee. But his family said he wanted to go away and have the full college experience. We’d kept in contact with him and he wanted to continue wrestling. We’re everything he’s looking for and I think it’s going to be a win-win situation for both of us.”
Hawthorne was 37-0 as a senior at Pelham High, winning a state 6A title at 145. Pelham has an enrollment of more than 650 students.
“I’m pretty excited to get going,” Hawthorne said. “I really like the coaches and the training staff. They’re a good school to transfer from and they’ve had a lot of success. They just win. I wanted to come to a good program that wanted me and have the chance to transfer to a Division I. I felt NIC was my best option for me.”
HAWTHORNE ADDED that NIC was the best offer he’d received.
“I really didn’t know much about them until the senior national tournament,” said Hawthorne, who with his father visited NIC in April. “I kind of like the small town setting and just felt it was a good fit to come to Coeur d’Alene.”
“He’ll be right in the starting mix at either 141 (pounds) or 149,” Whitcomb said. “When you take a look at him, you can tell he’s got a lot of upside. He’s in great shape, but we’re going to have to be creative with him and our normal conditioning — with spinning classes — he won’t be able to do. We’ve got a bike set up for him and will be able to add other exercises that are going to add to his stamina. He wrestles hard the entire match, and we’ve got to keep that going here. It’s going to be a learning experience for all of us coaches and wrestlers. But I think we’ll all learn and grow with him.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.