TORRINGTON – Torrington High School senior Corbin Harris has always considered himself a track athlete more than a football player, and late last week, he signed to continue his track and field career with Minot State University.
It started with a phone call from MSU Beaver throwing coach Tanner Gust to THS throwing coach Russell Stienmetz and ended with a visit and a commitment to the school.
“He asked me if I were interested to go on a visit up there,” Harris said. “I went and visited in March, and I really like pretty much everything about it. Everything just seemed to work out.”
Luckily for Harris, the recruiting process was all but wrapped up when COVID-19 struck the state of Wyoming.
He and his family were en route back to Wyoming from his official visit to the North Dakota school when news broke about the extension of Spring Break.
“I was able to visit Minot pretty much right before this happened,” Harris said. “We were driving home from Minot when my brother got ahold of me and my mom when they extended Spring Break because Sheridan had just had their first case.”
It didn’t take long for Harris to make up his mind following the visit to the MSU campus.
“I was pretty set on going to Minot after the visit,” Harris said. “I was fortunate enough to go when I did.”
Harris heads to Minot State following a strong indoor season despite it not finishing as well as he would have liked due to an injury and illness.
Harris finished sixth as a member of the Cheyenne Central indoor team in March with a throw of 49 feet, 7.5 inches.
However, his highlight came at the Simplot Games in Pocatello, Idaho, finishing seventh.
“I was able to place at the Simplot, which was really cool,” Harris said. “I missed the podium by one place. It was cool to be able to place at a national meet.”
In his final outdoor track and field season as a Blazer, won shot put by more than a foot with a throw of 48-3.5 and finished fifth in discus with a toss of 141-4.
“Corbin is an extremely hard worker. He’s always one of the first kids at practice and one of the last ones to leave. He’s always asking what else he can do to get better,” Stienmetz said. “He loves throwing, and I feel really bad for him that we aren’t going to get to do the spring season. He’s a great competitor. He will surely be missed at Torrington High School. Minot is getting a heck of a deal, that’s for sure.”
Minot State is an NCAA Division II institution in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and Harris plans to study Spanish education.
Shrine Bowl
Harris was scheduled to play in this summer’s annual Shrine Bowl game in Casper as Goshen County’s lone representative.
Two weeks ago, those plans changed when organizers pulled the plug on the 47th annul event.
“It was pretty heartbreaking,” Harris said. “I am still happy and honored that I had the opportunity to be a part of the team and that they wanted to me play. At the end of the day, it’s all good.”
