Mike Harter was a 3-year letter winner for the Tigers on the mat and concluded his final 2 prep seasons with 2 state championships at the 185# weight division. 

He finished 3rd at the state tournament his sophomore season. As a junior, he cruised to the state championship with a 13-0 finals win over --- and followed that up with a win over --- his senior year.

Harter was one of 11 men named to the Wrestling USA Magazine’s High School All-American team in 1981. He earned a scholarship to wrestling powerhouse Iowa State and competed unattached as a freshman. His first match was a memorable one: Harter faced Oklahoma senior Mark Schultz, a three-time NCAA Champion, two-time world champion, and 1984 Olympic gold medalist. After scoring the first five points of the match, Harter fell in a lopsided decision. 

He ended up at Iowa Central Community College where he was a two-time All-American.

From there Harter signed with the University of Oregon where he helped revive a PAC-10 program and earned All-Conference honors by winning the 1986 conference championship in the 177-pound weight class. Harter owns the school record for wins in a season at Oregon with a 37-7 record in 1985.

Harter remained in the Northwest to go on to a stellar coaching career in the high school ranks and was recently nominated to the Washington Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Mike passed away suddenly in November 2019.

Mike Harter Wrestling History
1968- 6 years old started Wrestling at the Annapolis MD YMCA
1974-75- Wrestled for Magothy River Middle School
1976-1981- Wrestler for Holy Cross HS
New Orleans City Champion- 1979-80-81
3rd 167 lb 1979 Louisiana State Tournament
185 lb Louisiana State Champion- 1980-81
190 lb USA Wrestling- High School First Team All-American (Dream Team) 1981
178 lb Southeast US Regional Champion-1980-81
178 lb AAU National Freestyle and Greco Roman National Champion 1980
178 lb AAU University Freestyle National Champion 1982

Wrestled at Iowa State University (Redshirt year) 1981-82

Wrestled at Iowa Central CC 1983-1985
2X 177 lb Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Champion
177 lb NJCAA 5th Place 1983
177 lb NJCAA 3rd Place 1984
180.5 lb (82 KG) 6th US National Open Greco Roman 1984
180.5 lb 8th US Olympic Trials 1984

Wrestled at the University of Oregon from 1984 -86
177-LB Pac 10 Runner Up 1985
Univ of Oregon All-Time Season Wins Record 37-7 (1985)
177 Pac 10 Champion 1986
2X NCAA National Qualifier 1985-86
165 lb US National Dual Team Member 1986 (Japan and South Korea)
189.5 lb US National Dual Team Member 1987 (Japan and Hungry)

Coaching
1981- Ames Iowa Boys and Girls Club Coach
1981-1988- Volunteer- Various HS and JH Programs and Camp Clinician.
1988-1992- Assistant Coach North Salem HS, Oregon
1993-1994- Assistant Coach Portland State University
1997-2002- Assistant Coach Gig Harbor HS
2003 to 2018- Head Coach Central Kitsap HS (retired after the 2018 season)
2004- Head Coach Marcus Whitman Junior HS
2006-2015 Assistant Coach Central Kitsap Junior High
1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 Team Washington National Team Coach
2006- Team Washington National Junior Duals Team Leader/Coach
2008- Team Washington National Cadet Duals Team Leader/Coach
2009- Team Washington National Junior Duals Team Coach
1997-2015- Northwest Washington Wrestling Club- Team Coach
2018-2019 Volunteer Assistant Coach Goodman Middle school