Morris caps career with top-5 finish at Nationals

Morris puts the bow on a terrific Big Red career with an exciting run at Nationals. 

By
Brian Muldoon
February 17, 2020
Phillips Exeter Academy Wrestling Tyler Morris

Tyler Morris '20 finishes up his Big Red wrestling career with four Class A championships, a New England championship at 132-pounds, and two top-ten finishes at the National Prep Championships. 

Tyler Morris ‘20 has been a star on the mat since he arrived at Exeter, and he spent his senior season adding a punctuation mark to his stellar career. After already claiming a Class A title and New England title at 132-pounds this season, Morris capped his tenure in Red this past weekend with a 4th place finish at the Prep National Wrestling Tournament held at Lehigh University.

His journey to earning a medal at Nationals was not easy. Morris claimed three straight victories to start his weekend, including a thriller in the quarterfinal round of the championships bracket. Trailing 2-0, Morris was able to score five points in the final ten seconds of the match to gain a buzzer-beating victory. Morris was bounced to the consolation bracket after a loss in the semifinal round, but came right back with a victory to advance to the third place match. Morris was locked in another exciting bout, but was dealt a tough 3-1 decision to claim fourth overall in a highly talented field of competitors.

This senior season was not the first time Morris tasted success. As a prep, Morris claimed his first Class A title in the 106-pound weight class, before jumping up to the 126-pound division one week later where claimed fourth place at the New England Championships. He garnered his second Class A crown and second runner-up finish in New England before capping his lower year as a seventh place medalist at the National Prep Tournament. His upper year saw him claim his third Class A championship and the top-seed at New England’s. A devastating knee injury during his New England's run forced him to withdraw, leaving him to finish in fifth place and bow out of the National tournament.

Morris, who is headed to West Point next year, came back stronger than ever this season. After jumping up a weight-class to 132-pounds, he helped lead a young Big Red squad and earned himself a fourth Class A title, his first New England championship, and a top-five finish at the National Prep Championships this past weekend.

Christian Petry ’21 and George Harrington ’20 joined Morris at Nationals and capped their seasons with solid performances against some of the stiffest competition in the country. Petry, who won this third straight Class A title at 106-pounds and added a third place finish at New England’s earlier this season, came home with a 3-2 overall record at Nationals.

Harrington, who was also a Class A champion and New England runner-up at 285-pounds, also put together a 3-2 weekend at Nationals. Big Red finished 23rd overall in a field of over 100 schools.