Justin Harty(Northern Guilford HS) named NCHSAA’s NFHS State Coach of the Year for the 2019-2020 athletic season in the sport of Wrestling!!!

from Brian Thomas, Athletic Director at Northern Guilford High School:

2020 has been rough on all of us and we really haven’t had any good news in while. So this good news is a welcome surprise.

I would like to congratulate Northern Guilford’s Justin Harty for being named the NCHSAA’s NFHS State Coach of the Year for the 2019-2020 athletic season in the sport of Wrestling!

Well done, and a well-deserved acknowledgement for the coaching staff, athletes and Coach Harty.

**********from Coach Justin Harty, Northern Guilford High School head wrestling coach:*******
(Addressing NG AD Brian Thomas and the Northern Guilford Nation.)

Thank you for the call today and this was a surprise but a great one!! I am very humbled by this award and news! Thank you for your support of Wrestling at Northern Guilford High School! We appreciate you.

Wow- Truly a special year despite Covid! NGHS Coaches and I are thankful that we were able to get the 2019-2020 Full Wrestling season in, we are aware that other sports did not, so we are blessed! These awards are given to individuals, however they represent the honor for our entire Coaching Staff and Northern Wrestling Organization! I want to Thank our other Northern Guilford Wrestling Coaches Matthew Benfield and Bill Gonyer for all they do, we could not be successful at all without them, I share this award with them! They are the best and I love working alongside them, I learn from them daily and blessed to have them!!

I also want to take a moment to Thank My UNC College Coach Bill Lam. He was instrumental in my life, still is, but I learned a-lot from Coach Lam on how to approach the sport of wrestling as an athlete, coach and the right way to do things. Coach Lam, well he truly changed my life for the better and I am grateful to have people in my life who have shared their wisdom and best practices so that we can pay that forward!! Thank you Coach Lam, you are one of the best ever and I will be forever grateful to you for all that you have and continue to invest in me!! I hope I am making you and the UNC Wrestling program proud.

Thank you Brian Thomas and to the Entire Northern Guilford Nighthawk Coaching family, Excellence with Integrity is in our culture and we are glad to be delivering on that with our 2020 NCHSAA 3A Dual Team State Championship, the first for the Nighthawks!! Lets continue to develop these young athletes and Build Champions on and off the Mat!! That is our Nighthawk motto and we are very fortunate to live here and be at Northern!!

A Great support network is necessary to be able a Coach anywhere!! I love coaching wrestling, I love competing at everything and I am passionate about developing young people, but I could not do this at all without the support of my family!! So Thank you to my Family who I love dearly- Erin and my Harty Boys Krew- Thank you for supporting me along the way!! You are the Best encouragers ever and love the constant support and cannot wait to get the Harty boys Rolling with Northern Athletics!!! Also want to Thank The good Lord above for every breathe I take, Life is precious and I am grateful for ever day on this earth!!

We have a great Northern Nighthawk Athletic Family, of which I am proud to be a part of! Thank you goes to all of the parents and administration that makes the dream happen!! We are blessed to be Nighthawks and your future support is needed to continue our Winning Ways!! Winning Through Teamwork!!!

Again, Very Humbled by this award and grateful at the same time!!

Thanks for the tremendous support! Onward and Upward we go!!

Coach Harty
Northern Guilford High School Wrestling