PARKERSBURG–Louden Haga, a 4-time All-American wrestler and three-time 385 weight class runner up at states, signed his National Letter of Intent to Lehigh University Wednesday afternoon. “They’re one of the top division one schools and like eleventh in the nation.” said Haga. “It has really high academic standards.” The South wrestler began competing on the mat in 6th grade. He stuck with the sport, conditioning, and being involved in competitions throughout the years. “I enjoyed the discipline and getting to know people.” said Haga. “It was like a family.”. South’s wrestling program is known throughout the state and the nation. Haga and his team, “finished 22nd in the nation last year and won the states for the fourth time in a row.” breaking the previous state scoring record. “This team is something else.” said Haga. “It’s not like a team. It’s like a family.” Haga has been hungry for the state championship title during his time at South. He came close to his goal as the runner up in his weight class for three years of his high school career, but understands there’s even greater opportunity to grow as a competitor as a Mountain Hawk. “They (Lehigh) just got a new coach who was their last heavy weight NCAA champion in 2012.” said Haga. Lehigh reached out to Haga and began talks with the heavy weight competitor. Haga already knew a little about the school because his uncle graduated from there. Another connection to the university’s wrestling program is one of his old South teammates Josh Humphreys. “So there’s kind of like a pipeline there now.” said Haga. The move to sign didn’t surprise South’s wrestling head coach Shaun Smith. For Smith “the last couple of years or so it seemed like he really wanted to.” “He’s come a really, really long way.” said Smith. “As a freshman he came in and we weren’t sure how good he was going to be. But he progressed a lot throughout the season and was able to make it to the state finals. He got second his freshman year and took second his sophomore and junior years also.” Haga was a four year starter for the Patriots and during his career helped contribute to the wrestling team’s success. As he plans to move on to the next level he knows “The team will be in good hands.” said Haga. “We’ve got a great coaching staff and we have great kids who are still going to be a part of the team.” The senior begins practicing as a Mountain Hawk the first of July and plans to major in biology with a pre-med track, or in history. “He’s going to be in a good environment. Great people. Great wrestlers.” said Smith. “But most importantly he’s going to get an awesome education. I know he’s going to do great things.”