When Sumner High’s wrestlers hit the mat for Monday’s opening of the 2010-11 season, Matt Harshman was there to greet them.

Harshman was a late pick to replace Justin Rambow, who resigned this fall after he was selected in July to replace Jeremy Horsley.

“I’m a big fan of wrestling history,” Harshman said. “Sumner has great wrestling and great wrestling history.”

Sumner School District Athletic Director Tim Thomsen said the district is pleased to have Harshman on board and found him to be extremely qualified.

Harshman closed out his high school career in Gresham, Ore., where he was an all-state wrestler. He went on to wrestle for the University of Northern Colorado.

He was the head coach for Sierra Linda High School in Phoenix, Ariz., a newly-built school with a fledgling program, where he led a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores. By the program’s second year, Harshman said he was taking three wrestlers to state.

He earned a degree from Northern Colorado in physical education and picked up a teaching certificate at Central Washington University. While there, he also served as an assistant wrestling coach at Ellensburg High.

He and his wife moved to Lake Tapps to be closer to her parents, Sally and Lee Reichert, who heads the Enumclaw High program.

The Sumner School District currently does not have a teaching position available for Harshman, so he is working at Decatur High in Federal Way.

Harshman takes over a Spartan squad that struggled through a winless 0-8 South Puget Sound League 3A campaign. This year, the school has dropped to the SPSL’s 2A division.

“The team was really young last year,” Harshman said. “They’ve had time to mature. That’s a good recipe for success this year.”

In May, Bonney Lake High hired former Spanaway Lake coach Rob Smith to head the boys basketball program.