Iron Mountain wrestler Evan Haferkorn literally gets hold of his Bark River-Harris opponent during the MHSAA Division 4, District 197 tournament hosted by the Mountaineers on Feb. 8. The Mountaineers dominated the Broncos 49-27 to win the district title. Haferkorn’s only two losses of the 2023 season occurred at the team and individual state finals. (Dennis Mansfield/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Evan Haferkorn’s days of wrestling for Iron Mountain may have ended on a mat at Ford Field in March. But, the former Mountaineer is far from done wrestling.

Haferkorn, a four-year member of the Iron Mountain wrestling team and also a three-year player on the Mountaineers baseball team, will soon be heading to take his academic and wrestling talents to Division III Lakeland University in Plymouth, Wisconsin.

“It means a lot to me to be able to compete at the next level,” said Haferkorn. “That was my end goal and being able to do it with a former teammate (Parker Stroud) and two guys (North Central’s Wyatt Raab and Dillion Raab) I’m very close with means a lot to me. It’s been a dream since I was a little kid to be able to compete at the collegiate level.”

Lakeland was far from being Haferkorn’s only option. The Mountaineer grappler was also said to have drawn interest from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Davenport University, U-W Lacrosse and Concordia University Wisconsin.

Also, before deciding on Lakeland, the member of the Iron Mountain High School Class of 2023 had decide on what sport he wanted to pursue. Haferkorn said he has been involved in wrestling for about 14 years, first competing as a member of the Norway Youth Wrestling program and Upper-Level Wrestling, and baseball for a decade.

Mountaineer varsity grappler Evan Haferkorn (front, center) is surrounded by family, friends and supporters during a ceremony held at Iron Mountain High School in May to mark the signing of his national letter of commitment to Lakeland University, where he will continue his wrestling career. Also pictured are (front, left) Iron Mountain superintendent and athletic director Jerry Sardina, and Haferkorn’s mother Brenda Bal, as well as (back, l-r) IMHS principal Amy Galvan, coach Cory McLaren, his father and youth wrestling coach Tracy Haferkorn and brother Alec Haferkorn. (Photo courtesy Iron Mountain High School)

He admitted, while enjoying his time both wrestling and playing baseball, that wrestling eventually won out as his favorite.

“It’s a really tough decision,” he said. “But I’d have to say wrestling, because of the family it builds within the sport and the hard work that has to go into the sport.”

As a senior at Iron Mountain, Haferkorn competed mostly in the 150-pound division, posting a 37-2 record and battling his way to a berth in the Division 4 individual state finals where he lost to Marlette’s Manus Bennett in a 5-3 decision.

“I feel pretty good about myself,” he said. “My only two losses were at team state and individual state (tournaments) in the finals. I feel very accomplished.

“Hurts a little that I fell just short, though.”

His coach at Iron Mountain, Cory McLaren, said Haferkorn leaves a behind high school career that featured a legacy of hard work and maximizing his talents, with that resulting in a bevy of accomplishments.

“It has been fun watching Evan grow as a student-athlete over the last four years,” McLaren said. “Evan has always had great mat awareness and understood the mental part of being a wrestler. He leaves Iron Mountain with a U.P. championship, over 100 wins, three-time state qualifier and was seconds away from winning a state title against a now three-time state champ.

“Evan will excel at the college level as a student and an athlete. He will always work hard toward his goals,” the Mountaineer coach added. “I am anxious to see him wrestle at the next level.”

While wrestling at 150 pounds at the high school level, Haferkorn said he is hoping to compete at 157 pounds for the Muskies.

“But there are other guys competing for the spot, so we’ll see what happens,” he said. “One goal is to be able to stand on the top of the podium at the NCAA tournament.

Though undecided on what will be his preferred area of study heading into his freshman year at Lakeland, Haferkorn said he’s leaning toward pursuing a degree in business.

The Iron Mountain graduate is the son of Brenda Bal and Tracy Haferkorn.