Huntington North High School senior Harrison Niswander made his college commitment official on Monday afternoon, signing with Purdue Fort Wayne to continue his academic and cross country and track careers with the Mastodons.
Niswander noted the proximity of and familiarity with Purdue Fort Wayne were among the primary factors in making his decision.
“I just really liked Fort Wayne because it’s still somewhat close to home, but I still get a little bit of freedom,” Niswander said at the signing. “We’ve raced a little bit there for track and cross country my freshman and sophomore year and I just really liked the campus and the indoor facility and the outdoor (facility) for cross (country).”
A member of Huntington North’s cross country and track and field programs, Niswander has excelled for the Vikings in both disciplines, earning a number of awards throughout his running career.
On the cross country course, Niswander had an impressive senior campaign, as he took home the individual sectional championship and advanced all the way to the final meet of the season by qualifying for and competing in the IHSAA Cross Country State Finals, where he placed 120th overall.
Niswander earned Northeast 8 Conference (NE8) First Team All-Conference honors as a senior and junior, Second Team All-Conference honors as a sophomore and Honorable Mention All-Conference honors as a freshman. Niswander’s cross country personal record came during his junior year when he clocked in at 16:14.3.
Huntington North boys cross country coach Tim Schultz praised Niswander’s dedication and leadership as being Niswander’s biggest strengths.
“His work ethic is unmatched,” Schultz said. “He is one of those kids that will give you everything he has and try to give more. (We will miss) his leadership. He was the front runner for us as well as the one that would get the others in line. He would pick the guys up when then needed it as well as supporting them.”
Niswander shared that as a freshman he hopes to be within Purdue Fort Wayne’s starting seven runners and to compete in the postseason.
The senior has also been a go-to runner on the track for the Vikes, posting personal record times of 2:02.53 in the 800, 4:23.94 in the 1,600 and 9:54.1 in the 3,200 meter runs.
Niswander recently claimed NE8 First Team All-Conference honors in the 1,600 meter run by winning the event at the conference meet and earned Second Team All-Conference honors in the 800 meter run at the same meet. Niswander was a regional qualifier in the 3,200 meter run in his junior season and has his sights set on a deep postseason run to round out his high school career in the coming weeks.
“Harrison understands the work that is necessary to improve and succeed as a distance runner,” said Huntington North boys track coach Scott Bower. “He's good at learning from race to race. He also has decent speed for a distance runner. He has a great attitude and is a super teammate. Harrison's work ethic, positive attitude, responsibility and willingness to serve are obvious to everyone in the program.”
However, Niswander has not only excelled on the course and track; he has also been successful in the classroom. Niswander was a scholar-athlete, earned a spot in the Huntington North Class of 2022 Top 25 and was named to the Indiana Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches First Team Academic All-State list.
While at Purdue Fort Wayne, Niswander plans to major in computer science and minor in mathematics.