There’s a different aura in any gymnasium when a wrestler’s reputation precedes them.
Few, if any, in the Plant City area know this better than Daniel “Reese” Haley. The lanky Durant High sophomore is no stranger to his last name drawing extra attention from coaches. It affects his seeding in a meet and even changes the way a matchup is viewed.
That’s what happens when a family of five boys makes a name for itself over the years.
CHASE
It all started with Chase Haley, the oldest of the five boys, in 2008.
Initially, he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, John, in football. Chase joined the team as a wide receiver but, being undersized, felt as though football might not have been the right sport for him.
“I was 90-something pounds, playing football,” Chase says. “I was just getting pummeled.”
A friend turned Chase on to wrestling instead, as he would never have to worry about facing a size mismatch. Adding in the fact that wrestling is a more individual-focused sport — which still allows one to score enough points to benefit a team — was enough to get Chase involved.
Working with head coach Drake Millard, Chase felt like he had found his athletic niche on the mat.
“It gave me a ton of confidence,” Chase says. “It really helped me out. When I was a freshman, I didn’t play a single snap in an actual (football) game. I wasn’t able to build any confidence because of my size.”
Chase wrestled at 119 pounds for much of his freshman year (sometimes fluctuating to 112) for much of his career. He closed out his career at 132 pounds in his final year and ended up being a two-time state qualifier, placing sixth in his senior season.
“When I got to varsity, I gained confidence when I started beating people that I knew were good,” Chase says. “I kept pushing, and those results gave me confidence — knowing that I could compete at that level.”
Had he been a little younger, Chase could have won an “Übernensch” award, given annually to a Cougar that, in addition to recording at least 40 pins, maintains a good GPA and exhibits solid leadership skills.
The family didn’t have to wait long for someone to get one, though.
AUSTIN AND REAGAN
The fraternal twins, Austin and Reagan, got to Durant after Chase had joined the team. It didn’t take long for both boys to get involved — when they came around to the sport, that is.
“We started the summer before our freshman year, in eighth grade,” Reagan says. “(Chase) did it his freshman year, when we were in seventh grade. We really didn’t like it. I know I didn’t like it that much.”
That changed when the boys went to Chase’s first tournament, and the twins got hooked on it once they learned how the sport works.
“When I really started to learn, and catch on to those things, I was like, ‘This is what I want to do,’” Reagan says.
The twins wrestled at the club level, practicing as often as they could. They worked with Millard, who was then running Durant’s club team, after school days. After their first two tournaments at that level, things started clicking for the twins.
Reagan spent his freshman year exclusively at the JV level, but Austin got called up to the varsity team near the middle of the season. The boys spent their high school careers avoiding each other’s weight classes to not have to compete against each other and found their own successes.
Austin’s stellar junior and senior seasons cemented him as the only two-time Übermensch in Durant history. Reagan set the school record for career pins in his final win as a Cougar, though that record has since been broken. The boys have qualified for states but, unlike Chase, never placed.
By the time the twins found success, the youngest Haleys didn’t need any of the convincing that their older brothers did: they were all-in.
REESE AND HENDON
The youngest boys, Reese and Hendon, were the only ones to spend several years training with Millard at the club level before making a high school debut.
Since they’ve spent more time developing, and since the older boys had already established a reputation, the high school experience has been, and will continue to be, different.
Reese became the first of the Haleys to join the varsity squad without having to spend time at the JV level. He currently wrestles at 126 pounds and is hoping to make an impact at districts.
He says he’s adapted his style from all three of his older brothers, taking cues from their strengths: Chase and Austin’s top-position moves and Reagan’s neutral-position skills.
When asked about dealing with any pressure that comes from living up to the Haley name, he simply flashes a smile.
Hendon, an eighth-grader at Franklin Prep Academy, already is equal in confidence to his brothers. Starting at the youngest age of the bunch, and never wavering from the sport, surely helped in that department.
He’s already known for his fearless approach on the mat and, in Millard’s own words, has the potential to be the most successful of the bunch by the time he graduates high school.
“He’s the meanest of them all,” Millard says.
All told, the Haleys will have had a constant presence in Durant’s gym for 12 years once Hendon’s Cougar career is finished. And, although there may not be any more Haleys in the Durant system for a while, any future family grapplers will have plenty to live up to.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.