Bethel will soon be the proud hometown of another Division 1 College athlete. Bethel Regional High School senior Hayden Lieb signed an athletic scholarship to wrestle at the University of Wyoming. It’s another notch on the belt of an impressive career that includes five All-American honors and three state titles.
Inside the BRHS gym, Senior Hayden Lieb looked up from the national letter of intent he had just signed to wrestle at the University of Wyoming. He saw his family, friends, and neighbors all watching him, as they have for years.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking for the most part. I don’t know, I never thought I’d make it that far,” Lieb described the moment.
He said that until last year, he always second-guessed himself. Living in Bethel, he just didn’t know how he stacked up against competition in the lower 48.
“Those guys down there get to wrestle the top, top-tier guys every single weekend. They’re getting better so much faster, where I have to fly down,” Lieb said.
He says that without access to elite competition, he’s relied on a fierce competitive drive that comes from within.
“Being from Alaska, you have to push yourself when no one’s around and when no one’s there to watch you,” Lieb said.
Hayden says that the isolation of Bethel can be a disadvantage. On the other hand, he said that he has a secret weapon that wrestlers down-states don’t have: his whole community behind him.
“Whatever you do they’re there to support you, and I just love that about Bethel,” Lieb said. “You won’t get that anywhere else.”
In his high school career, Hayden has taken home All-American honors and a state title every year. He has a lot of good memories, but he says that his favorite is from his freshman year. In the state finals, he was down 2-1 going into the third period.
“I hit this move where I put this guy on his back and I ended up getting the fall, and I just remember looking up and I saw my dad, first thing, and that one kinda stuck with me,” Lieb said. “Every single tournament my dad’s there with me, and it’s just something I’ll miss going into college.”
Darren Lieb says that he’s doubly proud of Hayden’s signing, both as a father and as a head coach.
“One of my guys, one of my wrestlers, but to have your own son sign something that big was pretty awesome,” Darren said.
Once he gets to Wyoming, Hayden plans to study educational science and double major in biology and chemistry.
“I would like to teach high school science after I graduate college,” Hayden said.
Darren says that he’s not going to pressure Hayden to come back to Bethel to teach with him, but he can dream.
“Ideally, you’d want your kids to follow in your footsteps,” Darren said.
Asked where he’ll go after college, Hayden says that he doesn’t know. After all, he’s only 17. But, giving his dad some hope, he’s not ruling out his hometown.
“Definitely in the cards,” Hayden said.
For now, he’s excited to start a new wrestling career in Wyoming. Hopefully one that’s as dominant as the one he built with the help of his dad, family, and community here at home.
