By Brian Jerzak
Hastings senior Trey Beissel went into last season as the number one-ranked wrestler in his weight class in Class AAA. If there were a pound-for-pound, regardless of class ranking, for Minnesota wrestlers, he would have been in that conversation. Heading into the state tournament, it was full speed ahead to become a two-time champion.
“My first match at team State,” Beissel said, “the guy got to my leg, and I was whizzering down, and my knee popped. I kept wrestling and didn’t think anything of it. A few seconds later, two more pops came, and that was it. I finished that match, but then the coaches said we have to get you ready for the individual tournament.”
“Him going out there and finishing that match (in the team competition) tells you all you need to know about Trey,” Hastings’ head wrestling coach Tim Haneberg said. “He is a team, first person. He put the team on his back. He put the team on the line in the first round against Elk River – he was going to finish that match. Trey ran out of injury time – popped up and somehow got another takedown. He got on top and turned the kid two or three times for the tech. He couldn’t even walk off the mat and had to be carried off the mat.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time Beissel’s state tournament run was derailed before it could get started.