Just weeks until competition starts

Three-time State Champion Blaine Brenner is off to college, and about to make a name at the U of M. Recently, Minnesota Wrestling held an interview with Brenner where he shared more about his experience since arriving at school and going forward.

"The main reason I chose (U of M) was definitely the coaches," Brenner said of choosing where to wrestle after high school. “They aren’t just coaches, they treat you like family. We’ve gotten close and they have my best interest in mind, and that’s what’s going to help me get better,” he said. Along with the coaches at the U of M were teammates, “You know a good team is good at what they do, and this is a great school. We’re good at what we do, but a great team is the connection that we have, and here everybody gets along, and that atmosphere is really strong here,” Brenner says.

Reporting that he’s wrestling with the upperclassmen to get the knowledge and experience that they have on the college level, Brenner says that his strengths include big hands and being hard to get away from.

“I think I’m a really clingy wrestler,” he tells Gopher Sports. “I have big hands so if I get a hold of you, it’s really tough to get away. So, each match I just like getting a hold of people, wrapping them up, and taking them down.” Now working on getting positioning and other techniques down, Brenner has big goals for his college wrestling career, but is waiting until he gets on the mat to know where he stands.

“I mean, I have all kinds of goals but until I step on the mat and compete, it’s hard to know where I stand,” the three-time state champion and winner of All-American honors at Fargo said of the college level. “Right now my focus is just on getting better, and working harder than anybody else in order to get to the top.”