Trailblazing season ends as daunting draw gets better of Reinsma

One hand rested on the wall, the other balanced on her waist.

In the middle, Elissa Reinsma's head hung toward the Xcel Energy Center concrete.

Her body language told the tale: The dream was over.

Reinsma, the only girl to ever qualify for the state wrestling tournament in Minnesota, lost 7-0 to Foley's Tristan Manderfeld at 103 pounds on Friday in the opening round of the Class 2A individual field.

Manderfeld later defeated Scott West's Luke Betchwars in the quarterfinal round, meaning Reinsma, a senior for Fulda/Murray County Central, was given a spot in the wrestlebacks.

There, Betchwars won a 9-2 decision, putting an end to Reinsma's trailblazing high school career.

Earlier in the day, she was asked what advice she would give to aspiring female wrestlers.

Reinsma has not ruled out wrestling in college, and has the credentials to do so.

She also made state as a sophomore in 2009 and missed out on a chance last year because of a knee injury.

Against Manderfeld, the state's No. 2-ranked wrestler in Class 2A at 103, Reinsma was taken down midway through the first period and never recovered. Manderfeld, a sophomore, earned three back points by nearly pinning Reinsma toward the end of the second period, then got another takedown in the third against his clearly frustrated opponent.

After the final whistle, Reinsma was visibly and verbally upset.

She later explained her emotions.

Extra motivation It's possible that there is no stronger wrestler in the tournament that LeSueur-Henderson's Josh Willaert. The senior 171-pounder won the Class 1A championship last year with his father, Gerald, finally able to watch him after a bout with kidney cancer.

On Feb. 26, Gerald was readmitted to the hospital after a cancerous tumor was discovered on his spine, meaning he would be unable to watch Josh attempt to defend his title. Surgery is scheduled for Monday to repair damage to his spine.

For Josh Willaert, a time that many would find emotionally draining is instead his motivation.

Willaert rolled through his first two matches Friday, pinning his first opponent in 20 seconds and winning a technical fall in the quarterfinals.

"Everything I do is for him," Josh said. "We've got a lot of people here to let him know what happened. When I win, it makes him feel better. If I'm not doing well, he gives me an extra gear."

"He knew I had won," said Willaert, who gave up an unlikely takedown in the first period "He listened to it on the radio. He was pretty happy, but he did say, 'Kid, you're going to give me a heart attack, too.' "

Battle of unbeatens The most anticipated match of the Class 1A quarterfinals came at 152 pounds as undefeated wrestlers Anthony Caputo of Crookston met Brett Pfarr of LeSueur-Henderson. Caputo was ranked No. 1 in the final Guillotine state rankings; Pfarr was ranked No. 2.

The match was as close as expected. Caputo took a 4-3 lead in the third period before Pfarr rallied, getting an escape followed by a takedown for a 6-4 lead. Caputo answered, scoring a late point for an escape and nearly had a takedown as time ran out, but Pfarr held on to win 6-5.

"That was right up there with the toughest matches I've had all season," said Pfarr (41-0).