Bailee O'Reilly among Gophers wrestlers heading to Big Ten championships seeking NCAA berths

Bailee O'Reilly faced a tough decision last March. The Gophers 174-pounder suffered a knee injury in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten wrestling championships that forced him to withdraw from the tournament. Still, he received a wild-card entry into the NCAA championships two weeks later and decided to give it a go, balky knee and all.

"I actually tore my LCL and my PCL,'' O'Reilly said, referring to two of the knee's four major ligaments. "… Looking back, maybe I shouldn't have wrestled on it, but you don't get those opportunities very often.''

O'Reilly went 0-2, then had the knee surgically repaired. He'll try to earn another trip to the national tournament on Saturday and Sunday at the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor, Mich. The sixth-year senior from Goodhue, Minn., carries a 15-3 record and No. 8 national ranking into the conference tournament. He's the No. 4 seed in a field that includes six of the top 10 wrestlers at 174.

"We expected him to come back and be ready to wrestle in mid-January, and he was ready to roll in November,'' Gophers coach Brandon Eggum said. "… The way that he's competing, based off returning from that type of injury and what he had to deal with, just very impressive.''

O'Reilly is one of 10 wrestlers the Gophers will send to Ann Arbor, aiming to secure national bids and build on a 12-3 dual-meet season. While they don't have a show-stopper like Olympic champion and two-time NCAA titlist Gable Steveson, the Gophers will send eight wrestlers with NCAA tournament experience, including past All-Americas Patrick McKee, Jake Bergeland and Brayton Lee, to the conference meet.

The Gophers finished strong in the dual season, pushing No. 2 Iowa before falling 18-13 and beating No. 19 Wisconsin 19-15. Eggum sees a team that's put itself in a position for tournament success.

"We're in a good spot. Our guys seem like they're focused and they seem relaxed, but ready,'' Eggum said. "Health-wise, it's the sport of wrestling, it's very brutal, so there's never 100 per cent, but I think our guys are in a really good spot.''

"With my injury, I had to avoid — especially early on in the season — a lot of scramble situations just to protect myself a bit,'' O'Reilly said. "I'm able to get back to that a little bit now as my knee's gotten better and better throughout the season.''

O'Reilly credited the Gophers' athletic training staff for helping him recover, and he has a special interest in the medical aspect of sports. He's finishing a double major in kinesiology and psychology and plans to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy.

"I'd like to eventually open my own private practice and hopefully be working with athletes,'' he said. "I'd also like to have my private practice be a little bit different where I'll have it combined with sports performance — sports psychology and physical therapy combined in one location.''

First, though, O'Reilly will focus on tournament time and making the most of one last opportunity.