Will to win runs strong in the Willaert family

When Josh Willaert walked off the mat Saturday, the Class 1A state champion for the second consecutive year with a 9-7 victory over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial's Matt Doom, those who know him could not have been too surprised: The Willaert family is full of fighters.

"It's just awesome ... I can't explain it," said the LeSueur-Henderson senior, who ran into the stands immediately after he won to hug his mother.

But his father was not there.

A year and a half ago, before Josh's junior wrestling season, his father was found to have kidney cancer. The elder Willaert, Gerald, went through several successful surgeries and was able to watch Willaert win his 2010 championship from the stands.

But two weeks ago, doctors found another tumor, in Gerald's back, for which he'll have surgery Monday. Despite the fact that the second blow came just as Willaert was heading into his sectional tournament, he said it only has given him a greater drive. And the time spent on the phone after matches, going through each move, he said, has only become more meaningful.

"When I get down, I just think about that," Willaert said. "That's my little extra motivation, so that I never give up."

It's a lesson his father has been teaching him since he was in preschool, just getting into wrestling. Josh never lost the thrill of seeing the look on his father's face as he began to excel at the sport his father loved.

But for Josh, there is a sentiment from his father that means far more than the advice he passed down about wrestling: He has showed him his courage and strength.

"It kind of puts it in perspective," he said. "He's been fighting so constantly. Some people will say, 'I'm done with this and I'm just going to call it quits.' But the old man, he's stubborn. He's not going to let this cancer kick his butt."

He grinned. "I probably get my go-get-it attitude from my Pops."