A simple twist of fate has had a big impact on Grand Meadow grad Brenn Olson.

Olson recently wrapped up his freshman season as a preferred walk-on with the University of Minnesota Gopher wrestling team and he is now setting his sights on the possibility of competing as a regular in the lineup for the Gophers next season.

Olson suffered a sports hernia and a staph infection which limited his freshman season as he won four of the seven matches he competed in at 141 pounds. Now he’s determined to push harder as the offseason begins.

“I knew as a walk on I’d have to prove myself. Now after the surgery I know I have to work harder if I want to continue with this,” Olson said. “It was really tough [this year]. After getting back into the room after my surgery I could tell that the guys had gained a lot of ground on me in different aspects of strength and technique. I’m starting to get back in the groove and I’m finding my style again.”

Olson may not even had a chance to wrestle had it not been for a match in Wabasha in his senior season with the GMLOKS Bulldogs. Olson moved up two weight classes in a dual against WK and he won by technical fall against a state qualifier. It wasn’t long after that, the Gophers began recruiting Olson to come wrestle for them. After all, WK head coach Ron Sanders’ son Zach Sanders wrestled for the Gophers as a four-time All-American from 2008-2012.

“I think maybe Zach Sanders’ dad had something to do with me being recruited. I knew some DII schools were looking at me. I was completely taken by surprised that the University of Minnesota wanted me to come wrestle for them,” Olson said. “The decision [to go to Minnesota] was pretty easy to make. I wanted to continue to wrestle and growing up in Minnesota I had been a Gopher fan my whole life.”

Olson wrestled in two Minnesota Class A State Wrestling Tournaments, taking second place at 138 pounds in his senior season.

In high school, Olson was most noticed for playing quarterback his senior season as the Superlarks won their fourth straight Class Nine Man state title. Olson didn’t lose very many games on the gridiron and that helped carry over to wrestling.

“With our football legacy and not losing, you get used to that winning aspect,” Olson said. “It’s kind of different to take some losses and it makes you want to work harder. It really humbles you and obviously your not perfect and there’s stuff you can work on.”

Olson grew up in a home with his biggest wrestling role model — his dad Corey, a Hayfield grad who was a three-time All-American at the University of Nebraska. Although Brenn has never seen footage of his dad wrestling, he has been able to pick up a lot of tips from him. Corey had 67 career pins at Nebraska, and two 30-win seasons and a 29-win season under his belt. He took third as a freshman, was injured in his sophomore season and he lost in the NCAA finals in his junior and senior seasons.

“I know that he’s been through it all. It’s kind of nice knowing that I’m not going through it alone,” Brenn said. “If I want to get to the level that he was at, I know what I need to to. It brings us closer. We both share the same passion and it makes our bond a lot closer.”

While Brenn had some frustration with the time he missed this season, he certainly took the opportunity to soak up whatever he could from his teammates.

“A lot of the guys on the team are all roll models to me,” Brenn said. “Everyone puts in their time and works hard. Everywhere I look I can find something that each guy is doing good and build off of them. You’ve got hard workers all around you and it motivates you to work even harder.”