Former Merrill High School wrestling standout Mason Reinhardt is proving that he’s capable of taking on the college ranks.
Wrestling at 197 pounds, the UW Madison redshirt freshman made it to consolation round six in the Midlands Championships Tournament last week.
During the first day of the tournament, Reinhardt shocked many with an upset in his opening match and continued to impress throughout the day. He started the tournament with an 18-7 major decision upset over Oklahoma’s eighth-seeded Brad Johnson. Trailing 2-0 headed into the second period, the flood gates opened for Reinhardt as he collected 16 points, all nearfall points in just that period alone. Reinhardt followed up that victory with a 21-1 major decision over Purdue’s Christian Brunner in the second round and a pin in 8:30 over Matt Williams of CSU Bakersfield in round three.
Reinhardt lost by 6-0 decision to Nate Rotert of South Dakota State in the quarterfinal match.
Reinhardt’s tournament run ended in the consolation round with a loss by 8-2 decision to fellow Badger and eventual fourth place finisher Ricky Robertson.