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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The decision for Marshfield senior Brad Dolezal to wrestle collegiately at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis was a pain-staking one, but in the end, it is the right one for him.
Dolezal will sign a letter of intent to wrestle at Minnesota on Friday afternoon, ending a year-plus process that also had him considering Big Ten schools Wisconsin, Purdue and national powerhouse Iowa.
“Sitting down talking with my parents, we laid out everything with the schools that I’ve been talking with,” Dolezal said Wednesday prior to football practice in preparation for the Tigers’ Division 2 state semifinal game on Saturday. “I ran things down, what I liked here, what I liked there and Minnesota just seemed like the right choice with after-the-season wrestling and where I fit there.”
Dolezal is a two-time WIAA state champion and three-time state finalist, winning titles during his freshman and junior seasons. Last year, Dolezal went a perfect 48-0, winning the 145-pound Division 1 title with a 2-1 overtime victory over Zak Benitz of Wisconsin Rapids. He is the first two-time state champion in the history of the Marshfield wrestling program.
Dolezal, who is currently the starting fullback on the Marshfield football team and is second on the squad in receptions and receiving yards and first in touchdowns, was a gold medalist at the FILA Pan American Cadet Championships held in Brazil in July.
Dolezal won at 152 pounds (69 kilograms) in the Greco-Roman division, helping the United States team to the team title with 65 points, four points ahead of Brazil. He finished second in the Freestyle division.
He said he will redshirt next year and begin competition in 2012 for the Gophers, which have the fourth-best 2010-11 recruiting class behind fellow Big Ten schools Iowa, Penn State and Northwestern, according to the intermatwrestle.com rankings last spring. Minnesota is ranked fourth nationally in the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll, released Tuesday.
“When I was down there, talking with the guys and I stayed overnight with one of the guys in the dorm, I really felt like I got along there with the guys. We really bonded,” Dolezal said.
The Marshfield wrestling team’s season begins Dec. 2 with a home dual meet against Mosinee.