NRHEG grad channels his passion for wrestling into the business world
STILL COMPETITIVE — Though he left his wrestling gear long in the past, 1997 NRHEG graduate Matt Petsinger has not lost his competitive nature, but now he uses it to help people through his American Family Insurance office in Waseca. (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)
By JIM LUTGENS
Publisher
Matt Petsinger has gained a couple pounds since his high school and college days.
But it’s still probably best not to mess with him. If you do, you might quickly find yourself in a headlock on your back. Old habits die hard, you know.
Petsinger, a 1997 NRHEG graduate, is the most decorated wrestler to wear a Panther uniform, amassing an amazing 171 career victories, including an incredible 131 falls. Both are, of course, school records. He earned six varsity letters, advanced to state three times and twice finished as state runner-up. He followed with an illustrious career at Minnesota State-Mankato, where he was a four-time Division II All-American and national champion as a senior.
These days Petsinger can be found on main street in Waseca, where he runs the American Family Insurance office, something he’s done since last year. He recently purchased a building in New Richland with hopes of future expansion.
Of course, wrestling has never been far from his mind or his life. He’s still asked about the state championship match against Brad Pike of Hayfield when he was a junior. The match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and still tied at the end of overtime. Then the referee tossed a coin. Pike won and of course chose the lower position, virtually assuring the win.
“Somebody asked me after that match, ‘If you had won the coin flip, do you think you would have won the match?’” said Petsinger. “I was like, ‘Yes.’ There probably should have been stalling calls on him. It’s too bad we can’t see a video of it, but in ’96 they didn’t have people doing the videos like they do now. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t want to watch it now.”
Some people say it was the best high school wrestling match they’ve ever seen.
“That’s what they say,” said Petsinger.
Pike went on to an All-American career at the University of Minnesota. But he and Petsinger weren’t quite finished; more on that in a bit.
After a disappointing state tournament left him with sixth place as a senior, Petsinger forgot about the University of Minnesota and settled on Mankato. But he really didn't mind. He had gotten to know the coach well and, after recruiting trips to Mankato and St. Cloud, Petsinger picked Mankato because, “The coaching staff fit my style a lot more than the St. Cloud staff did.”
Petsinger started his college freshman season with an injury, intending to red-shirt the season, but quickly found himself in the thick of it. He won his first four matches before being pitted against a returning All-American — who had defeated Pike by technical fall the previous match.
“I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to show those Gopher fans who the better wrestler is,’” said Petsinger.
Then he did, pinning his opponent at 1:57 of the first period.
He went to place third at nationals three times, twice winning the trophy for most falls in the least time.
As a senior, he found himself tied 9-9 at the end of regulation in the national championship bout, winning because of riding time.
“If someone had told me I’d win a national title with riding time, I wouldn’t have believed it,” said Petsinger.
That’s because he always went for the pin. And he never made it easy on opponents.
“I was either going to win or make it so difficult that my opponent wouldn’t ever want to be on the mat with me again,” he said.
Petsinger finished with a record of 120-26 at Mankato, with 87 pins. As a senior, he had the most pins of any wrestler in the nation, regardless of division.
“It was easier to pin ‘em than be on the mat for six or seven minutes,” he said. “And also, the longer the match goes on, things can happen. The philosophy as I went out on the mat was to make this match as short as possible. You go for the kill.”
After graduating from Mankato, Petsinger worked at Brown Printing in Waseca for a while and eventually met his wife, Becky, whom he married in 2008. They moved to Iowa for 10 years, where Petsinger served as a high school assistant and head coach for two seasons each.
To clarify, current NRHEG wrestlers Annabelle and Nikolas Petsinger are relatives, though not the way a lot of people think. They’re the children of Petsinger’s older sister Lynnette.
Petsinger and his wife have two sons, Michael, 4, and Mitchell, 2. Michael started competitive wrestling this year, though it appears Mitchell may have inherited more of his dad’s wrestling genes.
“He’s a brute,” said Petsinger.
Petsinger hopes to get back into coaching when he gets more settled in with his job, though he’s not sure if that will be in Waseca or New Richland.
He also talked of doing a scholarship for a MSU wrestling walk-on.
Why a walk-on?
“In the practice room, if not for these guys walking on, you wouldn’t have a partner to wrestle with,” said Petsinger. “I have so much respect for those guys.”
Petsinger gave credit to his high school coach, Paul Cyr, “For putting up with me for seven years. I was manager in sixth grade.”
He thanked his family for always being there to support him, and he thanked his coach at Mankato, Jim Makovsky.
“There have been so many coaches from so many different places who helped me, it’s a long list,” said Petsinger.
He did, however, say his mother, Isabelle, would be disappointed if he did not mention his youth wrestling coach, Larry Berg.
Isabelle was always known as the most vocal supporter of Petsinger and his wrestling brothers, Dan and twins James and Patrick.
“She still is very vocal,” said Petsinger, smiling.
Petsinger was named to the MSU Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and to the Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame the following year. Both awards are displayed in his office.
Petsinger appears well on his way in the business world. He received an award for life insurance for 2018, and in February was the No. 10 American Family agent in the country.
“Everything I do, it’s 110 percent — the same philosophy I had as a wrestler,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll be No. 1 at some point in time.”
It may not be wise to bet against it.