Vengeance is Sweet for Eagan High School's First State Wrestling Champion

After losing to Coon Rapids wrestler Michael Burckhardt at a Fargo tournament in December, Eagan High School senior Colin Fisher had one thing on his mind: Vengeance.

"Everytime I’d walk in to a room or show up to a workout, I'd just think to myself: 'What is he doing to get better?” Colin Fisher said. "If he’s working out for two hours, I’d do two and a half."

That work ethic propelled Fisher to victory over Burckhardt in the Class AAA 285-pound finals last Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center. In beating Burckhardt 5-3, Fisher became the first EHS wrestler to be crowned a state champion.

It's a momentous achievement for the wrestler and football player, who spent weeks building up his stamina with endurance runs so that he could outlast Burckhardt, a 2012 state champion in the 220-pound weight class.

Fisher knew Burckhardt, quick on his feet, was looking for a fast pin, so he used delaying tactics to grind down his opponent.

"It showed last week," Fisher said on Friday. "He was gassed, and I just turned it on."

Fisher had his eyes on a championship title since taking fifth place in the state tournament last year. Going into the season this winter, he wrote his goal to become a state champion on a slip of paper and stuffed it in his bag. After the tough December loss against Burckhardt, he took it out and set it in a more visible spot near his fifth-place medal.

"It was in my head, definitely, and I knew I had a good shot doing it," Fisher said of nabbing a state title. He resolve was reinforced in conversations with his coaches and fans, including one second-grade wrestler who asked Fisher why there were no state champions on the school's record board.

"He asked if I was going to win," Fisher said. "I felt committed to holding my word."

Fisher, who thrives under pressure, says it's a surreal feeling to be the school's first state champion wrestler.

“I always like to be the trailblazer, I always want to be the one that kicks down the door and walk through," Fisher said.

"Our conference is really tough, and sections are really tough," Fisher said. "It’s nice know to know tha the kids can look up there and see a name on the individual state champions and know they know it's possible."

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