State champ, ‘In the Army now’

After the referee raised Bryce Bruner’s arm to signify his victory in the Class A 145-pound state wrestling championship in 2016, fans were already forecasting a stellar collegiate career.

“I think a lot of people assumed I would wrestle in college,” said Bruner. “But I wanted to go in a different direction.”

Even his parents, Rick and Mechele Bruner, were surprised that their son elected to forego college.

“My parents were kind of confused when I told them because I randomly just decided to join the Army,” Bruner told.

After getting over the initial shock, Bruner’s parents began to understand even though it might not have been the choice they were hoping for.

“He’s always had this fire burning in him,” said Mechele.

“He lives for a challenge. The hard part was that he had turned down multiple wresting scholarships and a football scholarship.”

But the unassuming young man who recently turned 20 has no regrets about the military path he chose.

“This is what I’m supposed to be doing,” he said. “It’s hard work, but I’m having fun, too.” Bruner will return to Minneota this week and plans to spend some time helping out the current wrestlers.

“I’ll be home for the whole month of January,” he said. “I’m going to help out in the wrestling room when I can.”

Bruner started asserting his athletic prowess as early as eighth grade when he posted an impressive 31-14 record, qualified for state individually, and helped Minneota place third in the state as a team. He steadily improved each year, finishing 25-7 as a freshman, 38-8 and second in state individually as a sophomore, and 39-3 as a junior (he was unable to compete individually at state due to an injury).

He then came back strong as a senior and went 46-3 en route to capturing the Class A state individual title.

He finished his career with a sterling 180-35 record. Bruner, playing wingback and defensive back, was also instrumental in helping the Vikings’ football team place second in state his sophomore year and then winning back-to-back state titles his junior and senior seasons.

The Vikings went 41-1 in the three years Bruner was on varsity. But it was his dominance on the mats that most fans figured he would continue to the next level.

“I kind of decided not to wrestle in college during the middle of my senior year,” Bruner explained. “It really gets to be a long season and I just felt I had met all my challenges.”

Even compete at a national wrestling tournament in Virginia Beach, VA after being invited following his state title didn’t change Bruner’s mind.

After meeting nearly every challenge a prep athlete could ask for – winning an individual state title, a state team wrestling title and two state football titles – Bruner felt he something was missing.

“I joined the military because it sounded like a challenge to me and I wanted to see where I would fit in,” he said. “I joined 11 Bravo (11B), which means infantry.”

“Infantry soldiers are foot soldiers, which means joining 11B would mean that my basic (training) would be harder than any of the other MOS’s, or jobs, in the military.”

Bruner left Minneota on Jan. 9, 2017 and arrived in Fort Benning, GA for basic training. “I’m in the 1st Army Infantry. My real first day was Day 0, also known as Jan. 19,” said Bruner, who is currently a Private First Class, or E3.

“As soon as we got off the buses, everything changed.” Basic training became a little like playing sports, albeit with more at stake.

“When it comes to training, we basically learn strategies for flanking or plays as I look at them,” he explained. “They are based off the enemy’s actions. Our play is based off of their moved; then we go from there when it comes time to maneuver.”

When Bruner returns to military service in February, he will be stationed in Fort Knox, KY for pre-deployment readiness training. He likely will be deployed within the next year or so.

“I can honestly say it’s been one of the hardest phases of raising that kid,” said Mechele.

“I have to remind myself that it’s his life, he has to do what is best for him and what makes him happy. I have to let go, have faith in his choices and pray.”

Bruner, who enlisted for eight years, is unsure what lies ahead for him militarily.

“I just joined to see where I would end up. I have no regrets about my decision,” he said.

“I’ve thought about being an Army Ranger, similar to a Navy Seal, but I’m not sure yet. I know that would be grueling and would take a lot of hard work.”

But this path might be the one that feeds Bruner’s insatiable appetite for a thrill and a challenge.

“As of right now, I’m just kind of going day by day and trying to get the most out of things,” he noted.

And if getting the most out of his military career is anything like his stellar sports career was, he’ll be just fine.