Northern Star: Madison Burns

Ashland wrestler coming off undefeated season

ASHLAND, Wis.- Madison Burns may get pre-match jitters, but once the clock begins to tick, her opponents are the ones who start to get nervous.

“She gets mad at me because sometimes I don’t let her pin girls right away…I make her wrestle a little bit.” Ashland Wrestling Head Coach Joe Hasskamp has mentored Burns throughout her burgeoning career, including her first two years in high school. “Her freshman year was the first year the WIAA had a girls state wrestling tournament. She placed fifth that year, her only loss was to the state champion.”

“I was really disappointed with how I did my first year in high school because I kind of felt like I got cheated out of how well I could have done.” Burns admits.

However, she was able to turn things around her sophomore season. “Last year, she went undefeated, went to state…Just dominated everyone.” says Hasskamp.

“It was honestly pretty emotional. I didn’t think that I would cry. But when I got like out under the dome, I was pretty emotional.” said Burns.

Burns’s state-winning skills are a direct result of her year-round training and work ethic, as well as challenging herself against tougher competition. “Last summer, that’s when I trained the most because I went to so many national tournaments.”

“She keeps making herself better by going to these bigger tournaments and wrestling other girls.” explained Hasskamp. “In Wisconsin, she goes in the heavyweight bracket, which is 235 pounds or less. When she goes to some of these bigger national tournaments, she’s wrestling 27-pound girls, and it makes her better.”

When Burns started wrestling in high school, she often had to compete against boys since there weren’t any girls in the area equal to her size. However, that’s no longer a problem since more girls have taken up the sport. Now, Burns is challenging her teammates and opponents not to give up once the going gets rough.

“A lot of girls that I’ve met throughout my career, when they lose or do bad, they just quit and give up,” says Burns. “I definitely think that’s what has damaged girls wrestling, because once you fail, it’s kind of like they think ‘Oh, I should just quit from here.'”

“I will tell you this, (Maddie)’s probably the most kind-hearted person on the face of the earth,” says Hasskamp. “She holds herself to a different standard and she wants her teammates to be at the same thing.”

Burns will look to defend her state title at the Girls Individual State Wrestling Tournament February 22-24 at the Kohl Center in Madison.