Shawnee Heights senior wrestler prepares for next step after ACL tear

Shawnee Heights senior Molly Busenitz was one of the top returning wrestlers this year for a team that finished as the top 5A team at the state tournament last year.

Her high school career was cut short this year due to an ACL tear, but Busenitz has stayed with the program as she prepares to head to Ottawa next year to major in engineering and continue her wrestling career.

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Molly Busenitz had never wrestled before high school

If you saw Busenitz wrestle last year on the way to a fourth-place finish at state in the 115-pound weight class, you wouldn't have known she picked up wrestling her sophomore year.

Her brother encouraged her to come out for the team, with girls wrestling becoming a sanctioned sport in Kansas the year prior.

"I was scrawny," said Busenitz at practice on Thursday. "I was like: 'OK, I'll do it. Just so I can get in shape, get some muscle, but I'm never gonna go to any of the meets.'

"It's weird to think about now because it's second nature. When I was first going into it, I would be scared to tie up somebody. Just getting that close to somebody you don't know, it's kind of weird at first."

Coach Chad Parks said Busenitz stood out right away.

"She was tough, coordinated and picked up on things really fast," said Parks. "I remember the first time we actually had a competition, and she went out and scrapped. We were like: 'OK, that's kind of what we thought. She's got a little fire to her.'"

Shortly into her first year of wrestling, Busenitz knew she wanted to compete at the next level.

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Molly Busenitz's high school career ends early

With a different format for the state tournament due to COVID protocols, Busenitz won regionals but just missed out on competing at state as a sophomore.

That year fueled the fire within Busenitz to make state as a junior. She did so and was the team's top returning state placer this year.

That fire continued to burn into this past offseason. She wanted a state title.

Busenitz would practice wrestling after track practice last spring, even going to a freestyle wrestling tournament the day after track regionals.

"I didn't want a break," said Busenitz. "I just wanted to wrestle more."

Before her injury this year, Busenitz was rolling.

She was 12-0 after winning the 120-pound weight class at the Ladycat Classic on Dec. 17 with a 16-1 technical fall win over Chanute's Kadynce Axelson. It would be her last match.

"I couldn't really have asked for like a better end of the season," said Busenitz. "I was super excited about that."

During a practice over winter break, Busenitz was sparring and had her leg straight when her partner shot down at her legs.

She heard her knee pop, but it didn't hurt so she finished practice and was told to ice it that night.

"I woke up at like 2 in the morning and was like: 'That kind of hurts. I can't bend it, that might not be good,'" said Busenitz.

The next day, she found out she had a torn ACL.

"We know all the time, effort and energy she's put in to this, to see it taken away in a freak accident, it's heart-wrenching," said Parks.

Initially, Busenitz was in denial, knowing many higher level wrestlers who have slapped on a brace and continued. She planned to finish the season.

Busenitz said the swelling went down quickly, and she got her range of motion back. Within two weeks, she was able to do everything she could before the injury. But with her future in mind, she made the choice to have season-ending surgery.

"There's no point. It's ego, wanting to go get that state title," said Busenitz. "There's no point in pushing my college season back, so I decided to go ahead and get surgery."

The diagnosis was running and conditioning-type activities could take place in three months with wrestling activities anywhere from six to nine months away.

Busenitz had the surgery a few weeks ago and is already off crutches and doing squats and pushing sleds.

Busenitz will wrestle at Ottawa University next year

Busenitz announced her commitment to Ottawa in mid-November and signed her letter of intent a couple of weeks later.

Parks pointed to Busenitz's work ethic that's gotten her here today — getting up at 5 a.m. working on a horse ranch in the mornings, being a part of honors classes at school and wrestling at practices and meets.

"That tells you what kind of work ethic she has, what kind of dedication she has over the long term," said Parks. "Consistency over time. All that literally paid off in her wrestling and continues to pay off in her character and personality."

Busenitz said it was hard to find an opportunity that supported her academic endeavors while also offering wrestling. She found two programs, Indiana Tech and Ottawa. She was accepted at both.

Busenitz went on a visit to Indiana Tech during her junior year but didn't know Ottawa had an engineering program.

"I just overlooked it because I was like, 'It's so close,'" said Busenitz. "'If it would have had an engineering program, I would have heard about it.' During the offseason, I wrestled at a tournament for the Ottawa coach. I was like: 'Well, this dude is so awesome. I might just want to wrestle there anyways, even if they don't have engineering.' And it turned out they did."

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'We get to do this'

Busenitz came to practice hours after her ACL surgery. A big part of that is Busenitz's character and another part is how coach Chad Parks builds his program.

"We get to do this" is one of the team's mantras.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be than up in the wrestling room," said Busenitz. "My teammates are my support system. I think that really runs deep throughout the program."

Busenitz has been at every practice and meet.

"Part of it is, the coaches have been nice enough to let me pretend that I know enough to help coach a little bit," said Busenitz. "But mostly it's just like, I'm committed to the program. I made a commitment at the beginning of the season to be here for the rest of the season.

"Just because I can't wrestle doesn't mean I can't come support my teammates."

Busenitz will remember her time with Shawnee Heights wrestling fondly.

"It really brought me out of my shell," said Busenitz. "Everybody here has just been awesome. It's the people, it's like a family."

Tips or story ideas? Contact Seth Kinker at [email protected] or DM him on Twitter @SethKinker.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee Heights wrestler Molly Busenitz saw her senior year cut short