Breaking boundaries, setting records

HASTINGS, Minn. — Amelia Miller is not afraid of trying new things, whether it is responding to a local dairy farm’s help wanted ad with no dairy experience or being one of six girls on her high school wrestling team the year girls wrestling was sanctioned in Minnesota.

Miller, the daughter of Rob Miller and Amy and Jarrett Bjork, is a senior at Hastings High School in Hastings. This year, Miller’s wrestling record was 34-5. She set the Hastings High School girls wrestling single season record for pins with 27. She has 54 career pins, which is the all-time record for the program.

“(It was) an absolutely phenomenal season for her,” said her coach, Tim Haneberg.

Miller said work ethic has been part of her plan for success.

“I always try to be the first one in the (practice) room and the last one out,” Miller said.

Outside wrestling, Miller makes time to work on a local 100-cow dairy farm owned by John and Janet Bremer near Hastings.

Haneberg said Miller has self-confidence, accountability and grit. Haneberg has been the head wrestling coach at Hastings for six years and coached for 14.

“The keys for success, … (I think are) a strong work ethic and a positive attitude,” Haneberg said. “Those are two things that Amelia has shown over the last four years.”

For the past two years Miller has been a section champion and a state entrant.

“I definitely had a fire inside going into this year wanting to do good,” she said. “The entire season was getting ready for state, hoping to do something there because I always had a goal to get on the all-state wall and have a picture next to my dad.”

Miller’s dad, step-dad, uncle and brother have all wrestled. This year was Miller’s third year as a team captain.

“(Being captain) is something that is very special to me,” Miller said. “My dad, he was a captain. … He was a big reason that I joined the sport ... following in his footsteps, and then to be someone that the girls can look up to is really nice.”

At state this year Miller woke up sick and did not perform as well as she had hoped. Miller was the only girl from Hastings returning to state this year.

“I was still really glad to make it again, having my last year up there with the girls and watching them place,” she said.

Miller’s first year of wrestling was in 2021 as a freshman. Miller and a handful of other students competed. Haneberg recruited girls whose brothers wrestled for the inaugural team.

“These are some pretty brave girls that came out for a pretty male dominated sport,” Haneberg said. “She was one of those first six girls that really took that challenge head on.”

Miller did not see a lot of success her first year.

“I got 10 matches the entire season, maybe 12, and I definitely had a lot more losses than wins,” Miller said. “We would go to the places that the boys went, and it was just a give or take if they would have a girl that’s around your weight.”

The next year she began getting more matches. By junior year she had a 17-16 record and the team had grown to 26 girls. This year, the team had 37 girls. Haneberg said Miller helped in the growth of the program.

“For her to stick it out those four years, continue to (personally) grow and grow and grow is really cool,” he said.

Haneberg said he has seen Miller’s self-confidence soar as a result of wrestling.

“She just has done a great job of showing confidence in other girls, inspiring it in them,” he said. “(She is) a leader in the wrestling room, helping those girls with their technique, (and) creating relationships with them.”

Miller grew up on a generational family farm, showing animals through 4-H and participating in FFA. Miller hopes to become a production animal veterinarian and will attend the University of Minnesota-Crookston this fall and plans to apply for the Veterinary Food Animal Scholars Track program. It was this career aspiration that pushed her to apply for the farm position offered by the Bremers.

“Working on the dairy farm is great hands-on experience with the animals,” Miller said. “(I appreciate) being able to watch how a dairy farm runs, and then what kind of problems they see and how they fix it.”

Janet Bremer said Miller is an excellent employee who is driven and always eager to learn. Bremer said they prioritize her watching the veterinarian to gain understanding about her future career.

“I just think that’s wonderful she took the initiative to learn about something prior to even entering school,” she said.

Miller’s duties include feeding calves and milking cows. During the wrestling season she was limited to working one day a week, but during the rest of the year Miller works three or four days a week for the Bremers.

As an athlete and dairy farm employee, dairy products are part of Miller’s life.

“Milk is super important,” Miller said. “Our coaches always tell us it’s either water or a glass of milk. That’s what we drink through the season, nothing else.”

Looking to the future, Miller hopes to continue to give back to wrestling as a coach or a practice partner at Hastings and also potentially at the girl’s wrestling program at the high school in Crookston.

Haneberg sees a bright future for Miller’s life.

She’s going to be a very successful girl and a very driven person,” he said.