Next week, four high schoolers will wrestle in a tournament that gives them the opportunity to qualify for the upcoming summer Olympics.
Last week, some of those high school wrestlers going to the tournament didn't realize they were able to compete, since most qualifiers required the wrestlers to be 18 or older, but with this tournament, open those born in 2006, these competitors couldn't say no.
Bishop McCort wrestler Bo Bassett said, “"I know I'll have plenty of more shots after this but why not start now."
The wrestlers will go to Fairfax, Virginia next Saturday to compete in the Last Chance Olympic Team Trials Qualifier.
A win in their weight class would send them to the Olympic Team Trials that start April 19 in the Bryce Jordan Center.
At 57 kilograms, or roughly 125 pounds, Bishop McCort teammates Mason Gibson and Jax Forrest, who just won a PIAA high school state title, will compete in the freestyle category.
Depending on how the bracket goes, Gibson, a Penn State commit, could wrestle both his current teammate or a future teammate.
Coach Bill Bassett said if they met, it would represent the area well no matter what happened.
"All the guys are best buddies off the mat and on the mat but win or lose I think they would be happy for each other,” he said.
Along with Pierson Manville of State College, Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett will wrestle freestyle at 65 kilograms, or about 143 pounds.
Bassett, fresh off his own PIAA state title, said this will be a different challenge.
"A lot of these guys are way older, they've wrestled in college, graduated through college, they have families, so it's gonna be a little bit different, I'm used to wrestling high school aged guys and maybe college guys at the beginning of the year, but these guys are little bit older so it'll be fun,” he said.
Despite the jump in competition, Bassett said he’s feeling dangerous.
"I know one thing; it doesn't matter who I'm wrestling; I'm gonna sprint and I'm gonna score as many points as I can. I don't really fear any of these guys because they're another human and they wrestle, and they do the same thing that I do. Maybe they've been doing it a little bit longer. Maybe they've been doing it longer than I've been alive. But I'm ready to go. I love challenges and this is pretty challenging,” he said.
If any of the wrestlers made the team, they'd be the first high school wrestler since 2008 to make the US Olympic team.
Coach Bill Bassett said, “They're looking at records, they're looking to see what they can beat, what they can match and that's their mindset. Their mindset is we outwork everybody and let’s see where we can fall in history."
Bill Bassett said that, for these guys, it's a no-loss experience because there’s no pressure, but he says to not be surprised if you see any of them representing Pennsylvania and the United States in Paris this summer.
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