Imagine preparing for a year to get payback from your rivals only to end up losing yet again. Well, that is exactly what happened with Bo Bassett, as despite vowing to win against Faith Christian Academy (FCA), his Bishop McCort once again fell to the No. 1 high school. But while many thought that such heartbreak would mark the end of his high school career, the prodigy has gotten yet another chance. What chance do you say? Why the 2025 PIAA Wrestling State Championship, of course. And Bo is locked in.

The tournament has already been underway in the Giant Center in Hershey, PA, since March 6th. And while for any other guy this would’ve been the final goal, for Bassett it is simply a do or die. With his undefeated streak of 110 wins, he is looking to get the most of this season. He is visibly stoked for this as well.

Taking to Twitter, the IOWA wrestler said, “PIAA States Time. I am excited to get the opportunity to take the mats with both my brothers and teammates. It’s almost time to sprint! #MachineGunMindset #BeThePunisher@the_rudis @ThePunishwr.” The tweet also featured a picture of the star wearing a Marvel’s Punisher shirt. Winning this title could be the next big thing for Basset, who already has been awarded with 8 Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling State Championship titles, but what’s the schedule?

The initial day focused on the early stages of competition for both the AA and AAA brackets, as well as the girls’ division. Competitors in these groups begin their journey with preliminary and first-round bouts, along with consolation matches that offer a second chance to advance. Day 2 is more about the elimination rounds.

March 7 marks the date when the quarterfinals and semifinals across all divisions, further reducing the number of candidates. The matches for the 3rd, 5th, & 7th place and finals are on Saturday, March 8, to decide the winners and crown the champions in all divisions. Now since it’s the 7th of March, day one of the championship has already wrapped up and Basset has shown his dominance.

Bo Bassett Defeats Andrew Messner as Day 1 wraps

Bassett decided to avenge his February at the very beginning of the 2025 PIAA Wrestling State Championship. Going up against the Berks Catholic’  Andrew Messner, the punisher fan from Bishop McCort made sure of dominance with a 21-6 tech fall win. Basset from the Class 2A boys is the main man behind the Bishop school, who currently has a lead of 4.5 points over Faith Christian’s 54.5.

The two schools are leading the race and heading into the quarterfinal rounds with 10 wrestlers each. Class 3A is more competitive, with Bethlehem Catholic (28 points), Notre Dame-Green Pond (27), Connellsville (23), Nazareth (23) and Northampton (19.5) leading the way with at least five wrestlers apiece, still alive for medals.

As far as the girls’ team is concerned,  there’s a total of 12 teams between 10 and 13 team points, with talent from all over PA still pursuing medals in the second-ever running of the PIAA girls championships. But the very important question of the championship still remains: are the Bishop McCorts taking revenge on Faith Christian? Well they have to. They already lost twice in a row after all.

But irrespective of what Bishop does, Bassett has this one final chance to redeem himself. This time no more vows, no more bold proclamations but rather simply achieving the goal.