Bo Bassett had just one goal. And that was to get redemption. After falling short in last year’s state championship, the Iowa recruit didn’t just aim to win. He promised to dominate. His bold warning before the PIAA finals has made the upcoming battle for power even more vivid. But his speech and bold claims were left meaningless by the time the final whistle was blown. Bishop McCort’s obsession with reprisal was shattered into pieces. But while Bassett had a monstrous personal performance, he could not elevate the team to the top ranks.

Though Bo Bassett has made his decision to go to college, his past commitments were yet to be fulfilled. One of them was to defeat Bishop McCort’s rival, Faith Christian Academy, in PIAA. Especially after McCort’s loss to the Lions last year by a margin of 46-18. This year Bassett thought that he would get his payback. But unfortunately, nothing worked out. And the end result was shocking for McCort, Bassett, and the fans, for that matter. But what exactly were Bassett’s words?

As per FloWrestling, Bassett said, “I think getting them exposed to the Wyoming Sem match and the duals out in Oklahoma was very important. I know they’ve been looking forward to this since last year after we lost to them in the state final.” However, despite his admission, it is pretty clear that his single-handed efforts weren’t enough to outshine FCA. But how did the night go for the winners?

Faith Christian Academy snatched victory from the hands of Bishop McCort, as they handed them a crushing 34-25 defeat in the PIAA state wrestling finals. Bo Bassett, who had vowed to avenge last year’s heartbreak, delivered a commanding 17-9 win against Max Stein in the 152 lbs category in the AA finals.

But it seems like his brilliance alone was not enough for the team to thrive and secure the title. And FCA instead retained last year’s title win. They won each of the top three weight categories. Now it wasn’t like the Crushers didn’t give their best efforts. But when the lights were the brightest and the pressure the highest, the Crushers faltered. And this ended up costing them the title.

One match in particular was the heavyweight bout between Bishop’s Caleb Rodriguez and Faith’s Mark Effendian. While Caleb looked good in the start, Effendian ended the match with an MD and, with that, claimed the title for his school. But while this was indeed painful, it taught something important to Bassett. And that is perhaps that individual brilliance doesn’t matter in a team game.

Bo Bassett’s brilliance amidst team heartbreak

Bo Bassett’s brilliance was obvious during the 2025 PIAA Team Wrestling Championship. In the semifinals against Berks Catholic, Bassett slammed his opponent to the ground in 1 minute and 9 seconds. In fact, he was largely responsible for Bishop McCort’s overwhelming 61-6 victory. He has continued this form since his 1:43-minute victory over Ryan Meredith in the QFs against Montoursville. The result was brilliant; it had been a spectacular 58-8 for the Crushers.

But that brings us to the question: How did the others do? Well, coming into that, #2 Jax Forrest continued his unbeaten run in the 127-pound category. In the QFs, he went on to defeat Mountoursville’s David Kennedy by technical fall and followed this in the semis with a 4:07 victory over Brayden Hartranft by another technical fall. To round it up, he went on to win in the finals against FCA as well.

But while the #1 and #2 duo of Bassett and Forrest remained undefeated this season, the same cannot be said about their compatriots. While joining the top duo, Sam Herring and Devon Margo won in their respective categories of 145ps and 160ps, the same couldn’t be said for their bigger friends. FCA all four of the last four weight categories.

This might be something Bishop and Bill Bassett would have to work on come next year. But this one year of break would be extra gut-wrenching for the Bishop team and their fans. Why? Because by the 172-pound mark, it looked like Bishop had it in the bag. They had won all of their matches between the 145 to 172-pound categories. And looked to comfortably take the win.

But late-hour heroics from FCA heavyweights Jason Singer and Effendian over the likes of Bishop’s Matteo Noronha and Caleb Rodriquez meant that it is yet another year of heartbreak. And while Bishop McCort performed well, the winner would be only one, right? Hence, FCA has been No. 1 this year too. Hence, this year too, the question remains the same. Can Bishop McCort ever escape the shadow of FCA? And a bigger question is, does Bo Bassett have no chance of a high school redemption? Well, that is something only time will tell.