'Going to be fun': Jax Forrest ready to battle Blaze for spot on national team
· Yahoo Sports
When Jax Forrest returned to Johnstown earlier this month, the Bishop McCort Catholic graduate worked out with his former Crimson Crushers wrestling teammate, Bo Bassett.
“I was there for like a week,” Forrest said in a press conference Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.
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“We wrestled three, four days – wrestling in The Compound, went down in their basement. Just hanging out with him was good, just talking about what’s new.
“Sometimes life is more than just wrestling.”
Of course, they also talked wrestling. Specifically, about the opportunities before them, as both have a chance to make the U.S. senior national freestyle team. Forrest’s chance will come at 2 p.m. Friday, when he takes on Penn State’s Marcus Blaze in a best-of-3 Final X series at 61 kilograms.
Bassett was scheduled to wrestle a series against former Stanford and Iowa wrestler Real Woods for the 65-kilogram spot. But Woods requested a delay due to a medical issue, meaning that matchup will have to wait.
“We were bouncing ideas off each other and talking about how excited we were to wrestle at Final X together,” said Forrest, who made the senior national team in 2025 and finished fifth in the world. “Obviously, plans are different now.”
The plans may be, but the mission is the same: earn a spot on the national team and represent the U.S. at the world championships in late October in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Standing in Forrest’s way is a familiar foe in Blaze. They have split their four matches, although Blaze has won the past two, including their only freestyle meeting.
“I’ve been looking forward to this ever since he beat me in the Olympic trials,” Forrest said in referencing Blaze’s 8-1 victory two years ago. “I hate losing, so when somebody beats me, it’s a mission for me to try to go and find them and beat them.”
Blaze has been in Forrest’s bracket at several competitions since then – including at 133 pounds in March’s NCAA tournament, which Forrest won while Blaze was fourth – but they haven’t met up again.
It’s a clash of styles, as Forrest scores points in bunches, while Blaze only gave up five or more points in three of his 28 matches for Penn State during the 2025-26 season.
“He’s super, super-hard, defensive,” Forrest said. “He kind of prides himself on not being able to be taken down. Nobody scores on him. My thing is, I think I can go get two takedowns on anybody in any given six minutes. I like to think offensively. I think reattacks, defense, slide-bys – there are so many ways that I look to score.”
The danger of attacking Blaze is that the two-time age-level world champion can counter an opponent’s shot and turn it into quick points. Forrest knows that, but it doesn’t matter to him.
“I’m not going to change who I am,” Forrest said. “I’m not going to try to play a defensive match. I’m going to look to score my points. Whatever situation I’m in, I’m going to attack with whatever I think is there.”
Final X will feature men’s series to determine the U.S. national team representative at eight weights. Luke Lilledahl, Blaze’s teammate at Penn State, will compete in the 57-kilogram final while former Nittany Lions Zain Retherford (70 kilograms) and Levi Haines (79) are seeking spots on the team. Kyle Dake (86) and Kyle Snyder (97) will compete for the Nittany Lion Wrestling club. Former Pennsylvania high school stars Spencer Lee (57) and Chance Marsteller (79) are also in the finals. Former District 6 standout Trent Hidlay already earned the 92-kilogram spot.
This will be the first time that Forrest will compete in the event. The 2025 series with Vito Arujau was postponed before they eventually wrestled in Fargo, North Dakota. Forrest is unsure what the atmosphere will be like inside the Prudential Center.
“I don’t know what to expect because I wasn’t here,” Forrest said. “I’m just so excited. He’s really good. I know he’s super, super-competitive. I know I’m super-competitive, so it’s going to be fun.”