“They sting more not because of the defeat itself, but because of the effort, dedication, and dreams they carried. These losses are not mere statistics, they carve deep into the soul of the wrestler, fueling their desire for redemption.” These were the words of wisdom to come out of the mouth of the current 2025 NCAA champion when he lost to Austin DeSanto in the semifinals of the 61 kg men’s freestyle division at the 2023 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships. This was when the man lost in the semifinals, so you can only imagine how he would be after losing the 2025 finals, because coming so close is going to sting harder. You need to imagine no more. Sadly, it has happened, and what did he say?
Seth Gross lost in the finals of the 2025 USA Wrestling US Open on April 26. Hours after the loss, the man confessed on his X account how he felt about it. He tweeted, “I hate freaking losing so bad. Burns a hole in my chest, and I refuse to ever get used to it.” The man lost to Jax Forrest, a high schooler from Bishop McCort Catholic High School – the same place where Bo Basset comes from.
A man decided to tease Gross over losing to Junior under this tweet, to which the wrestler replied, “You don’t say.” It would have been a little better if the defeat had been competitive or even had a slight chance of going both ways, but no. Jax won the match by a 19-8 technical fall to wear the title of US Open champion at 61 kg. It had been a little more than 5 minutes since the two had been on the mat when the 2025 NCAA champion tried going for the legs of the junior. Wrong decision.
Gross stumbled on his knee but quickly got back up. Now, both the wrestlers had their shoulders locked into each other, with Jax on his knees and Gross on his feet. Now, if you are new to wrestling, you might think that this might be a good position for Gross, but you know the game, you know. Jax freed his hands, and before you know it, he had his grip around the national champion’s knees, and then comes the lift, and the next second, Seth Gross is on the mat, in the grip of the Bishop McCort wrestler.
The signal comes from the referee, and Seth Gross has lost.
The story is developing…..
The post “Burns a Hole in My Chest”: Wrestling Champion Makes Honest Confession After Getting Ragdolled at US Open Finals appeared first on EssentiallySports.