In February of 2017, Abe Assad walked out of the State Farm Center with no medal from his second state tournament appearance. Little did he know, he'd be the undisputed #1 ranked wrestler in the country 15 months later. 

In Fargo 2017, Assad made the finals in Cadet Nationals in both styles, winning the big stop sign in Greco. Despite being without a state medal, his performance in Fargo caught the attention of recruiters at West Point and by November he was committed to Army.

If his Fargo run didn't stoke the interest of the rest of the nation, his ensuing 51-0 season capped with a state title did. He then entered Akron, in an historically deep weight, as a second-tier contender. He left Akron as #1.

He beat PA studs Gerritt Nijenhuis and Carter Starocci before winning the best-of-three against perennial Top 3 Julian Ramirez in a bracket that featured nine other wrestlers ranked in the Top 10.

What that meant for Assad was that he was going to Cadet Worlds (where he'd earn Bronze). What it meant to the rest of the country was that they better see if he's open to other offers.

And he was.

"When I first was looking at schools I was valuing academics more than I was wrestling hence why I committed to West Point (arguably the best school academically in the country). However as I sat down and talked with my parents I realized that I may only be wrestling for 5 or 6 more years so I might as well go to the school that gives me the best opportunity wrestling wise to win a National Title."

Assad has narrowed his list to four schools and visited all of them but one - North Carolina, Michigan, and last week, Iowa. Ohio State remains in the hunt.

"Sometime during August I plan to head to Ohio State to check it out there as well. As of right now I don’t know if I I want to commit after I visit tOSU or if I want to wait and take my officials come October. I will probably sit down with my parents and decide on that.  But I’m trying to be committed by the time my HS wrestling season starts so I can dial in on winning another state championship."

Currently ranked as the #13 prospect in the Class of 2019, Assad says he imagines he'll be a 184lber for his entire career. He will appear in FloWrestling Who's #1 on October 7th and then Super 32 on October 28th.

"Gotta get myself a belt before I graduate!"