Jax Forrest defeats Ben Davino for spot in Final X

Jax Forrest and Bo Bassett have a chance to be teammates once again.

The former Bishop McCort Catholic Crimson Crushers will each be competing for a spot on the U.S. senior world team next month in Newark, New Jersey. Bassett had already clinched a spot at 65 kilograms in Final X, while Forrest locked his 61-kilogram entry up by gaining a little revenge Friday in Louisville, Kentucky.

“That’s insane,” Forrest said of the two going from the Bishop McCort roster in December to the U.S. senior world team in six months. “Me and Bo are really close. Something we’ve talked about for years now is ‘We’re going to be on the same world team,’ and we haven’t yet. We haven’t made any of those teams together. We have a great chance to be on the U23 team together. We’re hoping to be on teams together for a long time.”

Forrest scored in the opening minute Friday, then pulled away in the second period for an 11-1 victory over Ben Davino at the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Series. It was their third meeting in the past three months.

Forrest, who graduated high school early in order to enroll at Oklahoma State University for the second semester, beat Davino 5-2 for the NCAA title at 133 pounds in March. A freshman at Ohio State, Davino beat Forrest 8-4 in the U.S. Open April 24.

For Forrest, his path felt like the plot to “Rocky III,” where an aging Rocky Balboa loses his championship belt to an up-and-comer before rededicating himself and regaining the title.

“I grew up watching the Rocky movies with my mom,” Forrest said. “This was like a perfect replica. I got the title, got a little too high on myself, wasn’t training as hard, got it taken from me and had to get that ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ and dig deep.”

Forrest staggered Davino early – not from a right hook, but rather from the Buckeye’s head colliding with Forrest’s knee on a shot. Davino recovered, but Forrest landed a figurative big blow 30 seconds later with a takedown and turn for a 4-0 lead.

“That was huge,” Forrest said.

“Going into that match, we wanted to get that first point. A takedown, a step-out point, even a passivity point would have been big. The last match, I didn’t score first, and he’s really good with a lead. Getting the takedown and then – on top of it – getting a turn, was huge.”

In the second period, Forrest countered a Davino shot for two exposure points and scored quickly on a go-behind after another Davino shot. Two final exposure points sealed the 11-1 victory and a spot in Final X, where Forrest will face Penn State rising sophomore Marcus Blaze in a best-of-3 series June 19. Blaze, who lost a controversial decision to Davino in the NCAA semifinals in March, beat Forrest 6-1 in the 2024 Olympic Team Trials.

Forrest qualified for Final X in 2025, but didn’t get to compete in it because his opponent, 2023 world champion Vito Arujao, was injured.

Instead, they wrestled in Fargo, North Dakota, a month later, and Forrest won both matches to become the youngest senior world team member in five decades.