Once an underdog, Trevor Bassitt now shines as a world leader in the hurdles

Volume 2 Issue 23-24

Jun 18, 2023

(Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

For those that were blissfully unaware, July 19th, 2022 saw many people asking: Who is Trevor Bassitt? It was on that day last year when the hurdler from little Bulffton, Ohio ran his way to a bronze medal at the World Championships in the 400m hurdles. For any track and field fan outside of Ohio this seemed like a complete fluke. Where locals knew it was anything but.

A two-time state champion coming out of Bluffton High School, Trevor Bassitt committed to Division II powerhouse Ashland University. The average fan would scoff and claim inferiority as there is no way a Division II athlete would ever amount to anything at the next level, right? Well, 10 national titles later (6 individual and 4 relays) it seemed like if anyone could do it Trevor Bassitt could. After all, the stopwatch doesn’t lie.

Before officially going pro, Bassitt ran at the USA indoor national championships in the 400m. He finished 2nd. That qualified him for the World Championships in Serbia. He went round by round and made it the finals where he earned a silver medal by just a fraction of a second. Bassitt was officially a world medalist. Still, the detractors continued: It’s indoor, outdoor is what really matters.

After a successful outdoor NCAA season to cap off his Ashland career, Bassitt was ready to tackle the USA Championships. After finishing in 8th in 2021, Bassitt surely showed is talent in 2022. Running unattached, Bassitt had the 2nd fastest time in preliminaries and 3rd fastest out of the semifinals. With a strong last 200 meters, Bassitt stormed to a silver medal in the finals with a personal best time of 47.47. Hard for the naysayers to speak now isn’t it?

To many, simply qualifying for the World Championships would have been an accomplishment enough. Especially given the fact that Trevor Bassitt was from a small town in Northwest Ohio and a graduate of a Division II school. But the fireworks weren’t over.

In the World Championship heats, Bassitt held on to a 4th place finish to get an automatic qualifying spot to the semifinals. In the semis, Bassitt followed Alison Dos Santos the whole way to blaze into a second place finish and get the automatic qualifying spot for the finals. The unfortunate part of that however, was that Bassitt would be on the outside lane in the finals. He would be unaware of how fast any of the other competitors were going. Not even halfway through the race things were not looking good, the field was catching Bassitt. He was the hunted instead of the hutner. Coming down the final straightaway Bassitt was sitting in 6th place, three spots out of the podium. Then over the final hurdle, 5 athletes were all gunning for the bronze medal. And with the final kick and biggest lean, Trevor Bassitt took the bronze by just .02 seconds. The underdog was now one of the best.

Bassitt’s performance and story made him a fan favorite, especially his connection with his college coach Jud Logan who passed away at the beginning of the 2022 season. This season, Bassitt has been training in Florida with Gators coach Mike Holloway and has signed a contract with Adidas. So far this outdoor season Bassitt has been a world traveler, pitting himself against the best across the globe.

Bassitt opened his pro season at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix with a win over a challenging field in what was one of the biggest sporting events in the country’s history. A week later, Bassitt finished 5th in his first ever Diamond League event, this one in Qatar. He then returned home to the states to compete in the Los Angeles Grand Prix where he finished 3rd. And in his own words, tough to run at a high level when you spartan kick 2 hurdles. Bassitt then came back for two more Diamond League meets where he placed 3rd in Paris and 5th in Oslo.

Clearly Trevor Bassitt is now one of the best in the business. He’s always in every race and has ran at a high level in every meet so far. The Bluffton native that was once an underdog is now at the top of his game with up to 5 more meets still to go. Bassitt has the USA Championships next at the beginning of July. If he finishes in the top 3 he will qualify for World Championships in August. He also has two Diamond League meets left, Monaco in July and Zurich in August. Bassitt may also have a chance to qualify for the Prefontaine Classic in September.

Leading Updates

Dylan O’Quinn (Millbury/Lake) was taken by the San Antonio Brahmas in the XFL Draft.
Quentin Poling (Elida) named Defensive Player of the Week for Week 9 in the USFL.
Connor Curlis (Findlay) was moved to the 60-day IL by the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.

NWO Athletes at NCAA T&F Championships

8th - Kenna Stimmel (Margaretta) - Pole Vault - Virginia Tech
15th - Zaresha Neal (Findlay) - Discus - Bowling Green State
21st - Noah Koch (Genoa) - Discus - Indiana

Notable Game Updates

On June 4th Jase Bowen (Northwood/Toledo Cen. Cath.) hit a grand slam for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers.
On June 4th Deylen Miley (Bryan) pitched 5 innings and gave up only 5 hits and 1 earned run for the High-A Asheville Tourists.
On June 7th Chris Bassitt (Curtice/Genoa) got the win for the Blue Jays in 8 innings pitched and giving up only 4 hits and 2 earned runs.
On June 9th Natasha Howard (Toledo/Waite) had 22 points in a Wings win over the Mercury.
On June 11th Quentin Poling (Elida) had 12 tackles, including half a sack and an interception in a Stallions win over the Gamblers.
On June 16th Jase Bowen (Northwood/Tol. Cen. Cath.) went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs for the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers.
On June 17th Nate Holley (Toledo/Whitmer) had 5 tackles in a Stallions win over the Showboats.
On June 17th Natasha Howard (Toledo/Waite) had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a Wings loss to the Storm.

Interesting Reads

Just For Fun

Fastest intermediate hurdlers in NWO history.

Northwest Ohio Sports Weekly

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