Barrus Competing in World Team Trials
BETHANY– Trinity Barrus is a true freshman at Bethany College with a winning mindset. A founding member of the Women's Wrestling team, Barrus wants to put Bethany on the map.
In a way, Barrus already has.
The Bison was the only West Virginia based female athlete to win a match in the national tournament. Barrus lifted Bethany to 48th in the country. With 96 official NCAA programs eligible for the National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships, the Bison were officially in the top half of all NCAA schools in the country. That includes Division I, Division II, and Division III schools.
Barrus wrestled elite competition at the championships in Iowa. Her first match was against the returning 5th place All-American from Division I Sacred Heart. She then wrestled nationally ranked Division II competition.
The Bison is looking to keep chasing higher-level competition in Spokane, Washington. Barrus has entered the World Team Trials at the 72 kg weight class.
The goal is to reach the podium by placing in the top three. If Barrus were to earn bronze, she would secure her position on the USA National Team. That honor allows her to potentially compete in USA Wrestling international competitions such as the Pan-Am Games or United World Wrestling World Championships.
The top eight placewinners will earn All-American Honors. Head Coach Pete DiPol has confidence that his national qualifier can make a run.
"We are trying to build a team that has goals and aspirations of making World Teams. She exemplifies the culture that we are establishing at Bethany College. Trinity is setting the bar for all future Bison that will take the mat. A lot of sacrifices have to be made to even make it to this point and I'm excited to see what she is able to do. Ultimately 0-2 is better than 0-0, but our goal is to gain experience and get better on the mat."
At this current moment, Barrus is prepping to peak at the right time. The schedule is tight, but the freshman has been able to squeeze multiple workouts a day while maintaining her 4.0 GPA.
"It's a lot of work. School, lifting, mat time, work-study… But I want to win and I'm feeling the best I've ever felt on the mat. Coach has been working with me to fix some things from the season and I feel pretty good, man."
Barrus will compete in the USMC National Championships to try and earn a spot on Team USA. The competition will run tomorrow through the weekend (April 4th-6th). You can watch the Bison with a FloWrestling membership, or follow the brackets on TrackWrestling.
