Back Coach Justin's Dream to Compete at the US Open

I'm looking to raise funds to test my wrestling skills and knowledge against some of the best wrestlers in the country at the 2025 US Open Wrestling Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament is in around 3 weeks, and I believe this is an important step to take competitively to prepare me for competing in college next year and for transitioning further into senior-level wrestling.

I've competed in wrestling since I was 11. Growing into who I am today was not easy; my first year wrestling, I borrowed another kid's shoes for the whole season and only won 3 total matches. After that year, I fell in love with wrestling and continued to compete in it throughout high school, quitting all other sports after qualifying for state in 9th grade. I eventually found myself becoming a contender for a state championship in my last two years of high school. I ended up never winning a state title despite having some impressive wins and accomplishments. Upon taking 3rd at state my junior and senior year, I decided to compete in college. I signed and went to NC State for my first semester of college, where I had my opportunity shot down due to academic errors. I then took my talents to The University of Arkansas at Little Rock. At Little Rock, I found myself struggling to adapt to the sudden change. I then withdrew and left Little Rock and went home a few weeks before the semester ended; it was an inaugural year, and we did not compete. I then attended Ellsworth Community College, following my friend Jaycie Rudd as his first (and only) recruit as a college wrestling coach. At Ellsworth, I was ranked nationally and suffered a concussion at Nationals in the consolation rounds, then failing to All-American. The next year, I followed Coach Cole Spree to Indian Hills Community College. At Indian Hills, I excelled as a student and passed 44 credit hours in 1 school year, was a member of student senate, served as a team captain, and assisted my team in finishing 8th at Nationals and winning a conference championship. However, for the first half of the season, I sat due to having my heart monitored by doctors. I wound up finishing that season in the blood round at nationals, losing to two All-Americans in the process. After that competing year at Indian Hills, I spent another in town working odd jobs and training with members of the wrestling teams, mostly being a practice dummy for those competing while watching the women win a national championship and the men take top 10. After that 2021-22 season, I attended Brewton-Parker College and made the massive cut from 185 to 165. Upon making weight, I blew out my knee and rib in the first week of competition. I wound up going home and coaching at Grappling House Wrestling Club as a youth coach and training with the team at Lincoln High School (my alma mater) to help further their success. After that semester, I moved back to Brewton-Parker and started focusing on the 2023-24 season. During that summer, I worked odd jobs and had to walk 2-4 miles to work every day, getting paid minimum wage. I then became a work-study student at Brewton-Parker College and worked there until I moved back to Florida in August of 2024. My season at BPC that year was interesting; I found myself finishing the season missing conference due to a skin infection outbreak occurring on my face the week of the conference. At that point, I was 17-4 and had hopes of competing to become an All-American. After missing the postseason, I switched to online classes and decided to finish my last semester at BPC online from home to save money on school. Upon making that switch, I decided to compete in the 2024 US Senior Beach National Tournament in Huntington Beach, California. This trip I did not fundraise for and paid solely out of pocket; I ended up finishing in 2nd place and qualifying for Team USA. However, competing overseas is expensive. Rather than competing overseas, I shifted my focus to competing in freestyle wrestling. I then went to the 2024 Senior World Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. I found myself going 0 and 2 for the first time since middle school. I took this experience on the chin and got back to work to stay in shape throughout the year as I prepare for what's next. I then started coaching at Grappling House as one of the main assistants and assisted with training some of the kids from my alma mater, where we cashed in 2 high school state champions and 2 other state medalists. At Grappling House, we acquired 3 youth state champions and 2 high school state placers.

My love and passion for the sport of wrestling is indescribable. I believe that it changed my life for the better, and I am beyond blessed to be in the position physically where I am confident in testing my abilities against the best in the country.

If I am able to afford this trip, I will be competing in both Senior Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling. The funds will be used to cover my travel expenses, lodging, and tournament registration fees.

All leftover funds will be used to help sponsor a local high school wrestler or team in need of assistance to afford the costs of competing/practicing in the summer.

Thank you for taking your time to read this and for your support in this endeavor. I plan on making my state proud and putting on a good showing. Follow along with me on Instagram and Facebook by searching Justin Grant (@justin.grant on Instagram). I have a wrestling page called McDoubles Wrestling (@mcdoubles_wrestling on Instagram) that I post most of my wrestling images to, many of which were done for free for local teams in my area or for my clients.

Thank you again! If you are not in the position to donate, then a share and words of encouragement would do just fine!

Justin Grant