From small-town wrestler to starting for a D1 wrestling program, Class of 2022 Aidan O’Shea is a Bellefonte Area High School alumni who is currently a true freshman at Franklin & Marshall University (F&M) with a current record of 16-14. 

Aidan was a successful student and a successful wrestler at BAHS, tallying up 103 career varsity wins which resulted in a 103-43 career varsity record. O’Shea had a 35-9 record his senior year en route to a PIAA state championship tournament appearance.

Aidan has had many great impacts on people, one of those being on Jude Swisher, an old teammate who was a successful wrestler at Bellefonte and is now a D1 wrestler at Penn University. He would note how great of a teammate and leader he was, as he held the room together. Jude also thinks Aidan is due for a very bright future.

“As one of my main partners, I would certainly say he was a part of my success. I think that Aidan is a dedicated and focused person en route to a successful career,” he said about his former teammate.

Aidan’s career at Bellefonte is something that he reflects on a lot. Some of his favorite memories were from his sophomore year, when it was his first time making the state tournament by making the regional finals and helping the team win its first regional title in 20 years.

“I miss the team atmosphere and the big dual meets. There’s nothing like winning your match in a packed high school gym for a dual meet against a rival school,” Aidan said about things he misses most about high school wrestling.

“For high school in general I just miss the relationships with all of my teachers and classmates. I felt like I knew everyone,” he said.

Aidan chose F&M because they are a D1 wrestling school and it was his dream to compete at the division one level. He chose them over other schools because of their great education.

Aidan also plans on attending medical school after his four years at F&M and his wrestling career are over.