SHS wrestling standout Casey Olesen signs with Treasure Valley Community College
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint senior Casey Olesen signs his National Letter of Intent to wrestle for Treasure Valley Community College on May 23.
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint senior Casey Olesen (left) signs his National Letter of Intent to wrestle with Treasure Valley Community College with SHS Athletic Director Kris Knowles (right). Standing in the back row, from left to right, are assistant coaches Josh Ratigan and Cash Edwards alongside Sandpoint Wrestling head coach Jake Stark.
Sandpoint wrestling senior, team captain and one of the program’s mainstays has found his place at the next level.
Four-year varsity letter-winner, four-time state competitor and fifth-place finisher in the 2019 4A 120-lb. State Tournament Casey Olesen signed his National Letter of Intent to wrestle for Treasure Valley Community College on Thursday morning.
“I’m excited,” Olesen said. “I thought I’d be done [wrestling] but I’m excited to see where I’ll go with it. I’ve just opened up a new door to go to something a lot higher, which is really cool.”
TVCC head wrestling coach Alex Gunoe and his staff reached out to Olesen after he placed fifth in the 120-lb. division at the Best of the Northwest Tournament — a large meet comprised of state championship-caliber athletes from multiple states — in early March. Olesen and Gunoe hit it off at the meet; TVCC’s offer and promise of future opportunities made a lasting impression on Olesen.
From there, Olesen weighed other offers from NIC and Hastings College (Nebraska), he before deciding to become a Chukar.
“I’ll be going up against guys that I’ve been wrestling for a while,” Olesen said of the TVCC program, which has recently made a push to attract regional wrestlers. “I already know most of the wrestlers in the district and how they wrestle, so that’s an advantage I have.”
Olesen cites support and encouragement from his coaches — most notably head coach Jake Stark — and his parents for shaping him into the athlete he is today.
“They really pushed me,” Olesen said of his parents and Sandpoint wrestling’s coaching staff. “Even when I didn’t believe in myself, they believed in me.”
Located in Ontario, Oregon, Treasure Valley Community College is a member of the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC). Although wrestling is a club sport, the program offers scholarships and sent wrestlers to the NCWAs this winter.
“This is to get my name out there,” Olesen said. “What’s to come after that is what I’m really looking forward to.”
Olesen, who placed fifth in the 4A 120-lb. State Tournament in February, qualified for state during all four years of his high school career. On the district level, he was a top-three finisher in all four years, most recently with a 4A District 1 title in the 120-lb. classification.
During his senior season, Olesen placed in seven different tournaments, including three first-place finishes — both were team-highs.