Sammy Sasso returns to Ohio State wrestling room after 41 days in hospital
Sammy Sasso was back with the Ohio State wrestling team Thursday.
The graduate senior wrestler, a victim of a shooting on North High Street during a carjacking Aug. 18, returned to the Jennings Family Wrestling Practice Facility to visit his Buckeyes teammates.
"After 41 days in the hospital, we're grateful to see the champ (Sasso) back in Jennings today," Ohio State Wrestling posted on social media.
Sasso was shot in an alley near the 1300 block of North High Street Aug. 18. According to the police report, two individuals approached Sasso when one pulled out a handgun, demanding his vehicle. That suspect shot Sasso before getting into the driver’s seat. The other suspect jumped into the passenger’s seat, and the two drove away from the scene.
On Aug. 30, Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan said Sasso was in "fight mode."
After 41 days in the hospital, we’re grateful to see the champ @sammysasso back in Jennings today ❤️ #GoBucks | #SassoStrong pic.twitter.com/AVhMn6IaZo
— Ohio State Wrestling (@wrestlingbucks) September 28, 2023
According to the Sasso family’s GoFundMe page, Sasso was shot in the abdomen and underwent emergency surgery to reconstruct his colon. A second surgery was needed to remove the bullet near his spine, which caused “severe nerve damage.”
Ryan said Sasso knows he will “have to really fight to come back to being the competitor he was,” and added that the redshirt senior is in a wheelchair with a long process ahead to “move (in) the ways he wants to move.”
“God willing, he will wrestle again,” said Ryan. “We don’t know that. We don’t know the long-term effects of this. Sammy is an ultimate warrior. His mindset is: ‘If I have to wrestle on my knees, I will.’ ”
Sasso was to enter the 2023-24 season as the top-ranked wrestler in the 149-pound weight class nationally. He finished last season with 29 wins in 33 bouts with a Big Ten Championship and a runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship.
He is a four-time All-American, two-time Big Ten champion and four-time NCAA tournament qualifier.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Sammy Sasso returns to Ohio State wrestling room after shooting
