He just turned 18, but the Cadet World champ and Junior World silver medalist is set to make a run at the 2015 World Team and 2016 Olympics
By Craig Sesker COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Aaron Pico sat down on a
long metal bench and glanced around at his surroundings. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he tried to catch his
breath following a grueling early-morning workout. And then a huge smile spread across his face. “It’s good to be home,” Pico said. Pico, a Los Angeles native, wasn’t exactly home. But the wrestling mats at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs are like a second home for one of the most exciting and dynamic young wrestlers this country has ever seen. In a whirlwind 2014 where the sport of wrestling has taken
him to Russia, Cuba, France, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, Pico has continued to make significant gains on the wrestling mat. The 18-year-old Pico is cramming for a last-minute final exam
that he hopes culminates with berths on the American 2015 World Team and 2016 Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling. “I have very high goals, and now they’re on the Senior level,”
said Pico, a 2013 Cadet World champion and a 2014 Junior World silver medalist. “I’m trying to make the next Senior World Team. I am working extremely hard, and I know I still have a lot of work to do. My coaches have given me a good game plan and I just follow it 110 percent. “Absolutely, the 2015 World Team is a big goal of mine. I am
training hard and smart, and everything is starting to fall into place for me.” Pico is much closer to his lofty goals than you might think. He upset 2013 Senior World champion David Safaryan of Armenia at the Henri Deglane Challenge last month in Nice, France. Pico earned an 8-5 win over Safaryan in the Henri Deglane
12 USA Wrestler
Aaron Pico defeated Zain Retherford 7-0 in a battle of Cadet World champions at the 2014 FILA Junior Nationals freestyle finals in Las Vegas. Tony Rotundo photo.
finals. Pico demonstrated his offense has improved after he scored on a pair of leg attacks. He also relied on an aggressive, pressuring approach and used his superior conditioning to earn the victory. “It was a great win for me,” Pico said. “We’ve been working
hard to compete on the Senior level. I will probably see him again, and I know Safaryan and other Senior-level guys will be scouting me more now, so I need to keep getting better. My level of confidence continues to go up.” Pico’s next event is the prestigious Ivan Yarygin International Continued on page 13
PICO AARON
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