Bluffton High School graduate Trevor Bassitt finished third in the 400 hurdles finals at this year’s USA Track and Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Photo credits: Mike Hunisett (left) and Alex Andrei (right)
Former Bluffton High School and Ashland University track and field standout Trevor Bassitt does not take anything for granted.
He also will not rest on his laurels.
In 2022, Bassitt won a World Athletics Championships outdoor gold medal in the 1,600-meter relay, and a World Athletics outdoor bronze medal in the 400-meter hurdles.
After last weekend’s third-place finish in the finals of the 400 hurdles at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the 25-year-old Bassitt is heading back to the World Athletics Championships.
At the USATF Outdoor Championships, Bassitt clocked a seasonal-best time of 48.26 seconds in the 400 hurdles, finishing behind Rai Benjamin (46.62) and CJ Allen (48.18). With the top-three finish, Bassitt will compete for Team USA at the World Athletics Championships, Aug. 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary. Bassitt is the No. 6-ranked men’s 400 hurdler in the world, according to World Athletics.
Bassitt, now a professional track athlete, resides in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife, Harlie, where he trains at the University of Florida with a group of pro athletes under the guidance of legendary coach Mike Holloway.
Bassitt acknowledged that despite clocking his best time of the season this past Sunday, it still was not his cleanest race of the year.
“I definitely did not execute a great race,” Bassitt said. “We started off well. … We finished well. The middle part (of the race) was not great. But like they say about movies, ‘When you have a great beginning and a great ending, the middle doesn’t have to be that good.’
“Obviously, you always want to win the race when you can. But at a meet like that, it’s about making the team. The big goal was getting to Budapest. I’m never going to complain about (placing) top three in that situation. It was an ugly race. But we’re not here for a beauty contest. We’re here for (finishing) first through third and making the team. I’m ready to go to Budapest and shock the world again.”
The 2017 Bluffton graduate was a Division III high school state champion in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.
Bassitt went on to compete at Ashland University, where he concluded his illustrious collegiate track-and-field career with 10 NCAA Division II national championships, 21 Division II individual All-American honors, and was a key cog in three Division II team national titles.
On March 19, 2022, Bassitt won a silver medal in the 400-meter dash at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
Despite all the success Bassitt has enjoyed over the years, he does not take anything for granted.
“About once a week, I’ll be at practice, warming up and I look around and think, ‘Wow, this is insane,’” Bassitt said. “If you had told me in high school, that this is where I would be right now, I would have called you a liar. And if you had told me that in my first couple years of college, I still would have called you a liar. I’m truly blessed. I do not take it for granted at all.”
Bassitt has high expectations for the 400 hurdles at the World Athletics Championships. However, he said there is always the chance he could be called upon to compete in the 1,600-meter relay as well. At last year’s World Athletics Championships, Bassitt was inserted into a 1,600 relay qualifying heat, which Team USA won. The US team then went on to win the gold medal.
“I hope so (to be selected to compete in the 1,600 relay), but that’s not really my decision to make,” Bassitt said. “Last year, I found out pretty much the last second (he would be on the 1,600 relay). And I would assume that could be the case again this year. … Either I’m not on there, or I’ll find out the last second. One of the beauties of being on Team USA is that we have so much depth. They can just move so many pieces around in the four-by-four (1,600 relay). The (World) championships last about 10 days. They (the coaches) can use a lot of those days to see how people are competing, and to see how people are feeling. I’ll be 100 percent ready to do it. But again, it’s not my decision to make. So, if they ask, I’ll be ready.”
The one thing that has always been consistent with Bassitt at every level he has competed at, is his mindset.
“Each time that I line up to race, the goal is to win,” Bassitt said. “The 400 hurdles are arguably the most stacked event in track and field, right now. I’m glad to be a part of it. But at the end of the day, the No. 1 goal is to bring home a gold medal.”
