Former Spartan wrestler qualifies to compete in Olympic Trials

Former Superior Spartan Niko Bogojevic has qualified for an opportunity to wrestle in the Olympic Trials April 21-22 in Iowa City, Iowa with hopes of representing the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Bogojevic, a 2010 graduate of Superior High School, finished fifth in a qualifying tournament Saturday in Arlington, Texas. The top seven finishers qualified for the Iowa City trials.

“Niko’s lost a close and very exciting match to Dremiel Byers, who has represented the U.S. as its top Greco-Roman Heavyweight for nearly a decade,” said Bill Gedde, who coached Bogojevic at SHS. “Niko, not yet 20 years of age, is holding his own against the likes of Byer, who is 37 years old and has been competing on the world stage for years.”

In November, Bogojevic was invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and prior to that he was living and training with Olympic champion Rulon Gardner in northern Utah.

Bogojevic won the gold medal in the 2011 Junior Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro this summer in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

During his time at SHS, Bogojevic compiled a high school career record of 135-15. He was the 2010 WIAA Division One heavyweight champion with a perfect record of 48-0.

Tags: sports, superior, spartans, wrestling