Early years & high school
Bartlett began wrestling at age four under the tutelage of his father an All-American for Palomar Junior College in California and continued on at NCAA division 1 Fresno State as a wrestler Andre Bartlett, and continued to wrestle under the guidance of two-time Olympic champion Sergei Beloglazov. [4] He also trained in tumbling. [5] In 2014, Bartlett moved from Tempe, Arizona to Kingston, Pennsylvania to attend Wyoming Seminary. [6] There, he became the first four–time prep national champion in the school's history [7] and also claimed titles in the Powerade Tournament [8] and the Walsh Jesuit Ironman. [9]
In 2018, Bartlett won the US Cadet Pan American Team Trials in freestyle and Greco-Roman. [10] He would go on to claim gold in freestyle and silver in Greco-Roman at the 2018 Cadet Pan-Am Championships. [11]
On October 5, 2019, Bartlett competed at Who's Number One, where he defended his #1 spot in the rankings by defeating Ryan Sokol from Simley High School. [12]
Pennsylvania State University
After his high school junior year concluded, Bartlett committed to Penn State University head coach Cael Sanderson, [3] as the top-ranked 133-pounder and sixth-ranked pound for pound by FloWrestling. [13]
2020–2021
At the start of his freshman season at Penn State, Bartlett competed as the backup to future two-time national champion Nick Lee at 141 pounds, winning five extra matches. [14] On February 14, Bartlett made his debut at 149 pounds, winning an extra match. [15] Five days later, Bartlett made his dual-meet debut, losing a close match against second-ranked and then-undefeated Sammy Sasso from Ohio State. [16] He won his match in the last dual of the season against Maryland and also won another extra match, entering the postseason with a 7–1 record. [17] Bartlett, the 11th seed, went 1–2 at the Big Ten Conference Championships, failing to qualify for the NCAA championships. [18]
Following the college season, Bartlett switched to freestyle and won the 65 kg title at the UWW Junior National Championships. [19] Bartlett would go on to win a bronze medal at the UWW Junior World Championship in August after falling to Ziraddin Bayramov of Azerbaijan in the semifinals. [20]
2021–2022
Bartlett became Penn State's full-time starter at 149 pounds in the 2021-2022 season, compiling an 11-6 record in dual meets and earning the 7th seed at the Big Ten Tournament. [21] There, Bartlett won his first match versus Minnesota's Michael Blockhus before falling to eventual Big Ten champion Austin Gomez of Wisconsin. [22] Bartlett's performance earned him his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where he would win a first round match versus Northern Iowa's Colin Realbuto before falling to Ohio State's Sammy Sasso and Northwestern's Yahya Thomas.
2022–2023
Entering 2022-2023, Bartlett bumped down to fill the spot at 141 pounds vacated by the recently graduated Nick Lee. He would have a breakout season at the lower weight, rattling off 14 straight wins to start the season before falling to Iowa's Real Woods at the Bryce Jordan Center dual on January 27. [23] At the NCAA Tournament, Bartlett, a six seed, would go on to defeat third seeded Cole Matthews of Pitt with a last-second takedown, before falling to eventual NCAA champion Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado in the semifinal. [24] He proceeded to capture the third place medal by defeating North Carolina's Lachlan McNeil. [21]
2023–2024
Now a senior, Bartlett began the 2023-2024 season ranked as the number-two wrestler at 141 pounds by FloWrestling, behind only Iowa's Real Woods. [25] In December, Bartlett competed at the 2023 Senior Nationals in freestyle, finishing second to Andrew Alirez at 65 kg and qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. [26]
Bartlett went undefeated in the regular season, including victories over Woods and Ohio State's Jesse Mendez. Bartlett entered the Big Ten Tournament as the top seed at 141 pounds, but was defeated in sudden victory in a finals rematch with Mendez. At the NCAA Tournament, Bartlett won his first four matches to reach the final, but again lost to Mendez on a last-second takedown. [27]
2024–2025
Using his last year of NCAA eligibility, Bartlett began his final season now ranked number-three wrestler at 141 pounds, behind Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez and last year's NCAA champion at 141 pounds, Ohio State's Jesse Mendez. [28] Beginning the season with a first place finish at the Black Knight Invitational tournament, [29] Bartlett remained undefeated in regular season duels as well.
Bartlett's only loss prior to the NCAA Tournament was to number-eight University of Minnesota's Vance Vombaur at the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament. He lost the match 5-3 but wrestled in the consolation bracket for third place, over Ohio State's Jesse Mendez- his second win over Mendez in the season.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Bartlett was seeded second, with many considering him to be the favorite to win the national title at 141 pounds. He fell to Mendez in the semifinal bout, a 2-1 match that went into overtime. He took 3rd place over UPenn's CJ Composto, ending his collegiate career with the Nittany Lions with a 100-20 record.
