Mars wrestler Olympic Serrao doesn’t look like a freshman on the mat and his goals are lofty
Qualifying for the state wrestling tournament all four years of a high school career is a lofty goal. That was the standard Olympic Serrao set for himself as his freshman season at Mars began a month ago.
But a 12-1 record since then has him shooting for something even more elusive.
“Now I’m thinking about placing (top eight) at states all four years,” Olympic said. “I know I can go out and battle with anybody.”
Competing at 139 pounds, Olympic’s lone defeat this season came with an 11-4 decision against Moon’s Cael Yanek in the championship round of the Chartiers-Houston Tournament in early December.
Yanek is a senior who recently reached 100 wins in his varsity career. He placed fourth in the WPIAL and PIAA regional individual tournaments last season.
“I’ve been working on getting to my own offense because against (Yanek) I wasn’t able to get a shot off,” Olympic said.
That hasn’t been a problem in his other 10 contested bouts this year, five of which have been won by pin and four others by technical fall.
“He’s an incredible wrestler with a high wrestling IQ,” Mars coach Ben Rings said. “He hand fights, cuts angles and moves very well. His skill level is very impressive for a freshman.”
Olympic began wrestling when he was 6, and he immediately created a positive impression.
“His second month in, there was a parent, Frank Pistella, whose kids had been involved in wrestling for a while, and he urged me to take Olympic to Prodigy, a wrestling club that was located in Shaler Township,” said Olympic’s mother, Laura Serrao.
Olympic soon joined the ranks of Prodigy’s grapplers. It was there that Laura met Gordan Bieber, a former wrestler at Slippery Rock High School and Waynesburg University. He became a major influence on Olympic’s wrestling career and is now his stepfather.
“It wasn’t hard to see that he was a natural talent,” Bieber said. “He qualified for the (Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling) tournament his second year. That was a telltale sign that he was on track to do something special.”
It was at the state tournament that year that Olympic, despite being just 7 years old, made a comment that stuck with his mother.
“He lost in the blood round,” Laura said. “I was sitting in the stands and he came up to me and said, ‘The training for next year begins tomorrow.’”
Unfortunately, the state tournament was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, but Olympic continued to work. When he was 12, he won state titles at the Keystone and PJW tournaments. Last year, he reached the state final in both events.
Laura hopes her son’s intense involvement in a sport — he often practices twice a day and took part in freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments last summer — can curb any negative temptation.
“There is a history of addiction in my family, and that’s one of the reasons why I originally signed him up,” she said. “I want him to take care of his mind and body, and have respect for all the work he has put in. When he has time to hang out with other kids, it’s usually with other wrestlers.”
Excelling in the classroom has also become standard for Olympic. His near-4.0 grade point average has come while taking weighted classes.
The inspiration for his unique first name is two-fold. His mother had a great aunt named Olympia.
“The other half of that is, as a child, I was absolutely obsessed with the Olympics,” Laura said.
There are aspects of wrestling Olympic does not enjoy.
“Cutting weight, wearing layers are things I don’t look forward to,” he said. “But I love competing. I played a lot of sports growing up — soccer, lacrosse, football, swimming and track — but they didn’t stick. Wrestling is it for me.”
Next up for Olympic and the Planets is Saturday’s 14-team MAC Tournament at Laurel High School. It will be another chance for him to prove that, while a freshman, he belongs in the conversation of wrestlers capable of competing in March.
“He is very calm and collected on the mat,” Bieber said. “He doesn’t look like a freshman and has received many compliments about that.”
