fighting through an ACL tear he suffered in his opening match. While Futrell planned to compete through the 2020 Olympic cycle, the injury required surgery, his eighth in nine years.

“It came at a time that was unexpected and not according to my timetable. I made the most of the opportunities that I was given, and that’s all you can do. Some people think of success as what you do compared to other people, but I try to think of success as what I can do vs. what God called me to do. I did things the right way. I did things with integrity, and I can rest easy about that,” Futrell said.

Futrell has represented the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center for the past three years and made the 2017 U.S. National Team while training here. As he moves on in life, he’ll always remember his time at the PRTC fondly.

“It’s been amazing. I’ll always be grateful for Coach Brandon Slay, Roger Reina and all the people that support the PRTC including all the donors. This is a great community here in Philadelphia. Training at the University of Pennsylvania alongside Drexel University with Coach Azevedo and all those guys has been absolutely amazing. I’ve developed a lot as a wrestler, and I’ve grown as a man. I met my wife in Philadelphia too, so I’ll eternally be grateful for that. Penn and Drexel are doing something special here, and I’m excited to watch the future unfold for the PRTC.” he said.

View B.J.’s entire USA Wrestling retirement video below:

After a 25 year career competing in wrestling, B.J. Futrell announced he is retiring from the sport. His final tournament was the 2019 U.S. Open, where he placed 8th,

While many Regional Training Centers don’t have one full-time coach, the PRTC is fortunate to be able to bring an assistant on staff to help better train wrestlers.

If you’d like to support the Pennsylvania RTC in our mission to create an ecosystem for elite student-athletes to strive toward national and international success in wrestling and in life, while supporting the development of wrestling around the world, you can do so here.