York County's Chance Marsteller makes USA wrestling world team with signature win

Kennard-Dale graduate Chance Marsteller has battled through adversity to enjoy a memorable wrestling career. He earned perhaps his biggest victory on the mat to date over the weekend.

Marsteller defeated six-time world champion and former Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs in two of three matches Saturday to clinch a spot on Team USA’s roster for the 2023 world championships. It’ll be his first time representing his country as a member of the world team.

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Burroughs, who won the world title at 79 kilograms (174 pounds) a year ago, has become a longtime rival and measuring stick for Marsteller. He defeated the former K-D star in a decisive third match in the Final X freestyle competition final last year. The pair met once again Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with the same high stakes.

Marsteller led 3-2 in the first match before Burroughs’ camp made a challenge as the clock hit zero. Officials then called Marsteller for a technical violation, giving Burroughs a controversial point that allowed him to win the match by criteria. But Marsteller held off a late charge in the second match to win 5-4 and set up a winner-take-all showdown. Needing a big moment, Marsteller delivered just that, roaring ahead with a four-point throw en route to a memorable 8-3 victory.

The world championships will be held in mid-September in Belgrade, Serbia. Marsteller’s presence will be an exclamation point on a remarkable life and career turnaround.

Marsteller was a can’t-miss superstar prospect after going 166-0 for Kennard-Dale and winning four consecutive state titles in high school. He was regarded as the nation’s top recruit and committed to Penn State before flipping to Oklahoma State, the 34-time NCAA champions. Marsteller preserved his redshirt as a rookie but still went 15-4 in his freshman campaign with the Cowboys. Then it all went south.

The following season, Marsteller was suspended from Oklahoma State for a violation of team rules. He ultimately left the program and transferred to Lock Haven back in Pennsylvania. But before he ever competed for the Bald Eagles, he was arrested in 2016 for public exposure and assault of police officers. Marsteller later revealed he was addicted to opioids at the time.

After re-enrolling at Lock Haven in 2017, though, Marsteller returned to his peak form. He finished fourth in the NCAA championships at 165 pounds in 2018 and followed with a third-place showing in the class as a senior in 2019.

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Marsteller, now 28, has been coaching and working toward his Olympic dream ever since graduating. His older brother, John Stefanowicz, competed in the 2021 Tokyo Games in Greco-Roman wrestling, becoming the first former U.S. Marine to make the Olympic team. Marsteller’s triumph over the weekend provided a boost to his chances for the Paris 2024 Olympics and sent him to the sport’s next-biggest international stage for the first time.

Perhaps more importantly, his journey to this point can provide an inspiration to so many who are struggling with addiction and more.

“I want to let somebody know out there that things are obtainable and you can change your life,” Marsteller said Saturday. “It’s hard for me to say, hard for me to tell the full story, but I don’t know many people that were addicted to oxy and fentanyl and heroin and were able to turn around and go make the World Team.

“I always say, I wish if somebody out there would have been able to share that story, maybe I would have been able to stop sooner. Maybe I would have known it was obtainable sooner, (be able to) change it around sooner. So that being said, I want that for somebody else. I want somebody to know, no matter what you go through, it’s obtainable at all levels of life.”