Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Plott, Alvarez Ready for U23 World Championships
October 22, 2023 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – A pair of Oklahoma State wrestlers are set to compete at the U23 World Championships this week, as Dustin Plott and Sammy Alvarez go for gold medals in Tirana, Albania.
Plott, a senior, will be competing in the 79 kg division for the United States World Team. He received a bye into the round of 16 and will face the winner of Japan's Masaki Sato and Canada's Connor Church.
Back in June, he claimed his spot on Team USA with a dominant victory at the U23 World Team Trials in Genevia, Ohio. Throughout the weekend, Plott compiled a perfect 7-0 record with three shutout victories. The two-time NCAA All-American faced Ohio State's Carson Kharchla in the best-of-three final series and pulled out both matches in exciting fashion.
In 2022, Plott ran through the U23 World Team Trials bracket to become a U23 Freestyle national champion, but was denied the opportunity to compete at the World Championships, as Penn State's Carter Starrocci dropped the true third match for a place on the Senior World Team. This provided Starrocci the opportunity to claim the 79 kg spot on the U23 World Team, despite Plott's victory at the trials.
Plott goes for gold in a tough bracket, highlighted by Georgia's Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, who recently won a silver medal at the Senior World Championships and is the defending U23 world champion at 79 kg. Additionally, Russia's Magomed Magomaev returns to the 79 kg field after winning U23 Worlds back in 2021.
In the 65 kg division, Sammy Alvarez will represent Puerto Rico for the second consecutive year. In the first round, he will face Team USA's Brock Hardy, who was an NCAA All-American at Nebraska this past season.
At the 2022 U23 World Championships, Alvarez defeated Ikromzhon Khadzhimurodov of Kyrgyzstan in the opening round, 12-4, to advance to the quarterfinal round. Alvarez then fell to Turkey's Hamza Alaca, who would go on to finish as a silver medalist, and Iranian Kian Hosseinali Mahmoudjanloo in repechage to finish the event with a 1-2 record.
Russia's Ibragim Ibragimov is the top-ranked wrestler in the 65 kg bracket, currently ranked fifth in the world, and was a champion at Russian Nationals in 2022. Mohammadali Amouzad of Iran is another heavy hitter in the field, recently winning gold at the Commonwealth Cup in Russia.
Alvarez spent the past four seasons wrestling at Rutgers, where he was named a NWCA Second Team All-American in 2020, prior to transferring to Oklahoma State in January.
Although competition at the U23 World Championships begins Monday, both the 65 kg and 79 kg brackets will not open until Tuesday morning. Qualification and semifinal rounds will commence on Tuesday, with repechage and medal matches taking place on Wednesday.
Fans can follow Plott and Alvarez throughout the week with streaming options, brackets and live results available on FloWrestling.org.
Tuesday, October 24 (CT)
2:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds
8:45 a.m. – Semifinals
Wednesday, October 25 (CT)
2:30 a.m. – Repechage
10 a.m. – Medal Matches
Plott, a senior, will be competing in the 79 kg division for the United States World Team. He received a bye into the round of 16 and will face the winner of Japan's Masaki Sato and Canada's Connor Church.
Back in June, he claimed his spot on Team USA with a dominant victory at the U23 World Team Trials in Genevia, Ohio. Throughout the weekend, Plott compiled a perfect 7-0 record with three shutout victories. The two-time NCAA All-American faced Ohio State's Carson Kharchla in the best-of-three final series and pulled out both matches in exciting fashion.
In 2022, Plott ran through the U23 World Team Trials bracket to become a U23 Freestyle national champion, but was denied the opportunity to compete at the World Championships, as Penn State's Carter Starrocci dropped the true third match for a place on the Senior World Team. This provided Starrocci the opportunity to claim the 79 kg spot on the U23 World Team, despite Plott's victory at the trials.
Plott goes for gold in a tough bracket, highlighted by Georgia's Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, who recently won a silver medal at the Senior World Championships and is the defending U23 world champion at 79 kg. Additionally, Russia's Magomed Magomaev returns to the 79 kg field after winning U23 Worlds back in 2021.
In the 65 kg division, Sammy Alvarez will represent Puerto Rico for the second consecutive year. In the first round, he will face Team USA's Brock Hardy, who was an NCAA All-American at Nebraska this past season.
At the 2022 U23 World Championships, Alvarez defeated Ikromzhon Khadzhimurodov of Kyrgyzstan in the opening round, 12-4, to advance to the quarterfinal round. Alvarez then fell to Turkey's Hamza Alaca, who would go on to finish as a silver medalist, and Iranian Kian Hosseinali Mahmoudjanloo in repechage to finish the event with a 1-2 record.
Russia's Ibragim Ibragimov is the top-ranked wrestler in the 65 kg bracket, currently ranked fifth in the world, and was a champion at Russian Nationals in 2022. Mohammadali Amouzad of Iran is another heavy hitter in the field, recently winning gold at the Commonwealth Cup in Russia.
Alvarez spent the past four seasons wrestling at Rutgers, where he was named a NWCA Second Team All-American in 2020, prior to transferring to Oklahoma State in January.
Although competition at the U23 World Championships begins Monday, both the 65 kg and 79 kg brackets will not open until Tuesday morning. Qualification and semifinal rounds will commence on Tuesday, with repechage and medal matches taking place on Wednesday.
Fans can follow Plott and Alvarez throughout the week with streaming options, brackets and live results available on FloWrestling.org.
Tuesday, October 24 (CT)
2:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds
8:45 a.m. – Semifinals
Wednesday, October 25 (CT)
2:30 a.m. – Repechage
10 a.m. – Medal Matches
Players Mentioned
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