Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: OSU Athletics
Cowboys Set for U20 and U23 World Team Trials
June 01, 2023 | Cowboy Wrestling
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State wrestling will be well represented at the U20 and U23 World Team Trials this weekend, as over a dozen Cowboy wrestlers are headed to Geneva, Ohio looking to secure their spots on the Team USA World Teams.
2023 signees Christian Carroll, Brayden Thompson, Cael Hughes, AJ Heeg and Troy Spratley, along with true freshman Jordan Williams, are set to wrestle in the U20 Freestyle division at the Trials.
At 125 kg, Carroll is coming off a dominant showing at the UWW U20 National Championships in late April, where he won six matches by a combined score of 61-7 en route to a U20 freestyle title. With the win, the future Cowboy earned an automatic spot in the best-of-three finals in this weekend's Trials.
Cael Hughes (61 kg) and Brayden Thompson (86 kg) also earned placements in Geneva thanks to strong performances at the UWW U20 National Championships. According to FloWrestling, Thompson enters this weekend as the No. 5 pound-for-pound wrestler in the 2023 class, while Hughes is the second-ranked wrestler at 132 pounds.
Jordan Williams will be competing at 65 kg after reaching the quarterfinal round at the U.S. Open in April, while AJ Heeg will wrestle at 79 kg. Spratley, a transfer signee from Minnesota, is set to compete at 57 kg.
In the U23 Freestyle division, the Cowboys will send seven members of the current team to Ohio spread out over five weight classes. Headlining the group is two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 Champion Dustin Plott, who will once again be competing at 79 kg after winning the weight class tournament to become the U23 Freestyle national champion in 2022. At No. 6, Plott is FloWrestling's highest-ranked wrestler in the 79 kg bracket.
True freshman Cutter Sheets and redshirt junior Daniel Manibog are both registered to compete at 70 kg, while Benjamin Mower will wrestle at 86 kg. The trio of Cowboys mainly competed in open tournaments throughout the 2022-23 season, combining for a 43-11 record. All three Cowboys wrestled at the U.S. Open in April.
Luke Surber will compete at 92 kg after completing his junior season at 197 pounds. Throughout the year, he went 23-10 with 12 bonus point wins, second most among OSU starters. Surber will be joined at the weight class by Kyle Haas, who fell in the round of 32 in the senior freestyle bracket at the U.S. Open.
Konner Doucet rounds out the Cowboys in the U23 Freestyle division and will wrestle at 125 kg. During his first full season the Oklahoma State lineup, Doucet compiled an 18-12 record and qualified for the NCAA Championships as the No. 20 seed.
Meanwhile, true freshman Hayden Simpson will compete in both the U20 Greco-Roman and Freestyle divisions at 130 kg and 125 kg, respectively.
The Trials will begin on June 2 with the Greco-Roman division, but will not start freestyle competition until Saturday, June 3. The preliminaries and consolation rounds for both freestyle divisions are set to get underway at 8:30 a.m. CT in session one. The second session of the day will start at 3 p.m. CT, consisting of the U20 best two-of-three finals matches. Sunday's session will wrap up the event beginning at 9 a.m. CT with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the U23 division.
Fans can follow the Cowboys throughout the tournament with streaming options, brackets and results available on FloWrestling.org.
U20 Freestyle Division
Troy Spratley – 57 kg
Cael Hughes – 61 kg
Jordan Williams – 65 kg
AJ Heeg – 79 kg
Brayden Thompson – 86 kg
Christian Carroll – 125 kg
Hayden Simpson – 125 kg
U23 Freestyle Division
Cutter Sheets – 70 kg
Daniel Manibog – 70 kg
Dustin Plott – 79 kg
Benjamin Mower – 86 kg
Luke Surber – 92 kg
Kyle Haas – 92 kg
Konner Doucet – 125 kg
U20 Greco-Roman Division
Hayden Simpson – 130 kg
2023 signees Christian Carroll, Brayden Thompson, Cael Hughes, AJ Heeg and Troy Spratley, along with true freshman Jordan Williams, are set to wrestle in the U20 Freestyle division at the Trials.
At 125 kg, Carroll is coming off a dominant showing at the UWW U20 National Championships in late April, where he won six matches by a combined score of 61-7 en route to a U20 freestyle title. With the win, the future Cowboy earned an automatic spot in the best-of-three finals in this weekend's Trials.
Cael Hughes (61 kg) and Brayden Thompson (86 kg) also earned placements in Geneva thanks to strong performances at the UWW U20 National Championships. According to FloWrestling, Thompson enters this weekend as the No. 5 pound-for-pound wrestler in the 2023 class, while Hughes is the second-ranked wrestler at 132 pounds.
Jordan Williams will be competing at 65 kg after reaching the quarterfinal round at the U.S. Open in April, while AJ Heeg will wrestle at 79 kg. Spratley, a transfer signee from Minnesota, is set to compete at 57 kg.
In the U23 Freestyle division, the Cowboys will send seven members of the current team to Ohio spread out over five weight classes. Headlining the group is two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 Champion Dustin Plott, who will once again be competing at 79 kg after winning the weight class tournament to become the U23 Freestyle national champion in 2022. At No. 6, Plott is FloWrestling's highest-ranked wrestler in the 79 kg bracket.
True freshman Cutter Sheets and redshirt junior Daniel Manibog are both registered to compete at 70 kg, while Benjamin Mower will wrestle at 86 kg. The trio of Cowboys mainly competed in open tournaments throughout the 2022-23 season, combining for a 43-11 record. All three Cowboys wrestled at the U.S. Open in April.
Luke Surber will compete at 92 kg after completing his junior season at 197 pounds. Throughout the year, he went 23-10 with 12 bonus point wins, second most among OSU starters. Surber will be joined at the weight class by Kyle Haas, who fell in the round of 32 in the senior freestyle bracket at the U.S. Open.
Konner Doucet rounds out the Cowboys in the U23 Freestyle division and will wrestle at 125 kg. During his first full season the Oklahoma State lineup, Doucet compiled an 18-12 record and qualified for the NCAA Championships as the No. 20 seed.
Meanwhile, true freshman Hayden Simpson will compete in both the U20 Greco-Roman and Freestyle divisions at 130 kg and 125 kg, respectively.
The Trials will begin on June 2 with the Greco-Roman division, but will not start freestyle competition until Saturday, June 3. The preliminaries and consolation rounds for both freestyle divisions are set to get underway at 8:30 a.m. CT in session one. The second session of the day will start at 3 p.m. CT, consisting of the U20 best two-of-three finals matches. Sunday's session will wrap up the event beginning at 9 a.m. CT with the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the U23 division.
Fans can follow the Cowboys throughout the tournament with streaming options, brackets and results available on FloWrestling.org.
U20 Freestyle Division
Troy Spratley – 57 kg
Cael Hughes – 61 kg
Jordan Williams – 65 kg
AJ Heeg – 79 kg
Brayden Thompson – 86 kg
Christian Carroll – 125 kg
Hayden Simpson – 125 kg
U23 Freestyle Division
Cutter Sheets – 70 kg
Daniel Manibog – 70 kg
Dustin Plott – 79 kg
Benjamin Mower – 86 kg
Luke Surber – 92 kg
Kyle Haas – 92 kg
Konner Doucet – 125 kg
U20 Greco-Roman Division
Hayden Simpson – 130 kg
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