OSU Wrestling: Spratley, Berge Win at U23 Nationals

Troy Spratley’s return to the freestyle stage this weekend saw him go 7-0 and not give up a point.

Spratley and South Dakota State transfer Bennett Berge won U23 Nationals in Geneva, Ohio.

Spratley stormed through the 57 kg field, winning his seven bouts by a combined score of 69-0. Only one opponent made it the distance against the Cowboys’ 125-pounder. He was named the event’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Spratley met up with Missouri’s Mack Mauger in the best-of-three final. Mauger was 21-16 during the college season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Spratley won the final via two techs in a combined 6:34.

His closest match of the tournament was a 6-0 win against Penn’s Max Gallagher in the quarterfinals. Spratley beat Iowa’s Joey Cruz 11-0 in the semis.

Troy Spratley is the U23 Nationals champion at 57 kg and wins the Outstanding Wrestler award to close out the competition.#stillyboys pic.twitter.com/aSM7pyCtN5

— stillyboys (@stillyboys_) May 31, 2026

Berge also went 7-0 on the weekend, winning his bouts by a combined score of 59-15.

He took out an old teammate in his best-of-three final. South Dakota State’s Brock Fettig was the Jackrabbits’ Big 12 entry at 184 pounds this past season while Berge was up at 197. Berge won the first match against the Jackrabbit 9-3 before winning the second bout 6-2.

Berge beat NCAA qualifier Ian Bush (West Virginia) 7-3 in the semis and took out Aidan Brenot, who transferred from North Dakota State to Arizona State this offseason, 13-3 in the quarters.

Bennett Berge owns the mat 😤#USAWrestling #U23Nationals2026 #U20WTT2026 pic.twitter.com/tUsvzW9tRe

— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) May 30, 2026

Elsewhere

Those guys weren’t the only Cowboys competing at U23 Nationals.

Casey Swiderski was one of the more intriguing storylines entering the tournament at 74 kg — about 163 pounds. That comes after Swiderski wrestled for the Cowboys at 149 this past season, but with Sergio Vega likely moving up in weight and Landon Robideau holding down 157, Swiderski might be on the move up to compete for the 165-pound spot in the lineup.

He ended up taking fifth in what was one of the more loaded brackets of the event.

Swiderski beat Ohio State’s e’Than Birden 4-1. Birden went 18-8 at 165 for Ohio State this past season, primarily wrestling in opens, but he did have six dual appearances. Swiderski also beat Penn’s Paul Ognissanti 9-0 in the fifth-place match. Ognissanti went 6-4 at 165 this past season.

Swiderski’s first loss came in the semis to Arizona State’s Nicco Ruiz, with the Sun Devil winning 5-4. Ruiz took fourth at NCAAs at 165 this past season and also beat Dee Lockett in the Big 12 final. Swiderski was up late in that bout, but Ruiz scored a takedown in the final seconds to win it. So, he was right there, in freestyle, with the Big 12 champ.

His second loss was a 12-5 defeat to Virginia Tech’s Noah Nininger.

The physicality of the upper weight didn’t seem to be much of an issue for Swiderski, who himself wrestles an ultra physical style, but we’ll have to wait and see just how possible it is for Swiderski to compete for that spot in OSU’s lineup.

Cutter Sheets also had a nice tournament in the 70 kg bracket. Son of Mike and brother of Wyatt, Cutter finished sixth with two of his losses coming to North Dakota State’s Gavin Drexler, who has qualified for NCAAs the past two seasons and was an All-American in 2025.

Meanwhile, Sheets had a win against Michigan’s Sergio Lemley, who made it to the blood round at NCAAs in 2025.

Finishes:

Bennett Berge (86 kg) — 7-0, 1st
Troy Spratley (57 kg) — 7-0, 1st
Casey Swiderski (74 kg) — 6-2, 5th
Cutter Sheets (70 kg) — 7-3, 6th
Kolter Burton (70 kg) — 6-2, DNP
Ishmael Guerrero (74 kg) — 5-2, DNP
Beau Hickman (70 kg) — 4-2, DNP
Jake Hamiti (61 kg) — 3-2, DNP
Austin Johnson (92 kg) — 3-2, DNP
JJ McComas (61 kg) — 0-2, DNP