OSU Wrestling: Cowboys Sending Big Group to Ohio for U20 World Team Trials, U23 Nationals

Much of the Cowboys wrestling lineup will be on the mat this weekend in Geneva, Ohio, and there are some interesting storylines that could develop from the weekend.

The United States U20 World Team Trials and U23 Nationals take place this weekend. By our count, there are 19 wrestlers who are either on OSU’s roster or committed to be Cowboys who are registered to compete this weekend.

The different age divisions sort of mean different things. On the U20 side of things, there will be a bracket wrestled at each weight with the winner of that bracket wrestling a best-of-three series against the winner from the U.S. Open. So, for instance, Landon Robideau will sit until the best-of-three final after winning at the U.S. Open. The rest of the Cowboy U20s will have to get through the bracket and the person sitting out. The winners of those best-of-three series will represent the U.S. at the U20 World Championships in August in Slovakia.

The U23 World Team process is a little more complex. The winner of the massive U23 national brackets won’t necessarily earn a spot on the U23 World Team, as the first rights to those spots go to those involved on the Senior National Team. It’ll take some figuring out even after these brackets are wrestled.

Let’s start by taking a look at those registered with ties to OSU before getting into some potential storylines.

U20

57 kg — Ronnie Ramirez
57 kg — Rocklin Zinkin (incoming freshman)
70 kg — Landon Robideau
74 kg — Dee Lockett
74 kg — Kody Routledge
86 kg — Michael White (incoming freshman)
92 kg — Ladd Holman (2027 commit)
92 kg — Tanner Hodgins (2027 commit)
125 kg — Dreshaun Ross (incoming freshman)

U23

57 kg — Troy Spratley
61 kg — JJ McComas
61 kg — Jake Hamiti
70 kg — Beau Hickman
70 kg — Kolter Burton
70 kg — Cutter Sheets
74 kg — Casey Swiderski
74 kg — Ishmael Guerrero
86 kg — Bennett Berge (South Dakota State transfer)
92 kg — Austin Johnson

Ramirez at 57 kg

After wrestling at 61 kg at the U.S. Open, it appears Ronnie Ramirez is on the descent, a move that makes a lot of sense.

Ramirez wrestled at 133 pounds for the Cowboys during the college season but redshirted with the midseason addition of Jax Forrest. With Forrest and the Raney twins on OSU’s roster, Ramirez’s best shot at a spot in the lineup over the next few seasons is likely down at 125. For reference, 57 kg is 125.7 pounds.

But the 125-pound spot in OSU’s lineup isn’t just there for the taking either. Troy Spratley will make his return to the freestyle stage this weekend at U23s. He’s been an All-American for the Cowboys at 125 the past two seasons, including his second-place finish in 2025. Then Rocklin Zinkin is also in that U20 bracket. Zinkin was the No. 8 pound-for-pound wrestler on MatScouts’ final rankings for the 2026 class. If those two meet up, it could be a preview for a roster spot battle to come.

Swiderski Moves Up

An All-American last season, Casey Swiderski appears to be in a similar boat to Ramirez.

Swiderski wrestled at 149 pounds for OSU in 2026, but jumps up to 74 kg —  about 163 pounds — for U23 Nationals. Swiderski was sandwiched between two freshmen national champions in OSU’s lineup last season in Sergio Vega and Landon Robideau, but there has been chatter about Vega needing to go up to 149. That would suggest that Swiderski’s best chance at a spot in the lineup could be all the way up at 165 pounds. He wrestles a physical style, and it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the extra weight.

Ross Seeks Rematch with Merrill

It looks like incoming freshman Dreshaun Ross will be the Cowboys’ heavyweight starter next season, and he’ll wrestle for a chance to get another shot at who has become his biggest rival — Coby Merrill.

Ross has, for the most part, gotten the better of Merrill over recent years, but Merrill, the younger brother of OSU wrestler Cody Merrill, beat Ross at the U.S. Open to earn the right to sit out to the final this weekend.

Merrill is a tank, winning that match with a lot of step-out points by essentially shoving Ross off the mat. Ross started to get some takedowns late in that match but ran out of time. We’ll see if those adjustments he made still work in Geneva.

Merrill will wrestle at Iowa State, so this is a rivalry that could just be getting started.

First Look at Cowboy Bennett Berge

David Taylor took just two transfers out of the portal this offseason, and one will wrestle this weekend.

Berge finished fourth at NCAAs in 2024 at 184 pounds. He was a national qualifier this past season up at 197 and will wrestle at 86 kg (about 190 pounds) this weekend.

It seems the most likely that Berge will compete for the Cowboys’ 184-pound spot in the lineup come the season.

Where to Watch

The action gets started at 9 a.m. Friday and will be streamed on Flo.