DIII at U20 & U23 Trials

The U20 and U23 World Team Trials took place this past weekend at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The U20 Trials required qualification to enter, while the U23 tournament was open. In the U20 Freestyle tournament Ben Kawczynski finished in 4th place at 125kg in the challenge tournament. In Greco-Roman, Tyler Hannah won a 4 man round robin at 87kg to earn a spot in the finals where he fell in two matches to Oregon State’s Kodiak Stephens. Fellow WIAC wrestler Jared Stricker had a similar result, dropping a pair of finals matches to finish second. Gary Powell won the challenge tournament at 130kg but also dropped both finals matches.

In the U23 age group in Greco-Roman, Powell again finished in 2nd place at heavyweight, while Sam Braswell finished in 2nd place at 55kg. Other DIII placewinners are listed below, including 2022 NCAA champion Cornell Beachem who placed 4th at 87kg.

There were 770 entries in U23 Freestyle, compared to just 158 in U23 Greco-Roman, and the competition was significantly stiffer. No DIII wrestlers placed in the top eight in freestyle (Unless I missed someone. Leave a comment).

U20 Freestyle
125kg – Ben Kawczynski, UW-La Crosse, 4th place

U20 Greco-Roman
77kg – Jared Stricker, UW-Eau Clare, 2nd
87kg – Tyler Hannah, UW-Platteville, 2nd
130kg – Gary Powell, Mount St. Joseph, 2nd

U23 Greco-Roman
55kg – Samuel Braswell, Averett, 2nd
55kg – Alexander Logsdon, Averett, 4th
55kg – Austin Long, Averett, 5th
55kg – Daniel Parkulo, Averett, 7th
60kg – Mason Barrett, Averett, 8th
77kg – Luke Silva, Aurora, 8th
82kg – Khalil Mitchell, Averett, 6th
87kg – Cornell Beachem, Mount St. Joseph, 4th
97kg – Jasiri Dingle, Averett, 6th
130kg – Gary Powell, Mount St. Joseph, 2nd