James Hackney
The Cowboys took advantage of the long break in the schedule by loading nearly everyone up to the Lindenwood Open. The team had 15 wrestlers win titles in their respective divisions. Seven in the black division (Freshman/Sophomore), and eight in the gold division. The only starters to not compete were Daton Fix and Brayden Thompson. Troy Spratley, Izzak Olejnik, Dustin Plott, Luke Surber, and Konner Doucet won their weights without much to talk about as there weren’t too many other Division I teams. The event wasn’t streamed anywhere, but I made the trip and got to see a majority of the matches (At least in the Gold division) so figured I’d put in some of my takeaways.Â
- The team has serious depth
At nearly every weight, it looks like the Cowboys are two deep. Troy Spratley at 125 is a bit of a stand alone, but you have Reece Witcraft who’s shown the flexibility to go between 125/133. Witcraft actually won the title at 133, showing that he is more than capable of success. 141 the team looks to have a second semester lineup battle with Jamison and Alvarez, which I’ll touch on later. Williams, Travis, and Young all looked good at 149. Manibog and Harper could both be capable starters in another lineup battle. 165 and 174 might lack some depth, but keep an eye on the young freshman who could have an impact. Add in Trevor Dopps at 197, who only lost to Surber, and Christian Carroll at 285, and the Cowboys are tough in multiple areas which could be vital in today’s wrestling world…
