Jackrabbits wrestler Bennett Berge qualifies for U20 World Championships

South Dakota State wrestler Bennett Berge is headed back to the U20 World Championships in freestyle after winning the 86-kilogram division during competition Saturday at SPIRE Institute.
 
A native of Mantorville, Minnesota, Berge swept a best-of-three series against Brayden Thompson of the Cowboy Regional Training Series by scores of 6-2 (VPO1) and 10-0 (VSU, 1:35). Berge secured a spot in the finals after winning the U.S. Open in late April in Las Vegas.
 
The U20 World Championships are slated for Aug. 14-20 in Warsaw, Poland. Berge earned a silver medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships last summer in Bulgaria.
 
In addition, four Jackrabbit wrestlers remain in contention for freestyle titles in the U23 Nationals portion of the competition. Three of the SDSU wrestlers posted 3-0 records Saturday, including fifth-seeded Derrick Cardinal in the 61-kilogram weight class and No. 6 Cael Swensen in the 74-kilogram weight class. Cardinal outscored his opponents, 31-0, with Swensen registering a 29-0 advantage in scoring in his three bouts.
 
Also earning a trip to Sunday’s quarterfinals were Logan Graf (57 kg) and Caleb Gross (65 kg). Graf notched a 2-0 record on Saturday, while Gross went 3-0, including a win over 12^th-seeded Sean Seefeldt of the Pennsylvania RTC, outscoring the opposition by a 33-0 margin in the process.
 
To open the weekend, Spencer Trenary advanced to the U23 Greco-Roman finals of the 130-kilogram weight class on Friday. Trenary won his first three matches to set up a best-of-three series against Kaleb Reeves of Iowa. Reeves tallied a 6-2 victory in the first bout, then earned a 6-4 victory over Trenary in the second bout to earn the title.
 
Coverage of Sunday’s competition is available through FloWrestling.org.