Cadet and Junior Greco World Team member Cohlton Schultz looks to take on the globe

At just 16 years old, Cohlton Schultz will represent the United States at the World Championships twice this summer, wrestling Greco at both the Cadet and Junior levels.

First up are the UWW Junior World Championships in Tampere, Finland, Aug. 1-6, followed by the UWW Cadet World Championships in Athens, Greece, Sept. 4-10.

This marks the second-consecutive year that Schultz, a product of Parker, Colo., will compete for the USA at the World level. Last year, he was the Cadet Greco World teamer at 100 kg/220 lbs. Although he only wrestled one match, he left with valuable experience and lesson that helped him be successful thus far in 2017.

“I felt like I prepared well for 2016 Worlds, but I didn’t execute and I lost off one move,” he said. “That was pretty rough. This year, I’ve opened up my offense a lot more. It’s been really beneficial and it’s made work on my offense.”

This year, Schultz’s decision to go after two World Teams came from the confidence his coaches had in him.

Despite weighing in 20 kg under, he landed a spot on the Junior World Team first, winning the Junior Greco World Team Trials at 120 kg/264.5 lbs., which were held alongside the U.S. Open in Las Vegas in late-April.

“When I went to Vegas, it wasn’t even on my mind to make the World Team,” he admitted. “I was just going for the experience and being able to wrestle the older guys. It ended up just working out really well. I’m still pretty young, so I had to have waivers just to wrestle out there. The coaches had a lot of faith in me and they wanted me to at least try, and it worked out.”

Schultz blazed through the bracket to earn a spot in the World Team Trials best-of-three finals against Anthony Cassioppi of Illinois, who recently won Pan American Championship gold in Greco and freestyle in Lima, Peru, earlier this month.

Schultz escaped with an 8-7 win in the first match. With the match tied 3-3 inside a minute left in the bout, Schultz hit a four-pointer to go up 7-3. Shortly after, Cassioppi scored on a front headlock for a takedown and followed with two on a gut wrench to tie it, 7-7. He worked for another gut wrench with 10 seconds left, but it was white paddled. Cassioppi’s corner challenged but it was denied, giving Schultz a point and the win.

The Colorado star ran away with a dominant second-bout win. He scored first on a four-pointer on the edge, but Cassioppi responded with four points of his own. Schultz ended up on top for a one-point reversal, locked up a high gut and let it roll several times, leading to a 13-4 technical fall and a spot on the Junior World Team.

About a month later, he competed at UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron, Ohio, seeking a spot on the Cadet World Team.

He registered 2-0 and 8-0 wins to advance to the 100 kg/220 lbs. best-of-three finals, where he faced Tyler Curd, who defeated Schultz at the Cadet Greco-Roman National Championships in Fargo, N.D., last summer.

Schultz avenged the loss with a pair of dominant technical falls, 9-0 and 8-0, respectively. He ended the first bout in 2:23, before wrapping up the second match in the first period at 1:01.

He had earned a spot on two World Teams.

While an amazing accomplishment, Schultz has a busy summer ahead.

Last week, he returned from a European tour, where he won gold at the Croatia Open and silver at the Refik Memisevic Brale Memorial Tournament in Serbia. Both tournaments were at the Cadet level.

“It was good. I got to see a lot of the Cadet competition that’ll probably see in Athens later this year,” Schultz said. “It was a learning experience. I lost a match that I probably shouldn’t have lost in the finals in Serbia. It helped me learn a lot of the little things I need to work on.”

Just days after setting foot back on American soil, Schultz was back on the grind at the Cadet and Junior Greco World Team camp, held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

It’s a nice advantage that Schultz lives less than an hour from the OTC. He has the privilege of training with and picking the brains of some of the best Greco wrestlers in the nation, including Senior World Team members Robby Smith and G’Angelo Hancock.

“I just feel like I’ve gotten crazy better,” Schultz said. “I improve so much every year. It’s awesome getting to wrestle with the best guys in the country and some of the best guys in the world. [G’Angelo] is my usual training partner when I’m at the OTC. I talk to Robby all the time, and I’ve wrestled him a lot. Every time I wrestle him, I’m always asking questions on how I can get better. They’re all super helpful.”

Like Schultz, Hancock is also on two World Teams this summer and will join Schultz on the Junior Team.

Right now, Schultz explained he’s staying focused on one tournament at a time.

“I trust the coaches. They know what’s best for me. I’m just focusing on Juniors first, and then we’ll worry about Cadets after,” he said. “For Juniors, I’m just putting in all the training I can to get ready and perform as best as I can. It’s going to be tough because I’m giving up quite a bit of weight for Juniors. I think all the hard work and training I put in now will also help me for Cadets.”

Regardless of the challenge that lies ahead of him, Schultz expects to return to the United States with a World medal.

“I expect to get a medal, if not a World title,” he said. “I know I can do it at the Cadet level. Junior level is going to be a little harder. Either way, I’ll learn a lot and I’ll have more time to get better.”