Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestling advances 10 wrestlers to the second round of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1968 — building momentum for a title shot headed into the second part of day one and the upcoming day two
Can this Cowboy Wrestling lineup win it all this year?
CLEVELAND, OH — March Madness? More like Mat Madness for Oklahoma State and the Stilly Boys!
The Oklahoma State Cowboys delivered an heck of an opening session at the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Thursday inside Rocket Arena, advancing all 10 of their qualifiers to the second round of the championship bracket.
This marks the first time since 1968 that the Cowboys have sent a complete 10 man lineup through the opening round unbeaten.
The No. 3-ranked Cowboys racked up 14.5 team points after first part of Session One and sit tied for third in the early standings, trailing only Penn State.
With a full lineup across every weight class and multiple top-eight seeds, Oklahoma State sits pretty as a legitimate contender for a top team finish and multiple All-American honors in a tournament that runs through Saturday.
The Cowboys’ great individual scores, this early, showed they were prepared for this weekend.
Fifth-seeded Troy Spratley (125) cruised to an 11-2 major decision over Navy’s Andrew Binni, controlling pace with early takedowns.
Top-seeded freshman Jax Forrest (133) needed just 1:59 to pin Oklahoma’s Carter Schmidt, building a 12-3 lead before the fall.
Second-seeded Sergio Vega (141) posted a 6-0 shutout dub over Northwestern’s Billy DeKraker, built on his control and riding time.
Eighth-seeded Casey Swiderski (149) earned a 7-2 decision over Illinois’ Michael Gioffre.
Fifth-seeded Landon Robideau (157) took a measured 5-1 win against North Dakota State’s Gavin Drexler.
At 165, fifth-seeded Dee Lockett locked in a 9-2 decision versus Wisconsin’s Cody Goebel, falling just short of a major.
Eighth-seeded Alex Facundo (174) rallied from being down early for a 12-6 decision over Virginia Tech’s Sergio Desiante. Facundo managed three takedowns in the middle and final periods.
Twenty-second-seeded Zack Ryder (184), competing with a large brace on his injured left shoulder, pulled out a sudden victory overtime takedown to upset Rutgers’ Shane Cartagena-Walsh.
Seventh-seeded Cody Merrill (197) secured a 18-3 technical fall over Purdue’s Ben Vanadia.
At heavyweight, seventh-seeded Konner Doucet grinded it out for a 2-1 decision over Illinois’ Luke Luffman. Doucet took advantage of riding time in the second period to grab the riding time edge and the win.
Adding to today’s success for Oklahoma State, head coach David Taylor was named Big 12 Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year after leading the Cowboys to back-to-back conference titles.
Freshman Jax Forrest earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors, while transfer Alex Facundo was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
With 34 NCAA team titles, the most in history, Oklahoma State’s perfect first day shows why the Cowboys are still THE team to beat.
Action resumes Friday evening at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN with these second-round matchups for the Cowboys.
125: Troy Spratley vs. Vince Robinson (NC State)
133: Jax Forrest vs. T.K. Davis (George Washington)
141: Sergio Vega vs. Elijah Griffen (Rider)
149: Casey Swiderski vs. David Evans (Utah Valley)
157: Landon Robideau vs. Charlie Millard (Minnesota)
165: Dee Lockett vs. Cesar Alvan (Columbia)
174: Alex Facundo vs. Beau Mantanona (Michigan)
184: Zack Ryder vs. Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming)
197: Cody Merrill vs. Mac Stout (Pittsburgh)
Heavyweight: Konner Doucet vs. David Szuba (Arizona State)
As the Cowboys chase individual national titles and team trophies this weekend, Thursday’s perfect start has set the stage for what could be an eventual title run.
Hopefully Mat Madness Day Two sees the same success for the Boys from Stilly!