CLEVELAND – Seven Oklahoma State wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday, placing the Cowboys in fourth place with 25 team points, according to Oklahoma State University Athletics. The competition, held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, sees Penn State leading with eight quarterfinalists, whereas Iowa and Nebraska are tied with Oklahoma State at seven.
The Cowboys’ performance marked the first time since 1968 that ten OSU wrestlers reached the second round of the championship bracket, a milestone coach David Taylor acknowledged as a positive step. “It was a good day,” Taylor said. “There are ups and downs at the national tournament. We’ve got 10 guys wrestling tomorrow, so we’ve got to refocus and get ready to head.”
Jax Forrest, wrestling at 133 pounds, secured a dominant victory with a first-period technical fall over T.K. Davis of Gardner-Webb, winning 16-1. Sergio Vega at 141 pounds followed with a pin of Elijah Griffin of Rider in 6:12, while Casey Swiderski earned a 14-4 major decision over David Evans of Utah Valley at 149 pounds. These bonus point victories contributed significantly to Oklahoma State’s team score.
A particularly compelling win came from Troy Spratley at 125 pounds, who avenged his loss in the 2025 national championship match against N.C. State’s Vincent Robinson. Trailing 4-0 late in the second period, Spratley executed a takedown with 11 seconds remaining and followed with a four-point nearfall as the period expired. He then secured an 8-5 win, according to reporting from 7220sports.com and The O’Colly.
In the 141-pound quarterfinals, Brock Hardy defeated Vince Cornella of Cornell 5-3. Luke Stanich of Lehigh advanced with a 6-4 decision over Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State, becoming a two-time All-American. Jesse Mendez secured a decisive 22-6 victory against Vance Vombaur, and Sergio Vega of Oklahoma State defeated Nasir Bailey of Iowa 4-1. According to NCAA.com live updates, these matches took place on March 20, 2026.
The Wyoming Cowboys also saw success on Thursday, with four of their six wrestlers remaining alive in the competition, and half of those advancing to the quarterfinals. The Wyoming team is currently tied for 13th place with 12.5 points.
Leave a Reply