Oklahoma State didn’t just start its season Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena. It put on a full-on showcase.
The No. 2 Cowboys rolled through the inaugural Cowboy Invitational, winning nine of the 10 weight class titles and finishing miles ahead of the field. OSU piled up 435.5 team points, with Little Rock second at 188, SIUE third at 113.5 and Gardner-Webb fourth at 72.5.
For a team that brought 27 wrestlers into the event, the format gave Oklahoma State something a dual schedule can’t: a long look at the full roster. And the Cowboys made the most of it, with six all-OSU finals and a wave of freshmen making immediate noise.
“I think it was a pretty unique experience,” OSU associate head coach Jimmy Kennedy said. “I think wrestle-offs are always difficult.
They just are. They’re just usually tight and stuffy, and this was not that. ...
So it was definitely awesome to see the way our guys competed today. Just a lot of enthusiasm out there, and just getting our positions, and just good wrestling.”
The event also gave a handful of newcomers their first taste of college wrestling in front of the Gallagher-Iba crowd, and three freshmen left with titles.
Dreshaun Ross was especially sharp at heavyweight, winning three matches by technical fall and capping the day with a 21-6 victory over No. 31 Bryson Buhk of SIUE in 2:37. Ross piled up seven takedowns in the championship bout.
At 125 pounds, Rocklin Zinkin needed four matches to claim his bracket, and he did it by scoring at least 19 points in every outing. In the final, he put together six takedowns in a 21-7 major decision over SIUE’s Drew Davis.
Jayden Raney added another freshman title at 141, edging teammate Tagen Jamison 6-5 in a match decided by riding time.
For those first-year Cowboys, the setting mattered.
“I’d definitely say there were more nerves,” Ross said. “I mean, just knowing it’s your first college match out there, there’s a lot of people, and it’s definitely a little different than it was at other places. But it was a good difference.”
Zinkin said last year’s freshman class helped set the tone for what the new group could do.
“Definitely exciting,” Zinkin said. “Watching what they did last year ... it makes us realize we could do this right now.
I mean, what they did last year was incredible. So it definitely gives me a lot of confidence.”
The Cowboys’ returning national champions also handled business. Jax Forrest picked up two falls before finishing off the 133-pound bracket with a first-period technical fall over No.
9 T.K. Davis of Gardner-Webb.
Sergio Vega stayed perfect at 27-0 with a 16-4 major decision over freshman teammate Jordyn Raney in the 149-pound final. Landon Robideau won all three of his matches at 157, including the championship against teammate Kolter Burton.
The six all-OSU finals gave the day a different feel, and several of them turned into tight, competitive matches. Michael White knocked off No.
10 Bennett Berge, a South Dakota State transfer, 10-4 at 184. Alex Facundo outlasted Stanford transfer Lorenzo Norman at 174, scoring a late takedown in a 7-5 win.
The most dramatic bout came at 165, where No. 5 LaDarion Lockett and Casey Swiderski - both NCAA qualifiers last season - went all the way to tiebreakers.
The match sat 1-1 through regulation, then moved into rideouts after Lockett rode Swiderski before an injury stoppage. After both wrestlers traded shots, Swiderski attacked Lockett’s ankles and finished the takedown for a 4-3 decision.
“That match, the crowd was getting into it, and they’re calling for wrestling the whole time, and thinking, ‘Just wait, it’s going to happen,’” Kennedy said. “It was like watching water start to boil, and you just see under the surface these things that are happening, and then obviously it goes into double overtime. … That’s just a hard match, and that’s what college wrestling is like in March and February, but we got to experience it in November.”
The night ended at 197 with a rematch of last season’s NCAA semifinal, and it did not finish the way Oklahoma State wanted. No.
2 Cody Merrill and No. 3 Stephen Little of Little Rock were tied 2-2 in tiebreakers when Merrill was injured on a head collision.
He could not continue, and Little won by injury default.
OSU now turns to duals, opening that part of the schedule next Sunday against Drexel at 2 p.m.
Cowboy Invitational final results
125: Rocklin Zinkin (OSU) MD Drew Davis (SIUE), 21-7
133: No. 1 Jax Forrest (OSU) TF No.
9 T.K. Davis (GW), 20-4, 2:56
141: Jayden Raney (OSU) dec. Tagen Jamison (OSU), 6-5
149: No. 2 Sergio Vega (OSU) MD Jordyn Raney (OSU), 16-4
157: No. 1 Landon Robideau (OSU) TF Kolter Burton (OSU), 22-6, 6:19
165: Casey Swiderski (OSU) dec. No. 5 Dee Lockett (OSU), TB-2, 4-3
174: Alex Facundo (OSU) dec. No. 14 Lorenzo Norman (OSU), 7-5
184: Michael White (OSU) dec. No. 10 Bennett Berge (OSU), 10-4
197: No. 3 Stephen Little (LR) M For.
No. 2 Cody Merrill (OSU), SV-2, 9:43
In Other News...
Wyatt Young Now Faces One Oklahoma State Question After Painful Loss
Wyatt Youngs night against Iowa State was a mixed one in every sense, because the Oklahoma State wide receiver did plenty to keep his team in the game before one late mistake changed the tenor of the finish. Young turned in a strong performance with seven catches, 74 yards and two touchdowns, showing again why he has become such an important part of the offense.
The issue now is how the Cowboys handle the aftermath of a costly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty late in the game, one that left Young apologizing publicly after the loss. Head coach Eric Morris has already made clear there will be some form of punishment, and the situation has turned a painful defeat into a reminder that Oklahoma State still has to clean up the details if it wants its best players on the field and its composure intact when the game is on the line. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma States New Rotation Already Created One Big Question
Oklahoma State opened the 2026-27 basketball season with a comfortable 91-60 win over Incarnate Word, and Steve Lutz used the night to spread the minutes around and get a first look at how his new group might fit together. The Cowboys got notable early production from transfers Jacob Walker and Kashie Natt, while most of the roster saw meaningful run in a game that looked more like an evaluation than a finished product.
Kanye Clary was with the team but did not take the floor because of a groin issue, leaving one of the bigger lineup questions hanging over the opener. With Walker and Natt both making strong debuts, Oklahoma State already has a sense of which newcomers can help right away, but the real answer to how the rotation settles in may have to wait until everyone is healthy. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma State Just Showed A Promising Answer At Point Guard
Oklahoma States season opener offered a little bit of everything in a 91-60 win over Incarnate Word, including a glimpse of how the Cowboys might function if their backcourt has to adjust early. Four players finished in double figures, and the defense looked sharper in the first half before the game loosened up some after intermission, but the bigger takeaway for the staff was how smoothly the offense kept moving without its expected lead guard.
With senior Kanye Clary sidelined, sophomore Jacob Walker stepped into the point guard role and gave the Cowboys a steadier hand than they might have expected in a debut. The performance did not settle the long-term picture at the position, but it gave Oklahoma State a workable answer in the moment and a reason to feel better about the depth behind a spot that can shape everything else the team wants to do. [Read more 🡒]