Landon Robideau’s summer has been anything but quiet, and it’s about to end with another big stage.
The Oklahoma State wrestler is headed to Slovakia for the U20 World Championships next week, where he’ll wrestle at 70 kg on Saturday, Aug. 22 and Sunday, Aug. 23. It’s the latest stop in an offseason that has already packed in a national title, two qualifying runs and a serious test against senior-level competition.
Robideau got rolling in March, when he won a national championship as a true freshman in a difficult bracket. Since then, he’s kept right on winning.
In April, he took the U20 U.S. Open bracket, then followed that in May by beating top Class of 2027 prospect Melvin Miller two matches to none at the U20 World Team Trials.
At the U.S. Open, Robideau was especially overwhelming, outscoring his opponents 70-8 combined. The trials were even cleaner: his two matches against Miller ended with a total score of 17-0.
“I think he’s definitely making jumps,” said OSU coach David Taylor of Robideau’s offseason. “He’s done a good job.
Like, he was very driven this year when the season was over. Like, he was ready for what was coming next.
That’s a great sign. Not a surprise.
Landon’s a pretty unique kid.”
Robideau also dipped into the Senior World Team earlier in May, and he didn’t look out of place there either. He beat former Cowboy and U23 World Team Trials champ Jordan Williams twice by a combined 14-0, and he also defeated four-time NCAA qualifier Ian Parker.
His only loss in that event came against 2023 World Champion, three-time NCAA champion and 2024 Olympian Zain Retherford, who won 3-2. Retherford later won at Final X and will again represent the United States at the Senior World Championships.
“He wrestled really well at the senior level,” Taylor said. “I mean, I think Zain’s a really tough opponent, and I think Landon was right there. It’s one of those situations I think it was just an experience deal, where Zain got put on the clock and scored or scored right before he got put on the clock - right around that time that kind of made that match, it went from it being tied on criteria to being down 3-0.
“Good experience for him. Obviously this 20-and-under World Championship for him here in two weeks will be another great experience for him. He’s expecting to go there and kick some butt.”
Taylor said the staff will be mindful of Robideau’s mat time, but the bigger picture is already in focus. After Slovakia, the next target is another NCAA title.
“That’s the name of the game,” Taylor said. “I think one of the things with our program we talk about is like, man, winning one time is not a goal for anybody here.
Like, we want to continue to set ourselves up for continued success. I think as soon as these guys, the mentality is as soon as that tournament was over, you’re instantly getting ready for the next thing.
“We don’t really have the luxury of sitting around and waiting and thinking about how cool last year was. We’re on to the next year and how we can keep getting better and onto the next tournament. So, he definitely has that philosophy, and he’s definitely improved this summer.”
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