The Oklahoma State wrestling team ended the first day of the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship with a strong lead, sending eight wrestlers to the finals and accumulating 154.5 points. This put them ahead of Iowa State by 32 points after Friday’s sessions in Tulsa.
All ten Oklahoma State wrestlers secured automatic spots at the NCAA Championships following their performances on Friday. The competition was interrupted by a tornado warning at 6:13 p.m., which led to an hour-long delay before resuming at 7:10 p.m.
Oklahoma State’s finalists are Troy Spratley (125 pounds), Jax Forrest (133), Sergio Vega (141), Casey Swiderski (149), Landon Robideau (157), LaDarion Lockett (165), Alex Facundo (174) and Konner Doucet (heavyweight). These eight finalists are four more than any other team in the tournament.
Coach David Taylor commented on the team’s progress: “We’ve got to keep progressing, scoring points, closing matches and ending them on top,” Taylor said. “As long as we do that, we’re going to keep finding ways to win. We’ve got eight guys wrestling in the finals and nine total tomorrow, so we have nine or 10 opportunities to learn and get better. We’re going to be challenged tomorrow, so that’s good for our guys and we’re going to keep getting better.”
Each Cowboy semifinal victory except for heavyweight came against an opponent seeded in the top six of their bracket. Several OSU wrestlers earned bonus points during their matches. Jax Forrest led all competitors in match points after achieving his third technical fall of the day with a combined score of 55-10 over three bouts.
LaDarion Lockett faced Connor Euton from Iowa State when competition was halted due to weather. After resuming nearly an hour later, Lockett finished with two additional takedowns for an 11-2 major decision—his first bonus-point win of this event. Reflecting on the interruption, Lockett said: “It was crazy,” Lockett said of the stop in action. “My coaches just told me to stay focused, so that’s what I did, and I got two more takedowns. I really relied on my training. During the delay, we talked, told jokes, played games and just messed around to stay loose. Everything in that match was crazy. All we know is chaos, so we just laughed it off.”
Cody Merrill nearly added a ninth finalist spot for Oklahoma State but lost his semifinal match at 197 pounds against Wyoming’s Joey Novak in sudden victory.
At 184 pounds, Zack Ryder battled through injury after losing by injury default in quarterfinals but won his next match before having to medically forfeit his final two bouts due to injury.
The final day begins Saturday at noon with consolation semifinals and placement matches; championship finals are scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m., available live on ESPN+ and TrackWrestling.com with updates provided via @CowboyWrestling on X.
After session two on Friday night, Oklahoma State leads all teams followed by Iowa State with Arizona State rounding out third place.