Oklahoma State Championship and Big 12 Wrestling Tournament Notes
(Pokes Report’s Robert Allen was there to cover the event with his tournament story. He also assisted with this notes story originated by Sean Maguire of Oklahoma State University Athletic Media Relations.)
TULSA – The Oklahoma State wrestling program claimed its second consecutive and 57th overall conference championship Saturday night, finishing the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championship with individual titles from Casey Swiderski at 149 pounds, Troy Spratley at 125 pounds, Jax Forrest at 133 pounds and Sergio Vega at 141 pounds.
Second Most Points of All-Time in Big 12
The Cowboys’ 176 team points rank as the second-most in Big 12 tournament history, trailing only the 176.5 points OSU scored in 2017. This year’s total was 32 points better than Iowa State, who finished second with 144 points.
Two-Time Taylor
David Taylor is the second coach in Big 12 history to win team titles in each of his first two seasons as head coach, joining Cael Sanderson who won three with Iowa State from 2007-09.
Jax Forrest Outstanding Wrestler
Forrest, who earned bonus point wins in all four bouts this weekend, was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. He is the third true freshman in school history to win the honor, joining Coleman Scott in 2005 and AJ Ferrari in 2021. Forrest, who earned technical falls all the way through to the finals, kept his point total flying in his final bout, dominating Arizona State’s second-seeded Kyler Larkin in a 15-2 major decision. With a weekend total of 70 points scored in his matches, he scored 12 more points than any other wrestler in the tournament.
Let’s Hear it for the Freshmen!
Forrest’s title combined with Vega’s gave OSU a pair of true freshman conference champions for just the third time in Oklahoma State history. The duo joins Scott and Nathan Morgan, who won in 2005, and Lee Roy Smith and Eric Wais, who won in 1977. They are the 14th and 15th true freshmen in OSU history and the first since 2021 to win a conference title.
Quick Work for the Team Title
With a 23-point lead entering the finals, the Cowboy needed just one win to secure the team title. It didn’t take long to silence any doubts, as Casey Swiderski handled No. 6 seed Caleb Rathjen of Northern Iowa, 5-3, at 149 pounds in the opening bout of the finals. It marked the first career conference title for the junior Swiderski, who finished third in 2024 and fourth in 2023.
Third Time the Charm for Troy
A Big 12 finalist for a third-straight season, Spratley was the next Cowboy to secure his individual title. Heading into the third period down 1-0, Spratley secured a reversal with 1:35 remaining, earned a two-point nearfall and rode out the period to win a 5-2 decision for his career conference finals win.
More Attendance Record for Cowboys
Cowboy fans also played a large part in another historic note for the weekend as 7,044 fans came to the BOK Center to set a Big 12 championship session attendance record.
Oklahoma State Wrestling Domination - Wrestling School!!!
The team championship marks OSU's 55th conference tournament title in wrestling. Oklahoma State has now claimed 21 of the 30 Big 12 tournament trophies that have been awarded in conference history, as well as the 2012 and 2013 regular season titles in the only years it was awarded. With the addition of the individual titles, OSU now has 126 Big 12 individual championships and 301 conference individual championships in its wrestling history.
