NCAA Quarters: Spratley, Forrest, Vega Advance, But Swiderski is Warrior in Defeat
Oklahoma State fans have to be elated with the performances of Troy Spratley, Jax Forrest, and Sergio Vega. All three led off quarterfinals “moving day” at the NCAA Wrestling Championships with wins. Jax Forrest is treating the NCAA like he did the Big 12 Championships as he big-time bonuses his way through the bracket. However as Oklahoma State advanced five wrestlers to the semifinals, it was one that dropped to the consolations that wowed the Rocket Arena crowd in Cleveland and nearly stunned one of the most respected of the favored Penn State top-seeded competitors. Casey Swiderski, the No. 8 seed at 149 pounds was close to wiping out unbeaten top-seed Nittany Lion’s wrestler Shayne Van Ness.
From a team standpoint, Friday morning and moving day wasn’t great, but it was good for Oklahoma State.
NCAA Wrestling Championships Team Scores
Last updated 2:11 p.m. CT, March 20.
1. Penn State - 103.5
3. Nebraska - 64.5
3. Oklahoma State - 64.0
4. Iowa - 48.0
5. Ohio State - 42.0
Swiderski showed Van Ness in the first period he was going to be difficult to get by. He used some very physical collar ties and swipes on Van Ness, enough that the official stopped the action and warned Swiderski. There was no score in an active first period and then Swiderski took a lead with a second period escape just beating the riding time at :46.
The third period started with Swiderski on top and eight seconds in Van ness spun around and took the reversal for a 2-1 lead. His control lasted just 13 seconds as Swiderski escaped for a 2-2 score. Swiderski was definitely the agressor and was close a couple of times but it was on to sudden victory overtime, two minutes and first score wins.
Again, Swiderski stayed aggressive and was close. It looked like they were going to the second overtime and tiebreakers, but Van Ness got Swiderski’s ankles and finished the takedown with one second on the clock. Swiderski (24-0) advanced and Swiderski 16-6 dropped to the consolations as many in the crowd stood and clapped in admiration.
No doubt that Swiderski will battle as he moves to the consolations Friday night and works to earn All-American status that excaped him here by one second.
Earning their way into the semifinals and clinching a place on the All-American podium were the four of the first five Cowboys to wrestle.
At 125 pounds, No. 5 seed Spratley fresh off the 8-5 win over Vincent Robinson of North Carolina State, the wrestler that beat Spratley in the 2025 NCAA finals at 125, Spratley used a single leg shot and drove through it to takedown No. 4 Sheldon Spooner of Lehigh. Spooner, unbeaten on the season at 19-0 coming in, got an escape in the first period but not before Spratley had 1:05 in riding time.
Spratley started down in the second period and escaped in four seconds to preserve his riding time over a minute. The Cowboy led 4-1 after two periods. He came back in the third with a takedown after increasing the riding time to 2:42 before Seymour escaped. The riding time point made it an 8-2 decision and Spratley (19-3) will get top seed Luke Lilledahl (23-0) of Penn State in the semifinals.
The talk of the tournament has been Jax Forrest at 133 pounds. The top seed continued to buzzsaw his way through the bracket. He opened up on Northern Illinois No. 8 seed Markel Baker with his signiture ball and chain move for a takedown. In the first period he used a single leg for a takedown. He then got a headlock and twisted Baker to the mat for another. Mixed in were near fall points in dominations of four and then two.
It was a side single leg grab that led to the final takedown to finish the 18-3 tech fall in 2:38. It was Forrest (16-0) second first period tech fall of the event. His other win was a first period fall. He now gets his old high school rival that he narrowly beat in a dual this season at Virginia Tech. Aaron Seidel is 21-1. The lone loss 10-9 to Forrest in Blacksburg, Va. last month.
The Cowboys No. 2 seed at 141 pounds continues to be one of the most efficietn wrestlers in the tournament. Vega (22-0) was 0-0 against Iowa’s No. 7 Nasir Bailey after the first period. Vega gave up the escape in just four seconds of the second period and Bailey led 1-0. Vega then got Bailey’s legs and finished for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. He escaped quickly from bottom to start the third and won a 4-1 decision.
Vega advances to take on a familiar rival in Nebraska’s Brock Hardy (23-5). You can’t be overconfident, but Vega has won by a major decision and a fall in two meetings this season with Hardy.
Landon Robideau added his name to the Cowboys semifinals. The No. 5 seed was facing the same wrestler No. 4 Kaleb Larkin of Arizona State that beat him in the Big 12 finals. Robideau wasn’t going to lose again and 30 seconds in got a single leg and finished to lead 3-0. A pair of escapes by larkin, one in the first and the other to start the second made it 3-2. In the third period, lots of action as Robideau escaped to go up 4-2, but Larkin got a step over move to get the takedown and a 5-4 lead. Robideau reversed with a sommersault and led 6-5. The escape by Larkin tied it at 6-6. Robideau just missed a takedown at the buzzer and it was on to sudden victory.
In the overtime, Robideau stayed very aggressive and at 1:29 he was deep on a single leg that he turned into the winning takedown for a 9-6 win. Robideau (19-2) will now face Penn State’s top seed P.J. Duke (22-1) in the semifinals.
For Oklahoma State quarterfinals action skipped to 197 pounds and No. 7 seed Cody Merrill continued to wrestle well. He took on upsetter No. 15 seed Remy Cotton of Rutgers and got a deep double leg just off the mat bur converted for a takedown just before the whistle took them back to the middle in the first period. It came late in the period, so just 20 seconds of riding time.
Merrill started down in the second period and escaped for a 4-0 lead. Cotton used a double leg for a takedown and narrowed it to 4-3 before Merrill’s escape took it to 5-3. The third period both wrestlers were up and the period went scoreless until the last 20 seconds and Merrill got a takedown to finish with an 8-3 decision.
Merrill (21-4) now gets Little Rock’s No. 3 seed Stephen Little (18-2) in the semifinals.
Finally, Konner Doucet at heavyweight and the battle between the No. 7 seed in Doucet and No. 3 seed in Isaac Trumble of North Carolina State wasn’t much for action. The more athletic Trumble got a takedown and then rode out the rest of the first period for 2:15 in riding time and a 3-0 lead.
Doucet started on bottom in the second period and Trumble suffocated him down there, riding out the period for 4:15 in riding time and clinching the riding time point.
Trying something different, Doucet was on top. He was able to ride it out but not score as Trumble seemed to be a willing participant as he won a 4-0 decision. Doucet moves to consolations at 19-4.
In the concolation bracket, Dee Lockett won his first consolation match at 165 with an 8-3 decision over LJ Araujo of Nebraska. Lockett has another match in the session.
Alex Facundo at 174 won his first consolation match over Luca Augustine of Pittsburgh with a 4-3 decision and he still has a match in the session.
At 184 pounds, Zack Ryder stayed alive in the consolations with a 10-2 major decision over Abraham Wojclklewicz of Stanford. Ryder too will wrestle again in the early Friday session.
NCAA Wrestling Championships Semifinals
Friday Night (3/20/26)
125 lbs
No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Troy Spratley (Okla State)
No. 14 Jacob Moran (Indiana) vs. No. 10 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton)
133 lbs
No. 1 Jax Forrest (Okla. State) vs. No. 4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech)
No. 3 Marcus Blaze (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Ben Davino (Ohio State)
141 lbs
No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Luke Stanich (Lehigh)
No. 3 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Sergio Vega (Okla. State)
149 lbs
No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) vs. No. 20 Chance Lamer (Nebraska)
No. 11 Lachlan McNeil (Michigan) vs. No. 10 Aden Valencia (Stanford)
157 lbs
No. 1 PJ Duke (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Landon Robideau (Okla. State)
No. 11 Ty Watters (West Virginia) vs. No. 2 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska)
165 lbs
No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) vs. No. 12 Cesar Alvan (Columbia)
No. 3 Mikey Caliendo (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Joey Blaze (Purdue)
174 lbs
No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)
No. 3 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) vs. No. 7 Cam Steed (Missouri)
184 lbs
No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Brock Mantanona (Michigan)
No. 3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota) vs. No. 7 Angelo Ferrari (Iowa)
197 lbs
No. 1 Josh Barr (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Joey Novak (Wyoming)
No. 3 Stephen Little (Little Rock) vs. No. 7 Cody Merrill (Okla. State)
285 lbs
No. 1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) vs. No. 4 AJ Ferrari (Nebraska)
No. 3 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Isaac Trumble (NC State)
