Landon Robideau Was Determined, Earned First Fall of the Season, Cowboys Hammer Drexel

STILLWATER – The countdown was on for the first fall of the 2026-27 dual season and you just knew it would come from one of the returning NCAA champions. It did just before intermission as 157 pound champion and top-ranked Landon Robideau (4-0) was working toward a tech fall over Drexel’s Gavin Carroll. With close to two minutes riding time and needing just one more point for the tech, Robideau worked for the old-fahsioned fall. With Robideau’s own personal mascot, “Jason,” from Halloween watching from the East floor seats, he had Carroll in a cradle and worked his shoulders over and on the new mat. That led to a quick slap of the mat at 4:20 for the fall. 

“When I got the cradle and put him on his back, I was trying to stretch and I was thinking ‘please call the pin, please call the pin.’” Robideau said of the sequence. 

“I was like that was the first pin of the year and that would be pretty good to get SWAG surfing, so when he (official) called the pin, I was pretty happy.” 

Just before intermission, Robideau’s fall gave Oklahoma State a 23-0 advantage and that would expand to a 45-0 win over the Dragons. David Taylor’s No. 2-ranked Cowboys off to a 1-0 start.

“There’s a lot of energy and I was very happy with the way the guys wrestled today,” Taylor said overall. “I think getting more pins for our team this year has been an effort and something we’re working on. Again, when you had a young team like we did last year. There are a lot of areas you can improve on. This summer we worked on getting more back points and pins. It is something these guys are competing with each other with.”

Oklahoma State Athletics

Everybody celebrates Robideau’s fall. It gave Oklahoma State a 23-0 lead.

You don’t have to look far or wait long at a Cowboys dual (if they are going in order low weight-to-high) for a rock star. Jax Forrest’s entry is better than any professional wrestling and his excitement level is too. Returning individual NCAA Champion and top-ranked, Forrest twisted around Drexel’s unbeaten freshman Cole Hagerty and proceeded to give him an education starting with that takedown.

Oklahoma State Athletics

Jax Forrest at work against Drexel’s Cole Hagerty on his way to a 17-2 tech fall. 

The highlight of Forrest’s match was late in the first period where he flipped Hagerty by doing a flip himself and getting the tilt with the shoulders toucching and a four-point near fall. After working some and building up riding time of 2:22, Forrest got the necessary takedown to finish the tech fall at 4:01 in the second period. The final was 17-2. Forrest as always, was well worth the price of the ticket.

Freshman Rocklin Zinkin (5-0) got the dual off to fantastic start. His efforts just carried on from his unbeaten start in the Cowboy Invitational as he used an up and under move to earn his first of four takedowns on Drexel’s No. 33-ranked Oumar Tourkara. Zinkin started the second period down and executed a neat reversal where he escaped to neutral but before the official could signal escape, he had Tourkara on the mat. He polished off a major decision 17-3 and Oklahoma State had a 4-0 lead.

After Forrest (4-0), another freshman, already ranked at No. 15 took on Drexel’s Anthony DePaul and gained a quick takedown for a 3-0 lead that he maintained through the first three minutes. Raney thrilled the crowd in the second period when he pulled DePaul by one leg from off the mat back on to secure a takedown. Raney collected plenty of points and riding time in scoring a match high 22 points in a 22-6 tech fall at 6:33 in the match. Cowboys led 14-0.

Sergio Vega made his regular dual season debut at his new weight of 149 pounds. Drexel’s No. 24 Anthony Santanello and wrestled a livel scoreless first period. In the second, Vega didn’t waste time and tackled Santanello to the mat moving around from the down position to fall on top and secure the reversal. Santanello got a quick escape to open the third period before Vega submarined underneath on the mat and gained a takedown for a 5-1 lead. Vega (3-0) worked for back points of a fall but ended up with the riding time point for 2:26 and a 6-1 decision. Oklahoma State led 17-0.

The hits just kept on coming after intermission as Casey Swiderski got the nod at 165 pounds after beating teammate Dee Lockett in an emotional final in the Cowboys Invitational. The returning All-American came in ranked No. 5 and with a 2-0 record. He left 3-0 as he used a picture perfect single leg in the third period to wrpa up a 19-4 tech fall over Dom Fidora of Drexel. The Cowboys lead, as a team, up to 28-0. 

At 174 pounds, No. 12 Alex Facundo (3-0) had a battle on his hands with No. 24 Jasiah Queen of Drexel. The two traded escapes into the third period with a 1-1 score and at 1:08 in the third period,  Facundo used a single to get the first takedown. He added another takedown with three seconds left for a 7-2 decision. The team lead swas 31-0. 

Cowboys fans that missed the Cowboy Invitational got an introduction to freshman 184 pounder Mikey White of Indianapolis, Ind. White engaged the OSU fans the best way a wrestler can by scoring early and often. His match with Ethan Wilson had barely started when White had his first takedown.

“I feel like the emotion keeps me excited and keeps the fans excited and gives me more fuel,” White said of the experience. He admitted he cried before coming out for the match. He cried out of excitment.

Wilson was haning on by a thread going to the third period trailing 16-4 and riding time at 1:21 in White’s favor. An escape by Wilson led to a takedown for White. Another escape led to another takedown and at 6:32 White had a 22-6 tech fall. Oklahoma State leading 36-0. 

“I think all of our young kids did a really good job of continuing to score the whole time and did a good job of working to score and kind of setting that expectation,” Taylor said of the four freshmen in the line-up including the lightly experienced White. He didn’t start wrestling until high school.

“It is kind of a product of your environment, Taylor added. “When that is what your team does then you go and look to go do that.”

Entering to his walk up song Kungfu Fighting, No. 2-ranked 197 pounder Cody Merrill (3-1) rolled his opponent Justin Griffith. He scored another tech fall for the Cowboys with a 19-4 win at 5:08 in the match. The Cowboys dual lead ballooned to 41-0. 

Definitely already a fan favorite, athletic heavyweight freshman Dreshawn Ross (4-0) out of Fort Dodge, Iowa started with  hook of the right leg of No. 20 Nate Schon of Drexel. He used a double leg for the second takedown and a 6-1 lead in the first. Ross worked throug to the close with a 14-4 major decision as he added 1:45 in riding time and that closed out the dual. A romping win to start the dual season. 

Oklahoma State will be back in action at home on Friday night when they host No. 3 Nebraska in one of the biggest challenges before the Paycom National Duals Invitational in December.