OSU Wrestling: LaDarion Lockett Wins U20 World Team Trials, Makes Third World Team

Incoming Oklahoma State freshman LaDarion Lockett proved again this weekend that he is the best 74 kg American in his age group.

Lockett won the United State’s U20 World Team Trials, beating Penn State commit Jayden James 2-0 in a best-of-three final. Lockett won the opening match 6-1 before teching James 15-2 in the second.

Ladarion Lockett put on a show in the U20 best of 3 finals and defeated Jayden James to make the U20 World Team at 74 kg! 🇺🇸💧 pic.twitter.com/ILjFfq7qYF

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) May 31, 2025

It’s the third world team that Lockett has made. He won gold at the U17 World Championships in 2023 before earning silver at the U20 World Championships last year in Pontevedra, Spain. Lockett and the rest of the United State’s U20 team will wrestle in Bulgaria starting on Aug. 18.

It’s been an outstanding freestyle season for Lockett to this point. He won the U20 U.S. Open, which gave him a pass into the best-of-three final this past weekend. Lockett also won senior gold at the Pan American Championships.

Lockett was the only Cowboy to make a world team this weekend, but there were some other standout performances.

Incoming freshman Landon Robideau made it to the best-of-three portion of the 70 kg bracket but fell to incoming Penn State freshman PJ Duke. To make the final, Robideau beat Melvin Miller, the top recruit in the 2027 class.

Class of 2026 commit Dreshaun Ross earned a spot in the best-of-three final at 125 kg but fell to Penn State redshirt Cole Mirasola in two matches.

Redshirt freshman Cody Merrill was close to earning a spot in the best-of-three final at 92 kg but fell in the bracket’s final to Bucknell’s Dillon Bechtold, an NCAA qualifier this past season.

Good luck stopping a Cody Merrill leg lace 🤕 #wrestlegeneva

2025 U23 Nationals & U20 World Team Trials | Live stream, brackets and schedule at 🔗 in bio. pic.twitter.com/02oQgExqKq

— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) May 31, 2025

The U23 National Championships were also this weekend. The brackets were behemoths. OSU had two placers at 86 kg. Jersey Robb placed fifth, while Brayden Thompson finished eighth.

Robb, a redshirt sophomore from Bixby, made it to the semifinals before suffering a 4-2 loss to Maryland’s Jaxon Smith. Smith was an All-American last season. Robb fell 8-5 to Simon Ruiz, another All-American, in the consolation semis before beating Lehigh’s Rylan Rogers in the fifth-place match via medical forfeit. Robb’s most impressive win in the tournament came against NC State’s Dylan Fishback. Robb beat Fishback, a two-time NCAA qualifier, 5-2 on the front side of the bracket. Fishback ended up finishing third.

After winning his first match, Thompson lost to West Virginia’s Ian Bush before going on a run through the consolation side. Thompson battled back to a second meeting with Bush, where this time, the Cowboy avenged his loss before dropping a bout against Fishback in the consolation quarters.