OSU Wrestling: No. 5 Cowboys Roll Past No. 3 Iowa State, Winning 24-9

PHOTOS

Drew Mestemaker walks Cowboys out.

STILLWATER — Sergio Vega looked dead to rights in the third period of his bout with Anthony Echemendia, but as he always does, Vega kept scrambling.

Oklahoma State’s 24-9 victory against Iowa State saw No. 2 vs. No. 3 going at it at 141 pounds.

No. 3 Echemendia got in on a leg and No. 2 Vega nearly ended up on his back before he contorted himself in a way where he was able to get up and away from the All-American.

A few moments later, Echemendia was in on Vega’s leg again, but this time the Cyclone left his ankle open, and Vega grabbed it and was able to push for a match-winning takedown of his own. The Iowa State corner threw a challenge brick, but the call was upheld.

IN THE CLUTCH.#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/x6xOpJm26i

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) February 1, 2026

Vega and Echemendia are both Sunnyside High School alums from Arizona. There were three seconds left after the takedown review, before action returned, the two wrestlers shared an embrace, and Echemendia wrapped around Vega’s waist and lifted him in the air.

“Just getting tough,” Vega said. “I feel like the last couple months that I’ve been here, just practicing with Casey (Swiderski), Landon (Robideau), all the bigger guys getting one me. It’s tough sometimes, getting beat up sometimes, but I feel like in that third period when things got tough, I was ready for it.”

Vega is now 12-0 in his freshman season with three Top 5 wins.

From a sentimental reunion to one that was … less sentimental. The 149-pound match had the intrigue of some personal feelings with No. 12 Casey Swiderski wrestling against his former team and No. 6 Jacob Frost.

Swiderski won 4-2, scoring his takedown with less than a minute left. The score sent GIA into a fever pitch. Swiderski appeared to send some words the Iowa State corner’s way on his way back to a reset and was able to hold for the win.

Made for the moment.#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/WUonY5THS8

— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) February 1, 2026

“(The emotions) were high,” Swiderski said. “It was an opportunity for me to just stay present like coach tells me, just wrestle, have clarity. I couldn’t hold back a little bit at the end, but it was a big moment for me a little bit.

“Went through a lot. Had a lot of people say things about me. It was fun. It was really fun.”

After starting 0-4, Swiderski is up to 10-5 on the year. All five of Swiderski’s losses are to guys currently in the Top 16 of the weight class, and three of those losses were to guys currently in the Top 5.

The most hotly contested bout of the night came at 197 pounds, where No. 7 Cody Merrill came up just short of No. 2 Rocky Elam 4-1 in tiebreakers.

Merrill was in on a leg in the first period, putting Elam’s ankle on Merrill’s shoulder. In an attempt to keep Merrill away, Elam deployed a straight-arm choke with his leg in the air. Merrill was given a point because of the dangerous hold, but Elam fended off the takedown, which proved to be crucial.

In the sudden-victory period, Merrill was close on another takedown, as he had both of Elam’s ankles on the edge of the mat, but after a review, the official determined Elam stayed out of trouble long enough for the period to end.

Merrill rode his entire tiebreaker before choosing neutral after being ridden the entire third period. Merrill’s push for a match-winning takedown saw him get taken down to drop the bout 4-1.

Although Merrill dropped the match, this was a strong performance from the redshirt freshman. Elam is a four-time All-American who will be in contention for a national title come next month.

“Now you know, ‘OK, this is where I stand against the best guys in the country,'” Taylor said. “Maybe alleviate some of that stuff. He’s got some good matches coming up. He’s gonna get some good guys coming up and keep having some opportunities to make adjustments and make improvements.”

Landon Robideau also picked up another Top 10 win when he bested No. 8 Vinny Zerban 4-1, scoring his takedown in the third.

No. 7 Alex Facundo grabbed his fifth consecutive Top 15 win when he beat No. 13 MJ Gaitan 4-2 at 174 pounds. Facundo also scored his takedown in the third period, with the move starting with Gaitan on Facundo’s shoulders while Facundo was on his knees before Facundo switched to a double leg, stood up and dropped the Cyclone.

After his 1-3 start, Facundo is 12-4.

OSU picked up bonus points in two spots.

This first came when newcomer Jax Forrest throttled Osmany Diversent via a 16-0 tech fall. The match ended almost right when the second period started. Of the first eight matches of Sunday’s dual, seven saw the first period end scoreless. Meanwhile Forrest was up 13-0 after his first period.

Sunday was supposed to be a big match for Forrest, but Iowa State’s regular 133-pounder, No. 3 Evan Frost, was out with the flu. Frost also missed the Cyclones’ Friday dual in Norman.

After saving his Friday match to the literal last second, Dee Lockett put some space between himself and No. 16 Conner Euton on Sunday, winning via a 12-3 major decision.

Lockett did most of his scoring in the second period, where he recorded two takedowns and four nearfall points. Lockett’s second takedown was extra slick, as he feinted at one of Euton’s ankles before ripping the other out from under him.

The Cyclones were without their starter at 133, and the Pokes were without theirs at 184. Zack Ryder suffered a shoulder injury in his match Friday night and was unavailable Sunday.

Redshirt senior Trevor Dopps filled in there for the Pokes, dropping his match to No. 12 Isaac Dean 5-1. Dopps was down 2-1 early in the third period but gave up a takedown.

Taylor described Ryder as week to week.

After hosting one home dual between Nov. 7 and Jan. 10, the Cowboys are back in GIA on Friday for their fourth home dual in two weeks when they host Little Rock at 7 p.m.

Results

Post-Dual News Conference