OSU Wrestling: Cowboy Freshmen Show Out in Debut, OSU Beats Stanford 33-7

PHOTOS

STILLWATER — There were five freshmen in David Taylor’s opening day lineup, and all five of them got their hands raised.

Oklahoma State beat Stanford 33-7 to start the Cowboys’ 2025-26 wrestling season. After keeping his lineup close to his vest throughout the preseason, Taylor sent out a trio of true freshmen and a pair of redshirt freshmen.

“These kids, they’re hungry and they want to wrestle,” Taylor said. “We talk about wrestling with some passion. Wrestle with some passion, and I thought that’s what they did tonight. That’s a hard match to step up as a freshman and wrestle.”

Two of those true freshmen put the nation on notice with wins against top-five opponents.

Landon Robideau made the walk at 157 pounds for the Cowboys after sharing an OR with Teague Travis on the Cowboys’ projected lineup. It had to be a big moment for the three-time Minnesota state champ, but it was made all the more massive by the fact that No. 4 Daniel Cardenas, a 2024 All-American, was standing across from him.

And Robideau dominated him.

The freshman scored a pair of first-period takedowns to take a 6-1 lead into the second period. He started that second period on bottom and was promptly given a German suplex, landing scarily on his head. The officials went to the monitor and ruled it an illegal slam.

Robideau led 8-1 after two periods and capped the match off with a third takedown, eliciting the loudest reaction from the 7,618 in attendance all night, as he locked up the major decision.

“It was exciting,” Robideau said. “It was obviously my first dual, so I didn’t really have any expectation of what the crowd was gonna be like. I just kinda focused on my match and what I needed to do. Once I got out there and got that first takedown, it was pretty exciting just to hear everything around me go insane.”

This wasn’t totally out of nowhere, as Robideau was a blue-chip recruit. Flo considered him the No. 5 wrestler in the 2025 recruiting class. He won at Who’s Number One, Super 32 and Fargo as a high schooler.

An intermission came after the 157-pound match (where Cowgirl wrestler Molly Allen made quick work of her exhibition opponent) before another true freshman was set to wrestle a ranked foe.

LaDarion “Dee” Lockett has been waiting seemingly forever to make his Cowboy debut. A product of Stillwater High School, Lockett went 153-3 as a Pioneer, winning four Oklahoma State titles. Flo considered him the No. 3 wrestler in the class.

He squared off with No. 4 Hunter Garvin, who has been an All-American the past two seasons for the Cardinal.

Lockett’s bout wasn’t as high pace, as he won it 2-1, but it was impressive nonetheless.

After a scoreless first period, Lockett rode Garvin for the entire second. He escaped to start the third and gave up a stall point, but that impressive ride was enough to get the win.

“I think we have a great group of guys, and we’re all sticking to the gameplan,” Lockett said. “We’re all like-minded, so we’re all doing the same things. So, having guys like that to push me, you know, Landon’s the weight under me, so wrestling a guy like that who you just see major the No. 4 guy is just making me better. Now I just gotta catch up to him in the takedown race.”

Sergio Vega, the other true freshman who wrestled, went at 141 for the Pokes and dominated Jack Consiglio 16-1. Vega, out of Tucson, Arizona, got a takedown and four nearfall points in the first period. He led 10-0 after two thanks to a reversal and a stall point before scoring two more takedowns in the third to close out the bout.

Although no Cowboy finished their night with a pin, OSU did record four technical falls, coming from Vega, Troy Spratley (125), Alex Facundo (174) and Konner Doucet (HWT).

Doucet had been known for his slower-paced matches, but he transformed his body in his year sitting behind national champ Wyatt Hendrickson and scored six takedowns on Jackson Mankowski to win 19-4. It was the fourth tech fall of Doucet’s now-six-year career.

The Cowboys’ losses came at 133 and 149, both of which were ranked matchups.

Arizona State transfer Richard Figueroa II scored nine points in the first period against No. 6 Tyler Knox, but those were all the points the 2024 125-pound national champ would score. Knox went from down 9-6 after one period to a 13-9 decision win.

After winning his bout at the NWCA All-Star Classic, Casey Swiderski, an Iowa State transfer, dropped his official OSU debut against No. 18 Aden Valencia 13-3. The 149-pound weight class looks to be a chaotic one. Swiderski was ranked fourth entering the All-Star Classic. The win there bumped him up to No. 2 in the rankings. Then he dropped his bout to the No. 18 wrestler in the class.

Results

Highlights

David Taylor Post-Dual News Conference

Up Next

What: National Duals Invitational
When: Nov. 15 & 16
Where: BOK Center in Tulsa