OSU Wrestling: Forrest Wins United States World Team Trials, Robideau Takes Third

After losing to Ben Davino at last month’s U.S. Open, Jax Forrest left little doubt at the United States World Team Trials.

Forrest teched Davino 11-1 on Friday in Louisville. It’s the third time in three months the two have wrestled a high-profile match, starting with Forrest’s NCAA final win before Davino got the better of the Cowboy at the Open. But now Forrest is back on top.

A big issue Forrest ran into in that U.S. Open bout was that he got down early, and Davino’s strong defense was too much for Forrest to overcome. That wasn’t the case Friday, as it was Forrest who secured an early takedown, scoring on a double-leg that Forrest was able to hold onto through the takedown and score a turn to go up 4-0 about a minute into the match.

The next scoring exchange came in the second period when Davino got in on a leg, but Forrest hit a crotch lift, taking the Buckeye over for another two points. The two rolled and Davino got on the board with a reversal to make Forrest’s lead 6-1.

Forrest had a slick go behind shortly after the two were brought back to their feet. Forrest didn’t rest on his laurels, though, as he pushed for the tech, getting in on a leg and eventually finishing.

The win in Louisville means Forrest will wrestle Penn State’s Marcus Blaze, who won the U.S. Open, at Final X on June 19 in Newark, New Jersey. The winner of that best-of-three series will represent the United States at the Senior World Championships in October in Bahrain.

Forrest will join Wyatt Hendrickson and Zahid Valencia as Cowboy RTC athletes competing for a World Team spot at Final X.

Robideau Beats Williams for Third

Forrest isn’t the only Cowboy leaving Louisville with some senior-level glory.

Reigning 157-pound NCAA champ Landon Robideau beat former OSU wrestler Jordan Williams 7-0 to take third in the 70 kg bracket. This weekend was Robideau’s first wrestling at the senior level after winning the U20 U.S. Open last month.

Robideau scored four points in the first period — all via step-outs. Then he opened the second period with another step-out point to go up 5-0.

Needing a lot of points, Williams turned up the pace late, but an errant shot saw Robideau land on top for the match’s first and only takedown.

At the end of this month, Robideau will wrestle at the U20 World Team Trials, where he has a bye to the final after winning the Open. Should he win the best-of-three series against whomever comes out of the bracket, Robideau would have the opportunity to represent the United States at the U20 World Championships in August in Slovakia.