OSU Wrestling: Lockett Showcases Last-Second Heroics as Cowboys Clobber Northern Iowa 34-3

PHOTOS

STILLWATER — Dee Lockett’s unbeaten streak was seconds away from snapping, but then the Cowboy freshman went full-blown super man.

Oklahoma State beat Northern Iowa 34-3 on Friday night in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The dual’s featured bout was at 165 pounds between No. 2 Lockett and No. 6 Ryder Downey.

Downey was up 4-1 late in the third period, scoring a rare takedown against Lockett in the first. But Lockett got in on a double-leg shot with about seven seconds to go before driving the Panther halfway across the mat.

In his fight to fend off the takedown, Downey was driven straight to his back and gave up the takedown and a pair of nearfall points as time expired. He went from 4-1 up to losing 6-4 in a matter of seconds.

The Cowboy freshman got to his feet and coolly struck a pose with his arms crossed as the 6,510 in attendance went crazy. The sequence went to review and was upheld.

🚨MAMBA MENTALITY ‼️🙌🏼🤠

#2 Ranked/U17 World Champion🥇Dee LOCKETT (OSU) gets the BUZZER BEATER takedown an back points to take out NCAA AA Ryder DOWNEY (UNI) ‼️‼️‼️

The freshman phenom just keeps winning 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hg8Il2Nj0f

— GlobalWrestOrder (@GlobalWresOrder) January 31, 2026

“We talk about in practice sometimes, you got technique and stuff, and then you just got being game,” OSU coach David Taylor said. “Like, he’s a pretty game guy. He’s done that a lot in his career and has done that a couple times this year. He’s gotta make it a little easier on himself. I think that’s the messaging, but there’s a lot of guys that just don’t have the ability to go get those takedowns. So, that’s good that he has that.”

Lockett is 10-0 to start his career with four of those wins coming against Top 10 foes.

To go with Lockett’s win, OSU 174-pounder Alex Facundo continued his strong stretch with a 5-1 win against No. 12 Jared Simma.

Facundo scored the match’s first takedown in the second period and remained the aggressor late in the match, getting in on a pair of takedown attempts while defending his lead.

Early enrollee phenom Jax Forrest easily handled No. 25 Julian Farber, beating the Panther via a 19-4 technical fall. Forrest is 7-0 since enrolling at OSU at the semester.

This marks his fourth date to maintain his redshirt. It’s a weekend thing, meaning if Forrest wrestles Sunday against Iowa State, he’d still just be at four of the five dates. That could all be rendered obsolete should Forrest simply be the Cowboys’ guy moving forward at 133, which is seeming more and more like the case.

That 133-pound match was one of four bonus-point wins for the Pokes, as Sergio Vega (major), Landon Robideau (major) and Konner Doucet (pin) also put extra points on the board for the Pokes.

The Cowboys’ lone loss came at 184 pounds, as No. 8 Zack Ryder dropped his bout against Nick Fox in sudden-victory 3-1.

As the score entails, there wasn’t a ton of offense, but Ryder was in on a leg on a few occasions at the edge of the mat. Ryder nearly scored a match-winning takedown in sudden-victory, but after an exciting scramble, Ryder’s left arm was hanging.

He took injury time but returned time before the match resumed with 11 seconds left in sudden-victory. Because of the injury time, Fox was able to select down and scored a reversal with time dwindling to win the bout. Taylor didn’t get too much into the injury after the dual.

The Cowboys had 20 takedowns in Friday’s dual to UNI’s one. The lone Panther takedown came from Downey taking down Lockett — the first takedown Lockett has given up in his college career.

Despite winning 34-3 and beating the Panthers 20-1 in takedowns, the theme of Taylor’s post-dual presser was that he wanted more out of his group.

“I just think we got more to give,” Taylor said. “It’s a team effort. I think there were some really good things tonight. There are some things that we just can improve. We just gotta keep getting better. …

“I just think there’s an expectation and standard of what we’re working towards. We’re not just trying to win duals. We’re not trying to just beat teams. We are trying to dominate people, and we are trying to continue to get better and separate ourselves. That’s for the benefit of the team and the individuals here.”

GIA is set to host a Top 5 dual on Sunday, as the Cowboys will welcome No. 3 Iowa State to town.

Results

David Taylor’s Post-Dual News Conference

Up Next

What: No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. No. 3 Iowa State
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena
Watch: ESPN+