Wrestling Notebook: David Taylor Talks Jax Forrest’s Weekend, Tagen Jamison’s Return to the Mat

Even in a weekend where the Cowboys didn’t have a dual, there’s a lot going on with Oklahoma State wrestling.

David Taylor met with the media on Wednesday to discuss OSU’s successes at the Cyclone Open and preview upcoming duals against Missouri and Utah Valley. Here are three things that stood out.

On Jax’s Second College Weekend

A week after pinning a guy in 47 seconds in front of 12,000 people, Jax Forrest got a taste of a different side of college wrestling this past weekend when he was part of a group that went up to Ames for the Cyclone Open.

Forrest went 4-0 at the event, beating two-time U23 world champion Reineri Ortega 4-0 in the final.

In his first three matches, he beat a Northwestern backup via a tech fall, an Illinois backup via a tech fall and pinned an Iowa State backup.

The tournament wasn’t streamed, meaning you had to be in the arena to see Forrest’s matchup with a fellow U23 world champ. In some ways, that’s sort of cool, but boy, would’ve loved to see it.

Taylor explained how he saw the match and Forrest’s weekend.

“He looked good,” Taylor said. “He was able to just get a couple more matches. Obviously, you have his electric one here, and not every time you wrestle is going to be like that. Just trying to get him a well-rounded opportunity to kind of see what it’s like and still go to wrestle the Ortega kid in the finals. He’s pretty good. He’s a couple-time U23 world champion. Really good on his feet, so the kid was a good match for Jax. Just demonstrated some really good patience, and then his scrambling ability was a difference maker. There wasn’t a lot of mat wrestling. I think there would’ve been a big edge there, just wasn’t a lot of mat wrestling in the match. But good for him. Show some patience and figured it out, and scored a lot of points in the other matches.”

The Cyclone Open was the second of five dates Forrest can use while maintaining a redshirt. Or, he could not redshirt and wrestle the Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments as an early enrollee freshman.

“You got five dates, and you just want to give him a well-rounded experience,” Taylor said. “You got home matches, you got away matches, you got a tournament to go wrestle. We just gotta keep kind of figuring that stuff out. When we have a decision (whether Forrest will redshirt), we’ll let you guys know, but it’s still something that we’re working through.”

Jamison Returns to the Mat

Tagen Jamison was the Cowboys’ starter at 141 pounds the past two seasons, but an injury this summer saw him miss the start of this season.

Jamison made his season debut at the Cyclone Open, wrestling unattached at 149 pounds. He took second in that bracket to talented Missouri freshman Seth Mendoza.

Taylor was asked about Jamison’s weekend and whether he had a shot at getting into the lineup.

“He’s working himself kind of back into wrestling shape,” Taylor said. “Casey (Swiderski is) doing a great job right now. We have a lot of guys on our team and focusing on just everyone getting matches. I think the biggest thing from the Cyclone Open was just a lot of guys getting matches that maybe haven’t gotten matches. You just gotta keep progression, everybody forward. …

“Tagen’s a very explosive, strong wrestler. I think that he looked good there this weekend. He wrestled five matches — that’s a lot when you go from essentially you just get cleared and you go wrestle. That’s a long day of wrestling. I think he’s doing a good job in his recovery. Nick Goldstein is our trainer, he’s awesome. Spent a lot of time in progressing him, and Tagen’s a pretty strong guy, so he’s gonna recover pretty quickly.”

Teague Travis Wrestling for the Tigers

Friday’s dual against Missouri has the chance to showcase some pretty fun matchups — like No. 8 Zack Ryder vs. No. 3 Aeoden Sinclair at 184 pounds.

But the bout at 157 pounds could carry an extra storyline.

Former Cowboy Teague Travis transferred to Missouri. Travis was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the Cowboys, including at 149 pounds last season when he returned from an injury to jump into the lineup at the Big 12 Tournament.

Travis’ projected matchup would be against OSU freshman Landon Robideau.

“I think really just go out and wrestle,” Taylor said. “Everyone here had good relationships with Teague, but the minute he decided to go and wrestle somewhere else, he’s not on our team anymore — he knows that. But I think he’s a tough — really tough — kid. Landon and him had a wrestle-off earlier this year, and they’ll likely be wrestling probably this weekend. Teague’s a tough competitor. Very tough kid. One of those things where you’re excited to see him, but you gotta go wrestle against him.”