Oklahoma State Wrestling head coach David Taylor makes feelings known after the Cowboys defeated Iowa State in a recent dual. The two teams entered the mat as unbeaten in the Big 12 and showcased their skills again in front of a packed Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Taylor, who built a stellar career as a Nittany Lion and became one of the most successful wrestlers in the program’s history, joined the Oklahoma State wrestling team as head coach after the 2024 US Olympic Trials.
David Taylor Gets Real About Oklahoma State Wrestling’s Recent Win Over Iowa State
Taylor has been on a winning spree since his first year as head coach. He led his mentees to a 13-1 dual meet record and to a third-place finish in the NCAA Championships. He also helped two of the Cowboys wrestlers, Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson, to become individual champions.
The Oklahoma State team entered the 2026 season as the 5th-ranked in the NWCA Coaches poll, and was off to a strong start. They outclassed Arizona State and Air Force by decision to set their footing for the season ahead. In the ongoing set of duals at Gallagher Arena, OSU holds a combined all-time advantage of 101-49-5 over Iowa State, Little Rock, Northern Iowa, and Utah Valley.
After trouncing the Cyclones 24–9 on Feb. 1, 2026, in front of the second-largest crowd of the season at the arena, head coach Taylor said the venue gave them extra motivation to perform at their best and added that he hopes to turn more heads in the coming days.
“There was a lot of energy in there tonight. There are not many wrestling places that feel like that. It was awesome. These guys were exciting, and we’re going to keep giving you things to be excited about,” he said.
The Cowboys will next face Little Rock, capping their four-meet series, on Feb. 6, before facing Virginia Tech on the 15th, and then closing out the season against the Iowa Hawkeyes on the 22nd.
Taylor welcomed a blend of veterans and promising newcomers to the roster for the 2025–26 season. While Troy Spratley and Richard Figueroa arrived with stellar trajectories, true freshman Sergio Vega, redshirt freshman Zack Ryder, and Cody Merrill were largely untested.
The two-time NCAA champion and head coach said that building depth has always been one of the most challenging aspects of assembling a team, but it is also what has brought the greatest success in wrestling history.
The 35-year-old also had a dominant freestyle career. He won three World titles and the 86 kg title at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Hawkeyes? Iowa?