In what may be the regular season’s most-anticipated dual, #3 Nebraska travels Friday to take on #2 Oklahoma State.
Nebraska and Oklahoma State are both 1-0 on the year with the Huskers downing #10 Wyoming 28-9 last weekend and the Cowboys beating Drexel 45-0. This Friday’s dual will take place at 7 p.m. and will air on ESPNU. After initially being set for streaming on ESPN+, it has since been elevated to a cable audience.
So tune in Friday night…you’ll be glad you did.
Of the 20 wrestlers who are likely
to compete, 19 of them are ranked nationally at their weight class — with 15 among the Top-10 in their weight. From 125 to 157 pounds, there will be a total of FIVE NCAA CHAMPIONS between the two teams.
Oklahoma State has a trio of 2026 true freshman champions in Jax Forrest, Sergio Vega and Landon Robideau. Nebraska counters with a pair of 2025 NCAA Champions in Vincent Robinson and Antrell Taylor. For Taylor and Robideau, it’ll be a rematch of last season’s NCAA final that Robideau won 4-2.
With everyone attempting to chase down #1 Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma State are the teams that currently have the best shot as they’ve each built squads that are extremely tough top to bottom.
In the end, the winner of this dual looks to stake their claim to the #2 spot early this season.
Here’s how the dual looks going into Friday.
Weight-By-Weight Preview
125 pounds
One thing is clear — Nebraska will send out #4 Vincent Robinson — a two-time All-American and 2025 NCAA Champion. A transfer from NC State, Robinson thinks his move to Lincoln will help him return to the top of the podium.
On Friday night, he’ll take on either #6 Troy Spratley or true freshman Rocklin Zinkin. Spratley has not competed this season as he’s been dealing with a shoulder injury, but Zinkin has been great against lesser opponents — he’s 5-0 with each win coming with bonus points.
A lot changes though when you go from wrestling unranked opponents to facing a former champion in Robinson. The cousin of Nebraska redshirt freshman Nikade Zinkin, Rocklin Zinkin is certainly gifted, but this would be a tall order this early in his career.
If it’s Spratley who takes the mat, these two have some history — Robinson is 4-1 against Spratley, downing him 2-1 in tiebreakers in the 2025 NCAA final. Last year at NCAAs, Spratley won an 8-5 decision in the second round, but Robinson flipped the script quickly by downing him 3-2 in tiebreakers on the back side of the bracket.
Regardless of his opponent, Robinson looks like the favorite here and should start the Huskers off with a win in this one.
133 pounds
This is where Oklahoma State’s lineup gets scary good. Nebraska’s #7 Jacob Van Dee returns to the mat after his opening-season loss to take on #1 Jax Forrest.
An undefeated NCAA Champion last year as a true freshman, Forrest has been dominant — he’s 4-0 this season with two pins and two wins via technical fall. At the Cowboy Invite, he beat #6 TK Davis of Gardner-Webb 20-4 via tech.
A truly generational talent, Forrest looks like the kind of wrestler who could just run the table throughout his college career — he’s going to be incredibly tough to beat.
Coming off a 5-4 loss to #11 Luke Willochell of Wyoming where he struggled with a long and lanky opponent, Van Dee will see a lot of similarities with the long and lanky Forrest. The problem is that Forrest is a lot better than Willochell.
I hate to say it because I think very highly of Van Dee, but a win here would be a serious upset.
141 pounds
In a likely clash between true freshmen, Nebraska’s Lincoln Sledzianowski will take on #13 Jayden Raney of Oklahoma State.
A former teammate in high school of Forrest and fellow phenom (#1 at 141 pounds) Bo Bassett of Virginia Tech who just won a Senior World Championship in freestyle, Sledzianowski is a very talented prospect who won his first career match 11-2 via major decision against Wyoming.
For the record, Forrest agrees with me…
Sledzianowski will get his chance to prove it against Raney, a true blue-chip recruit in his own right. Raney is 3-0 this year and beat out senior Tagen Jamison 6-5 by decision at the Cowboy Open to win the spot. Last time out, Raney won via 22-6 tech fall in a dual against Drexel.
I’m really interested to see how this match goes because both wrestlers have a lot of question marks, being true freshmen and all. This match could really swing this dual.
Of note, Nebraska has a competition going on at 141 between Sledzianowski, Jake Hockaday and Omar Ayoub. Hockaday went to compete at the Dakota Wesleyan Open this past weekend against non-DI opponents, winning the title with a 5-0 record with four wins via technical fall and another via major. Ayoub has been dealing with a hand injury and hasn’t wrestled this season.
I would expect Sledzianowski to get the nod being the hot hand, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Hockaday in the lineup.
149 pounds
In yet another marquee matchup, Nebraska’s #5 Anthony Echemendia will take on #1 Sergio Vega.
Both Echemendia and Vega moved up from 141 pounds this season after meeting twice a year ago. Vega won both those matches narrowly (2-1 in tiebreakers and a 4-2 decision) on his way to winning an NCAA title as a true freshman at 141 — without giving up a single takedown the entire season.
This season, Echemendia started his Husker career with a 17-4 major decision win against Wyoming, while Vega is 3-0 on the year. At the Cowboy Invite, Vega beat teammate Jordyn Raney — the twin brother of Jayden — via 16-4 major. Last time out, Vega beat #27 Anthony Santaniello of Drexel 6-1.
Echemendia finds himself as a serious underdog, but both of those matches a year ago were incredibly close. If Echemendia can figure out how to finish a takedown against Vega (nobody has yet), he can hand him his first collegiate loss.
157 pounds
In the biggest match of the biggest dual of the year, Nebraska’s #3 Antrell Taylor will take on #1 Landon Robideau of Oklahoma State in a rematch of last season’s NCAA final. After beating Robideau in tiebreakers in their dual match last season — handing Robideau his first college loss — Taylor fell to the Oklahoma State freshman 4-2 in the national final.
Looking to end his career back on top of the podium, Taylor has been on a mission this offseason — he won his season-opener 17-4 via major against Wyoming.
Robideau is 3-0 on the year with all his wins coming with bonus points — including a pin in his win against Drexel.
If you’re watching this dual, this is the match to watch — two of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country toeing the line this early in the season doesn’t always happen.
Get your popcorn ready.
165 pounds
In one of the biggest early-season surprises, Nebraska sent out #5 Meyer Shapiro last weekend at 165 pounds in place of the injured LJ Araujo. Shapiro transferred to Nebraska from Cornell this offseason and was set to sit the season out while he trains and gets fully healthy for a run at 157 pounds next season, but with 5-for-5 a thing, he’s been thrust into the lineup up at 165.
Shapiro won his opening match via 19-3 tech in front of a huge Devaney Center crowd last weekend, setting up a big matchup between him and Oklahoma State’s #6 Casey Swiderski that could determine who wins the dual. A former two-time All-American at 149 pounds, Swiderski has moved up two weight classes and beat out incumbent Ladarion Lockett for the starting spot here — Swiderski won a 4-3 decision in tiebreakers against Lockett at the Cowboy Invite.
One of the top prospects coming out of high school in the history of the sport, Shapiro is undersized at 165, but his raw talent and wrestling ability make him a dangerous opponent. After all, he is a two-time age-level World Champion in freestyle.
I expect Shapiro to win this match, but Swiderski is no slouch — he’s an extremely talented and tough opponent who will test Shapiro.
It’s possible that at this point of the dual, Nebraska will need Shapiro to earn the win here to stop the bleeding because Oklahoma State is favored in the four prior matches.
174 pounds
In a match where Nebraska is favored, #2 Christopher Minto will take on Oklahoma State’s #14 Alex Facundo in a must-win match.
These two met twice last year with Facundo winning the early-season dual matchup 2-1 before Minto got it back with a 4-1 decision win in a dual. Minto went on to make the NCAA final last season, while Facundo didn’t place at NCAAs.
This season, Minto started his season with a 10-4 win against Wyoming, while Facundo is 3-0. A former Penn State transfer, Facundo beat his teammate, a Stanford transfer this season Lorenzo Norman via 7-5 decision at the Cowboy Invite. Last time out, Facundo beat Drexel’s #30 Jasiah Queen 7-2.
A returning NCAA finalist, Minto is the clear favorite here, but the fact that Facundo has beaten him before certainly makes it less certain.
184 pounds
This is a tough match to pin down. Last week, Nebraska sent #14 Lucas Cochran to the Dakota Wesleyan Open — a tournament with non-DI teams — where he went 4-0 with a pin, two techs and a major. In the Wyoming dual, Nebraska sent out backup Ethan DeLeon who scored two early takedowns in his 13-8 loss to #6 Eddie Neitenbach.
Cochran is still working his way back from a knee surgery, but I’d expect after his performance this past weekend that he’ll be in the lineup here — despite DeLeon’s promising performance. A backup in State College, Cochran wrestled at 197 and heavyweight for Penn State, but he’s down to 184 for the Huskers.
Cochran could make his Husker debut against Oklahoma State’s #10 Michael White — a true freshman who has been turning heads with his 3-0 record. White beat All-American transfer Bennett Berge 10-4 for the starting spot here and just won via 22-6 tech against Drexel.
For a team that is not scared to throw out elite freshman talent right away, White looks like one of the next in line for the Cowboys. The question is whether the senior Cochran can out-wrestle the upstart young talent in this one to steal a very important match for this dual.
197 pounds
Coming off a 4-1 loss to #4 Joey Novak of Wyoming, nobody is taking Nebraska’s #5 Camden McDanel to beat Oklahoma State’s #2 Cody Merrill.
But I am.
Yes, McDanel lost to Merrill twice last year, but they were both incredibly close matches — 2-1 in tiebreakers and 2-1 in regulation. That shows me that McDanel is right there with Merrill and is bound to break through at some point with a win.
Merrill is 3-1 on the year with his only loss coming via injury default against #3 Stephen Little of Little Rock at the Cowboy Invite. He returned the next week to earn a 19-4 win via tech against Drexel.
In another Top-5 matchup in this dual, this one carries a lot of importance — not only for this dual, but for postseason seeding.
285 pounds
I am so excited for this match. We will see two of the best young heavies in the country take the mat in a wide-open 285-pound weight class. The winner of this match will truly be considered an NCAA title threat going forward.
Nebraska’s redshirt freshman #9 Cade Ziola will take on true freshman #15 Dreshaun Ross to end this dual. A Nebraska high school legend taking on an Iowa high school legend — and now the anchors of their respective teams.
Ziola started his career in the starting lineup with a dominant 19-4 tech over Wyoming’s backup, while Ross is 4-0 to start his collegiate career with three techs and a major decision. Last time out, Ross beat #16 Nate Schun of Drexel 14-4 by major.
Both of these two young wrestlers are incredibly tall and long, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays into each wrestler’s strategy and performance.
The dual could realistically come down to the winner of this match.
