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Youth Movement Lifts Oklahoma State To Runner-Up Finish At NCAAs – FloWrestling

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Youth Movement Lifts Oklahoma State To Runner-Up Finish At NCAAs – FloWrestling


Uncertainty.

For an Oklahoma State program that began the season with one returning starter, there were a lot of questions about how the program would follow up its first NCAA trophy finish since 2021. However, Cowboy coach David Taylor knew one thing: His team was going to get hardened in November. 

“When you start the season, and there’s just a lot of uncertainty in our lineup going from last year having a very veteran team,” Taylor said. “We talked about this all year — just having that uncertainty. I think about each one of those guys, all 10 of those guys are wrestling in the national tournament. They all just had points of difficulty throughout the year and a lot of those guys had a really tough November. We had a tough early season and we knew we needed that as a team. We needed our guys to be kind of hardened and battle-tested. And then I think at the national tournament, our guys wrestled really well. I think that this young group is just really motivated and hungry and they wrestled their best at the national tournament, which that’s the goal.”

A season that began with uncertainty quickly morphed into one filled with excitement, thanks to a few transfers, a high school phenom enrolling mid-season, and multiple freshmen entering the postseason undefeated. 

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The Cowboys peaked at the right time, finishing second at the NCAA Championships, and made history with three true freshmen national champions in Jax Forrest (133), Sergio Vega (141) and Landon Robideau (157). Oklahoma State also had five more All-Americans in Troy Spratley (fifth at 125), Casey Swiderski (eighth at 149), Zack Ryder (eighth at 184), Cody Merrill (second at 197) and Konner Doucet (fourth at 285). 

Forrest, said the historic milestone of the freshmen is a reflection of the team and its lofty goals.     “I think it just shows how we’ve got some really good coaches, we’ve got some really good guys in the room, and we’re just going to continue to keep getting better,” Forrest said. “But like what coach was saying, yeah, we won nationals, that’s awesome. But now we want to win a team title. We want to beat Penn State. We have a great foundation, but then just keep going forward, keep getting better and just trusting the coaches and win it next year.”

Underdog Now Undeniable

Sergio Vega might have been one of the biggest underdogs on the NCAA finals stage, despite going into the match undefeated on the season. That was a reflection of his opponent — two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez, a senior from Ohio State who spent most of the season as a Hodge Trophy contender. 

Vega kicked off the trio of Cowboy champs by defeating Mendez 4-1 in sudden victory. After securing the winning takedown, Vega raised his fist, smiled and went to embrace his family, sitting matside. 

“It means everything,” Vega said. “I remember telling my brother at the beginning of the year, like it’s going to be awesome when I win the nationals and run up to my family and stuff. It’s been my favorite part of watching the national tournament since I was a little kid. I just always thought it was so cool that their families were always right next to them, and then being able to experience that, there’s nothing like it I’ve experienced in my life. So, it was awesome.”

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Robideau’s Redemption

Landon Robideau went into the NCAA Championships with two losses — one against Nebraska’s Antrell Taylor and another versus Arizona State’s Kaleb Larkin. To make the finals against Taylor, Robideau had to avenge a handful of losses. He had to beat Larkin, who defeated him in the Big 12 finals, and he had to beat Penn State’s PJ Duke in the semifinals, who defeated Robideau in the 2025 U.S. Open. 

“I was just excited,” Robideau said. “I know a lot of people thought my spot in the bracket was tough or was going to be hard. But I said it all year — I want to wrestle the best guys and I think to prove you’re the best at the weight, you have to wrestle them. I lost to Larkin. I had to wrestle him in the quarters, and I was excited for the match. A lot of people, I think, were writing me off for (PJ) Duke, saying he’s the best guy at the weight. I get to wrestle Duke and I was excited for it. And then Antrell (Taylor), same thing — I lost to him. I knew I was going to win. But I think just having that excitement to go into the tournament, wanting to wrestle hard and just showcase my skills was the most important.”

Konner’s Curtain Call

Konner Doucet represented Oklahoma State at the NCAA Championships twice before two-time All-American Wyatt Hendrickson transferred from Air Force and took over at heavyweight for the Cowboys. 

In the current state of college athletics — with the transfer portal and NIL — it would’ve been easy for Doucet to leave Oklahoma State for opportunities elsewhere. Instead, Doucet elected to stick with the Cowboys and spent a year training with Hendrickson before getting a final shot as a senior. 

Doucet registered the highest bonus-point rate of his career and capped his senior season by placing fourth at the NCAA Championships. 

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Taylor recalled embracing Doucet after the senior earned All-America status by pinning Pitt’s Dayton Pitzer in the blood round. 

“It was so awesome,” Taylor said. “You could just see that round is a very emotional round. I think from the stands, it’s emotional. When you’re watching it as a fan, it’s emotional. But being down there on the floor, last year, for the first time? I mean, the emotion of that round is like nothing else that you really kind of prepare for, probably. For him to be there and All-American, obviously, at that time, I felt like our team race was pretty competitive, for second, third place. Felt like that was a big moment for him to not only get the win, but to pin him and be an All-American, and just continuing to move forward.”





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Main Card Results | UFC Oklahoma City

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Main Card Results | UFC Oklahoma City


Du Plessis returns to the Octagon for the first time since losing his middleweight title to Khamzat Chimaev last August. Standing across from him is Usman, a former welterweight champion who defended his title five times, with signature wins over Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington. The pair headline a stacked card filled with rising contenders and can’t-miss prospects.

Where To Watch UFC Oklahoma City

Live results, highlights, fight recaps, post-fight interviews and more will be added throughout the event. Preview each matchup below before the action begins. The main card kicks off Saturday at 8pm ET/5pm PT live on Paramount+ in the United States.

UFC Oklahoma City Main Card Results:

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‘ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!’ Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation

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‘ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!’ Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation


TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa’s U.V. Okies are six-time undefeated Wii bowling champions of the Tulsa Senior Inter-League — and now they’re leveling up.

Nintendo America contacted University Village Retirement Community after the senior bowling team’s story went viral- thanks to their Instagram reels, and features by news outlets like the New York Times and 2 News Oklahoma.

WATCH: POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals:

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POSITIVELY OKLAHOMA: Tulsa Gaming Seniors level up to Nationals

Inspired by their story, the company is donating Nintendo Switch 2 systems to each retirement community in the Tulsa league.

Wayne Wall, Life Enrichment Coordinator at University Village, said the outreach came as a surprise.

“I did not expect to hear from Nintendo at all,” Wall said.

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GALLERY: “ALWAYS OPTIMISTIC!” Tulsa’s U.V. Okies level up with Nintendo donation

The company reached out to Wall about what the team had come to represent.

“They contacted me and said we’re excited about how Wii bowling is bringing people together at this stage of their life and helping them to have that camaraderie and have fun in this stage of their life and we would like to do something to contribute to that, to be a part of that,” Wall said.

Nintendo donated two Nintendo Switch 2 systems for each retirement community in the league, along with additional gear like extra Joy-Cons, and games. Teams from across Tulsa picked up their gifts at the championship celebration on July 16, 2026, at University Village in Tulsa — and the timing could not have been better. The old equipment had run its course.

“The Wii systems were becoming obsolete and hard to replace,” Wall said.

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Come spring 2027, the Tulsa league will make the switch to bowling on the Switch 2. Competing Tulsa teams hope the new systems evens things out.

Fritz Gernandt of the Town Village Strikers had a message for the six-time champions.

“I can only say it once and really loud, look out,” Gernandt said.

The U.V. Okies are not intimidated. Phyllis Wimer, 95 — known on the lanes by nicknames like “The GOAT” and “The Killer” — has already been putting in work on the Switch 2.

KJRH

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“I’ve got the new system at home, and I have bowled a 300 on it, and I’m the only one so far that has,” Wimer said.

Dorothy Salen, 101, who led the U.V. Okies in the national league last fall and goes by “Dangerous Dorothy,” is keeping her trademark outlook heading into the new season.

“Always optimistic!” Salen said.

For the U.V. Okies, the game — and the fun — is never over.

The team has one more Wii bowling match planned before their equipment gets retired. They will play the staff at University Village to raise money for Alzheimer’s awareness next week.

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2 News Oklahoma was the first to bring you the story of the U.V. Okies success, and we’ve been updating you along the way.

You can learn more about University Village HERE.


Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere —





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Oklahoma first responders join rescue efforts as deadly Texas floods claim more lives

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Oklahoma first responders join rescue efforts as deadly Texas floods claim more lives


Deadly flooding in Texas has prompted another wave of Oklahoma first responders to head south to help with rescue and recovery efforts as the death toll continues to rise.

Days of relentless rain have battered the Texas Hill Country, an area often called “Flash Flood Valley,” turning rivers into violent torrents that ripped out trees, washed away roads, and left communities underwater.

In Kerr County, floodwaters tore apart a roadway, leaving twisted pavement and debris behind.

The devastation comes one year after catastrophic flooding that claimed more than 130 lives across Texas.

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Hundreds of rescue crews from across the nation have mobilized to Texas, including teams from Oklahoma and the United Cajun Navy, to save lives and limit further loss.

On Tuesday, Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management deployed 25 members of Oklahoma Task Force One to Texas. Brad Smith, an Oklahoma Task Force leader, said, “It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. We know what to expect.”

By Thursday, another Oklahoma team rolled south, made up of Oklahoma City firefighters, an Oklahoma City police officer and members of the Yukon Fire Department. Guymon’s specialized swiftwater search and rescue team also responded. “This is a highly trained group of people, very experienced,” Smith said. “We’ve been to out-of-state deployments on this type of thing before and feel very confident in the type of work we’ll be expected to do down there.”

The crews are joining a growing interstate response centered in the Texas Hill Country, now the epicenter of the flooding disaster.

Amy Metz, chief meteorologist with the United Cajun Navy, described the intensity of the flooding and the challenges it has created for rescuers. “They couldn’t get boats to somebody who was submerged in a vehicle in a tree, and so I did hear later after about an hour and a half there were able to get that man to safety,” Metz said.

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Metz also described damage caused by the force of the water. “It picked up a barge, one that was there to do some cleanup from last year’s floods, got lifted and thrown down the dam probably a half mile up to a mile away, crashing into a bridge that is now gone,” she said.

At least two people have died, and more than 200 people have been rescued.

Several rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms during the past two days have flooded six Texas counties.

Metz said the rainfall totals have been extreme. “Since Monday, the Hill Country has seen at least 20 inches of rain. That could very well have gone up to 30 in some places and with it river rise. The gauges did show within one hour it shot up 25 feet,” she said.

Metz said the United Cajun Navy is prepared to help with boat ferry deliveries and highway cleanup with chainsaws once flooding subsides.

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