It’s a fact and not a statement that the Oklahoma State Cowboys are a favorite in the crowd. The No. 3 NCAA wrestling team is creating new heights. Ever since David Taylor’s addition to the team, the prominence is being carried forward since John Smith left with highlighting wins coming from its wrestlers.

The wins, however, aren’t just limited to the NCAA. Ever since winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Cowboys have looked forward to making their mark internationally too. The two individual titles that come from their wrestlers Wyatt Hendrickson and Dean Hamiti Jr. have opened the scope for others too. The 2025 Dan Kolov International is one such example.

Dan Kolov has Cowboys wrestlers in success

The 2025 Dan Kolov International wrestling tournament came with success for the Cowboys. The event took place in Bulgaria from January 24th to 26th and showcased some of the finest performances by a total of 16 wrestlers from Team USA. Two from David Taylor’s team in participation emerged out with successful wins in the men’s freestyle division.

In the 86 kg category, Cowboys’s Zahid Valencia stood out prominently, bagging the first spot at the event. Defeating Chance Marstellar, the wrestler took a clear victory by 10-0. Starting off with his first win over Tornike Samkharadze by 12-2, the success followed in the second round, winning by 18-5 over Grigor Chernakov. His semi-finals win by 11-0 came over Matthew Finesilver, leading to his gold medal win against Chance, the USA player.

Not just him, but there was another Cowboys wrestler that brought in success at the event. In the 61 kg category, Daton Fix took the first spot, scoring 23 points in the finals. Starting off with a 10-0 win over Yaroslav Hurskyy in the quarters, the wrestler advanced in the semis and qualified to the finals after claiming the victory over Razvan Kovacs by 10-0. The finals round came with a 3-0 defeat over Devan Turner.

Both the wins were promising. The Cowboys wrestler put up quite the show, representing Team USA. On the other hand, Cael Sanderson’s Penn State, who have been dominating the NCAA ranking at the top spot, comes under major comparison now.

Where does Penn State stand?

The Penn State wrestling team had a total of ten wrestlers under the top-7 ranking in the first list of NCAA coaches rankings. Under it come four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight categories. Tyler Kasak at 157 pounds, Mitchell Mesenbrink at 165 pounds, Carter Starocci at 184 pounds, and Greg Kerkvliet at 285 pounds. Beau Bartlett and Levi Haines take the second rank.

Coming to their previous season wins, Aaron Brooks 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal win in the 86 kg category was a promising one. Adding to it came their participation at the United World Wrestling U20 World Championship. Four of its wrestlers, as part of the event, claimed the top-five spot in their respective weight classes, with three of them bringing in the medals. At the 57 kg event, Luke Lilledahl won the gold medal, while in the 79 kg category, Zack Ryder got the silver medal, and Josh Barr took home the silver medal win in the 86 kg event.

All these achievements, however, come in significance to the fact that Penn State, despite being at No. 1, has not currently levelled up it’s game beyond the NCAA as much as David Taylor’s Cowboys. The relevance also comes with Cael Sanderson rejecting the idea of the National Duals of November.