The OSU Cowboys have begun the new year with a bang. The Gallagher-Iba arena was packed with people on the Friday night win against the Air Force Falcons. While the Cowboys have made a dominant entry, with new beginnings take the improvement to 7-0, the Falcons dropped to 2-3 with the recent loss handed by David Taylor’s wrestlers.

Cowboys Friday night win by 43-6, however, received overpowered technical falls reflected out by their promising wrestlers, including their No. 4 Tagen Jamison and No. 2 Troy Spratley. Not just this, but the absence of four of the OSU Cowboys wrestlers in the match posed a big question regarding team’s state while coming off a dominant season in 2024.

Cowboys win saw some of its missing wrestlers

Dominantly setting the stage on fire, the OSU Cowboys wrestling team opening season comes in hightlight. But it’s not just their win that took the attention; rather, it is the four names from the team’s roster whose absence in the match against the Falcons was reflected out by their head coach David Taylor himself.

For heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, the reason for his absence carries a past linkup with the Air Force as a former wrestler. Spending four years at the academy, the No. 3 ranked OSU wrestler came with his decision to announce his non-participation from the match as a respect of his contribution with the opponent team.

“I take a lot of pride still being active duty in the Air Force. But no worries, I’ll still be there supporting the Cowboys and the young men that support this great country.”

Gaining the All-America title in the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championship, the honor came as the 12th one for Air Force coming after 20 years. Stepping back with a valid reason, Hendrickson was, however, there to support out on his fellow OSU teammates in the presence of his former head coach, Sam Barber, and teammates.

While Hendrickon held his personal reasons, for OSU regular starter Reece Witcraft, it was a day off. The 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational performance left him out carrying a tweaked knee injury, while performing in the following matches with no improvement and resting since then. Giving on his update, David stated, “Reece’s knee has been kind of tweaked since Vegas and he’s been kind of wrestling through it, so I felt like this was a time to get healthy.”

For Carl Hughes, coming at 133 pounds, the absence from the lineup, however, came due to his injury. A minor injury also kept their sixth-ranked starter, Cameron Amine, from the lineup. Replacing him came a freshman who gave a performance that remains a memorable one coming as a first with the OSU Cowboys.

The decision to bring in their freshman Colin Young, however, reflected quite an impressive performance from him. Added to the lineup, his debut performance for the Cowboys came out with his best efforts showcased to David Taylor, adding to the team’s overall win. His first-ever team dual set against Falcon’s Andrew Harmon resulted in a notable performance of 8-2.

Faced with the absence of some of its wrestlers, David Taylor post-match states on how the team member’s health comes into priority and to get them in shape with care. “This is a time when people get sick over the holidays. This is one of those matches where you’re thinking of the long-term of the season. Get our guys healthy while we can, the best that we can.” While Taylor’s team took the win with their dominant performance with missing wrestlers from the lineup, the OSU Cowboys No. 4 wrestler came with a mega performance that’s got people talking.

Cowboys No. 4 wrestler at 141 pounds

Standing at 141 pounds, Tagen Jamison’s performance of Friday night was one to watch. Taking away the lead by 3-0 with five takedowns, including a 20-5 technical fall against Carter Nogle, the OSU wrestler was left with a blooded mouth after getting in contact with Carter’s head. The incident left him with an injury in the tooth. With no concerns and steady determination, Jamison, however, carried on with his efforts till the end that contributed well to the team’s win.

Overcoming a major challenge faced during the match, it was his determination and guidance that gained him the attention while delivering a strong performance for the team. For head coach David Taylor, Tagen’s wit and strength showcased on Friday night were no less than inspirational coming out of his training. “It’s just nice to have tough guys, and Tagen’s pretty tough, to just continue to not lose your composure and not change the way you’re gonna wrestle. That’s a time in a match when you can easily be thinking about something else and not want to be out there.”

Ever since David Taylor took over the coaching stage, the OSU Cowboys team and its wrestlers have come out stronger and more dominant than before. While it’s just the start of 2025, the OSU Cowboys are already showing how dominant they can be while giving fans to await in eagerness while hosting the upcoming match against North Carolina State scheduled for January 12.