It’s officially the season when college sports take over! We are watching that with the Women’s Gymnastics Championships, right? And while Wrestling has long been silent on this forefront, guess it’s time to turn things around. Yes, there has been a historic step and not even seasoned veterans like David Taylor can keep their cool over it. Guess it’s time for the female wrestlers to put on those competitive singlets!

As per the latest news that buzzed in on January 16, the NCAA Division I voted in favor of adding women’s wrestling as a championship sport. Yes, that’s revolutionary, right? Well, Divisions II and III are yet to vote, scheduled for Friday. But, that hardly changes the fact that women’s wrestling has now become the NCAA’s 91st championship sport and its first-ever  National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship would be slated for winter 2026.

Obviously, this comes in as a big win for the sport, which even led David Taylor to break his silence. Commenting on the decision, he said, “We’re practically wrestling every morning we wake up, working on penetration steps. And I think women’s wrestling is growing very fast, one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.” Well, Taylor isn’t wrong. As of May, about 96 NCAA schools with women’s wrestling teams exist across all three divisions. So you can just imagine the influx of participants in women’s wrestling and the scope for talent here!

Plus, speaking of David Taylor’s home turf, he couldn’t be more pumped for the Cowgirls to finally carry the torch that Oklahoma’s boys have held high for so many years. “So yeah, it’ll be good opportunity to showcase the cowgirls this weekend and Izzak Olejnik has been doing a really good job with them,” he said. The former OSU-All-American wrestler joined the women’s wrestler tent in September 2024. And Taylor’s already praising the powerhouse program Olejnik has built.

Beyond that, David Taylor also hailed the rise of women’s wrestling, “And yeah I think it’s a great thing, I think women wrestling is continuing to grow and however we can support that’s important.” Of course, this has been long overdue. While women have been wrestling on the Olympic stage since 2004, the sport only gained official approval at the collegiate level, at this week’s NCAA convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Also, this is a year after it was first recommended at last February’s NCAA meeting.

And let’s be real—everyone, including David Taylor, knows the sport’s potential. Women’s wrestling has seen explosive growth in recent years. In fact, the number of teams has more than doubled since the 2022–23 academic year, when only 41 programs sponsored the sport. And there have been states like New Jersey that have been leading the charge, especially at the high school level.

But this historic decision comes at a time when David Taylor’s happiness is riding an all-time high. On one hand, his OSU boys have been nailing it, and now, the sport declares such a massive win.

It’s a double celebration for David Taylor

David Taylor’s happiness right now is beyond justified. After all, his boys are having an amazing 2024-25 campaign, undefeated so far and dominating every program that they have faced. And their most recent win? It was a sweep where they inflicted a crushing 34-3 defeat over their opponents, NC State.

That’s when David Taylor spoke to the rest of the team and highlighted their winning philosophy, “It’s a reflection of the work that we are putting in and the standard that we’re trying to wrestle as a program.” But as OSU Cowboys face West Virginia nest, will they be able to keep up the winning streak? If we remember their 2024 clash, it ended with a 29-9 win over West Virginia. But can Taylor’s boys repeat that? Share your thoughts with us below!