CLEVELAND -- True freshman Jax Forrest of Oklahoma State shined on Saturday night at the 2026 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, beating Ohio State's Ben Davino to claim the national championship at 133 pounds.

Forrest was one of three Oklahoma State true freshmen to win national titles. Sergio Vega (141) and Landon Robideau (157) joined Forrest as true freshman national champions for the Cowboys.

After dominating his way to the finals, which included a 14-3 semifinal victory over Virginia Tech's Aaron Seidel, Forrest met the Big Ten champion Davino.

After a scoreless first period, the two wrestlers traded escapes in the final two periods to knot the score at 1-1. Early in the third period, Davino fired off a shot, which Forrest countered and scored a takedown off a scramble. It was the first takedown Davino surrendered all season. Forrest then rode Davino and secured a riding time point in the process. Davino escaped with just under 10 seconds remaining. Forrest then fended off Davino's late attacks to earn a 5-2 victory.

"It was surreal," said Forrest of winning the national title. "I've dreamed of this day for a long time."

Forrest started the year as a high school senior before enrolling early at Oklahoma State in January and immediately entering the Cowboy lineup.

"I didn't have too much time to process it," said Forrest, who attended Bishop McCort High School in Pennsylvania. "I kind of went straight head-on. That's what I like. I like going right into the problem and finding a way to get on top."

Vega, a native of Arizona, stunned two-time NCAA champion Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in the finals at 141 pounds. The match was 1-1 at the end of regulation. Mendez took a shot just under a minute into sudden victory and appeared to be close to scoring a takedown before Vega scrambled out and eventually earned the match-winning takedown with 24 seconds remaining in sudden victory.

"That was freaking awesome," said Vega. "It took them a while to call it a takedown. It just hit me right away ... I was around him. It was awesome. I've never had a moment like that in my life."

Ohio State's Mendez entered the match with a perfect 26-0 record in search of his third straight national championship.

"Everyone was saying he was going to ragdoll me," said Vega. "I don't care how I look, I'm not getting ragdolled."

Both Forrest (18-0) and Vega (24-0) finished the season as undefeated national champions. There had not been an undefeated true freshman national champion since 1947.

Robideau earned his national title with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over returning NCAA champion Antrell Taylor of Nebraska. The match was scoreless after the opening period. Taylor started the second period in the down position. While Taylor was attempting to escape, Robideau lifted the Husker off the mat and put him to his back briefly, earning two near-fall points in the process. Taylor inched closer with an escape to make it 2-1. In the third period, Robideau earned an escape and additional point when Taylor was called for stalling to extend his lead to 4-1. Robideau was hit late for a second stalling call but held on for the victory.

The Minnesota native avenged his only two losses this season en route to winning the national championship. He avenged his Big 12 Championships loss to Arizona State's Kaleb Larkin in the NCAA quarterfinals. He then avenged his other loss in the finals to Taylor.

"I just didn't put my best foot forward," Robideau said of his December loss to Taylor. "Obviously, I wanted this match bad."

Penn State capped off a dominant performance in Cleveland, winning its fifth straight national title and breaking a national championship scoring record in the process. The Nittany Lions finished the three-day event with 181.5 points on the strength of four national champions, six national finalists and eight All-Americans. Oklahoma State was runner-up with 131 points. Nebraska (100.5), Iowa (92.5) and Ohio State (84.5) rounded on the top five teams.

"Happy for the team," said Penn State head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson. "Just really an incredible group of guys. Outstanding year."

Luke Lilledahl (125), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Levi Haines (174) and Josh Barr (197) claimed NCAA titles for Penn State, while Shayne Van Ness (149) and Rocco Welsh (184) finished second. In addition, Penn State true freshmen P.J. Duke (157) and Marcus Blaze (133) earned All-America honors with third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

Lilledahl grinded out a 2-1 victory over Princeton's Marc-Anthony McGowan in the finals at 125 pounds. The difference in the match was a stalling point, with the other two points scored in the match being escapes.

"It feels amazing," said Lilledahl, who placed third at the 2025 NCAAs as a true freshman. "It just kind of solidifies that I have been doing everything right and having trust in my coaches and trust in my training. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone to what I'm going to do in the future."

Mesenbrink scored early and often on his way to a 20-4 technical fall over Iowa's Mikey Caliendo in the finals at 165 pounds. It was Mesenbrink's second straight undefeated national championship season. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event.

"This year I really, really just wanted to enjoy it," said Mesenbrink. "I did not come to do my will but to do the will of the one who sent me."

Haines earned a 2-1 victory over Nebraska's Christopher Minto to claim the national title at 174 pounds. He concluded his career at Penn State as a two-time national champion and four-time All-American.

When asked about his legacy, Haines said he wants to be remembered for how he was off the mat.

"I don't really get too caught up in my legacy or anything," said Haines. "People are going to remember me just for how I treated them more so than how I competed. I guess if we are going to talk about my legacy I just hope everybody remembers me for treating them with kindness and just being appreciative of what they have done for me."

Barr, a 2025 NCAA runner-up, won the NCAA title at 197 pounds with a 6-3 win over Oklahoma State freshman Cody Merrill. The Penn State sophomore led 3-2 in the third period before getting a reveral and point off a clasping call to extend his lead to 6-2. Merrill escaped with 1:20 remaining to cut the deficit to three but Barr held on for the win.

He finished his season with bonus-point victories in all of his matches except his NCAA finals match. Barr is expected to be a finalist for the Hodge Trophy, given to the nation's best college wrestler, along with his Penn State teammates Mesenbrink and Haines. He said the Hodge Trophy has not been something he is focused on.

"I think that we're just focused on pushing each other to be better and better every day," said Barr. "Super grateful for all my teammates. It's not really a conversation we have. I think we're just focused on being the best we can be every single day, getting better from match to match. Really grateful that I get to be in that race with a couple of my best friends."

Minnesota's Max McEnelly captured the national title at 184 pounds with a 4-3 win over Penn State's Rocco Welsh, avenging a loss from two weeks ago in the finals of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The Gopher sophomore scored a takedown in the opening period, which proved to be the difference in the match.

Getting the first takedown of the match was something McEnelly discussed with his coaches.

"Trying to put one on him first was definitely something we talked about," said McEnelly, a third-place finisher at last year's NCAAs. "I should have put more on him. It's just not the way it went. But there was definitely an emphasis to score early and keep scoring, and especially put the pressure on him. Make him back up. Stay in the center. I felt that I did a pretty good job of that this match."

The ACC crowned a pair of national champions. NC State's Isaac Trumble won the national championship at 285 pounds, while Stanford's Aden Valencia claimed the title at 149 pounds. Both wrestlers defeated undefeated No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the finals.

Trumble blanked Iowa State's Yonger Bastida 5-0 to win the NCAA title at 285 pounds. He finished the season undefeated.

He praised another former NC State heavyweight national champion, Nick Gwiazdowski.

"I would give a lot of credit to how I was doing this week to Nick Gwiazdowski. He has been in the room two to three times a week with me. He helps me with my technique. He goes live with me. He's got two kids. He's my landlord. He's just an incredible mentor for me. He's got a lot going on in his life and he's willing to sacrifice his time to get on the mat with me and give back to a program that he did so much for. He's just been incredible the last three years for me."

Valencia, a redshirt freshman, won the national title at 149 pounds with an 8-5 win in sudden victory over Penn State's Shayne Van Ness. Stanford finished sixth in the team standings.

"We just have an incredible team and an incredible staff," said Valencia, who entered the NCAAs as the 10th seed. "I'm glad to be the first of many national champs for Stanford University. I want to continue this momentum next year."

Finals Results

125: No. 1 Luke Lilledahl (Penn State) dec. No. 12 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Princeton), 2-1
133: No. 2 Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 1 Ben Davino (Ohio State), 5-2
141: No. 2 Sergio Vega (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State), 4-1 SV1
149: No. 10 Aden Valencia (Stanford) dec. No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State), 8-5 SV1
157: No. 5 Landon Robideau (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 2 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 4-2
165: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) tech. fall No. 2 Michael Caliendo (Iowa), 20-4
174: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Christopher Minto (Nebraska), 2-1
184: No. 3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota) dec. No. 1 Rocco Welsh (Penn State), 4-3
197: No. 1 Josh Barr (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State), 6-3
285: No. 2 Isaac Trumble (North Carolina State) dec. No. 1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State), 5-0

Team Standings (Top 10)

1. Penn State 181.5
2. Oklahoma State 131
3. Nebraska 100.5
4. Iowa 92.5
5. Ohio State 84.5
6. Stanford 67.5
7. Michigan 66
8. Iowa State 52
9. Minnesota 48.5
10. NC State 44.5