Oklahoma State has a women’s club wrestling team with a roster of 30. Several top high school wrestlers arrived in Stillwater expecting the Cowgirls to become a sanctioned Division I program.

How close is that to happening?

Below are takeaways from a conversation with women’s club coach Izzak Olejnik about his role and the future of the program. Watch the entire interview with Olejnik above.

What’s Olejnik’s role with the women’s club team?

Olejnick transferred from Northern Illinois to Oklahoma State his senior season, finishing fifth at 165 for the Cowboys at the 2024 NCAA Championships. He continued to train with the RTC and was asked if he wanted to run a few of the women’s practices for the upstart women’s team. 

“I knew I wanted to coach and this was a great opportunity to see where we can take it,” Olejnik said. “I started dedicating my time to the girls who were in the club. That’s how it all started and 30 girls later we have a full dual schedule and tournament schedule.”

Olejnik still works out with the Cowboy RTC, but is currently injured. 

“I’m helping out with the RTC but pretty much full-time with the Cowgirls. If you really want this to grow, you kind of have to be full time and fully locked into it. I’ve dedicated my time and efforts into Cowgirl wrestling.”

What’s John Smith’s role?

The Cowgirl wrestling team made waves when former men’s coach John Smith — a six-time World and Olympic champion — was added as a volunteer coach. Smith has been in the room almost daily. 

“He’s been in the room a lot more than I thought he was going to be,” Olejnik said. 

What does a recruit get out of the Oklahoma State women’s wrestling experience?

Oklahoma State isn’t a sanctioned team (yet) but that’s the end goal. This is more than one or two light practices during the week, the Cowgirls are training with purpose and expectation. 

“We don’t have that NCAA title on the board,” Olejnik said. “What’s next? Go make a World team. Go win a World Championship. That’s our end goal. Our girls want to wrestle past college and they want to make World and Olympic teams. What better place to do it than Stillwater, Oklahoma?

“We’re not your typical club. We host fundraising events. We host camps. We go to tournaments. We’re dueling Iowa (on Sunday, December 7 in Iowa City). We’re trying to find the best competition and go compete with everyone in the country. 

How did the Oklahoma State vs Iowa women’s dual happen?

Iowa has a sanctioned D1 wrestling program and Oklahoma State does not. So why are they wrestling in a dual on Sunday, December 7 inside Carver-HawkeyeArena?

It doesn’t hurt that Oklahoma State and Iowa have a long-standing tradition in men’s folkstyle wrestling. The Cowboys and Hawkeyes have combined for 58 NCAA championships as of 2025. 

The Iowa women’s team has won the last two National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships and are the favorites to win the inaugural 2026 NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championships. 

The Cowgirls didn’t have a full roster last season, but they can field a full team now. 

“It took a couple of girls to buy in and believe in what we’re doing.” Olejnik said. “They believe in Oklahoma State and the university, and they want to be part of some groundbreaking stuff.

“The benefit of having that dual meet is that it benefits women’s wrestling in general. It puts eyes on the sport and it will be a really good time. I think we have a competitive roster from 103 all the way up to 207.”

Will John Smith be on the sideline?

Hopefully. 

“I think it would be pretty cool if Coach Smith came back to Carver to coach again,” said Olejnik. “He’s always welcome. I don’t know how he wouldn’t want to coach up there.” 

Will Oklahoma State become a Division I wrestling team?

We’ll see. 

That’s not the answer we want, but it feels like things are moving in the right direction. 

“This is a trial run,” Olejnik said. “The administration has been a big help. The first goal was to get girls to come here and build a full team that we can send to tournaments and dual meets. We have a ton of support.

“Oklahoma State wrestling is so rich in wrestling history, and to provide an opportunity for women is huge for the university and wrestling in general. We are labeling Oklahoma State as the home of wrestling.

“There’s no timeline but we are controlling what we can control and that’s putting girls out on the mat. It is a very realistic thing to think that Oklahoma State will have a women’s wrestling team.”

Is it a Title IX issue?

Possibly.

Olejnik wasn’t sure about the current balance between men’s and women’s athletic programs, but he mentioned that Oklahoma State has a club men’s hockey team that’s fairly successful. 

Women’s wrestling exhibition on November 7, 2025

Stanford wrestles Oklahoma State on November 7 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Watch for a promotional women’s match at intermission.