Jax Forrest Took A Unique Path To Oklahoma State Wrestling
Jax Forrest Took A Unique Path To Oklahoma State Wrestling
Jax Forrest is doing things that no other wrestler has done. And he's using his own style to get there.
It’s not like we didn’t see this coming. Jax Forrest is a transcendent wrestler in an era filled with high school wrestling phenoms.
Making a Senior World Team at 18 isn’t unprecedented in the United States, but it’s rare. Forrest is one of seven preps to qualify for the Senior Worlds, and three made the team in 2025.
Forrest defeated 2023 World champion Vito Arujau in the best-of-three 61 kg finals to compete in Zagreb, Croatia, and was one position away from winning a World bronze medal, falling to Assylzhan Yessengeldi of Kazakhstan, 10-8.
No U.S. high schooler has ever won a Senior World medal. Forrest came close, but finished fifth.
Senior Men's Greco And Freestyle World Teamers As High Schoolers
*Duke qualified for the World Championships in high school but was a true freshman at Penn State.
An Unprecedented Move
Forrest’s next move was, in fact, unprecedented. He wrestled in seven matches for Bishop McCort during his senior high school season — including a thrilling 20-13 win over Karson Brown in the 139-pound 2025 Powerade finals — before enrolling at Oklahoma State the following semester.
The Johnstown, Pennsylvania, native is hardly the youngest wrestler to compete in college. Forrest is about five weeks older than Penn State’s Marcus Blaze, who is also a true freshman.
It’s just the oddity of it all. One day, Forrest, 19, is at Bishop McCort, and the next, he’s enrolled in college and competing for the Cowboys.
On December 30, 2025, he’s wrestling in a high school tournament.
On January 11, 2026, he’s wrestling against Oklahoma in the Bedlam dual — one of wrestling's most intense rivalries.
“I never expected what college would be like,” Forrest said during an interview with FloWrestling’s Christian Pyles. “I just wanted to come. That’s when I’m at my best: when I head-on attack it versus trying to sit back and plan it out.”
Rarified Air
If anyone can relate, it’s former Wisconsin superstar Lee Kemp. He began wrestling as a high school freshman, posting a 14-2 record on the freshman team during the 1971-72 season, and an 11-8-3 varsity record as a sophomore.
Three years later, Kemp reached the 1975 NCAA Championships finals as a true freshman, falling to Iowa’s Chuck Yagla on a split referee’s decision. The Chardon, Ohio, native won the next three 158-pound titles and was a win away as a freshman from becoming the first four-time NCAA champion.
Kemp went on to become the first American to win three World titles (1978-79, ‘82).
“Very few athletes in wrestling history have lived in two worlds at once—finishing high school one semester and competing successfully in college the next,” Kemp said. “What Jax Forrest is doing isn’t just impressive, it’s historically rare.
“Wrestling is unforgiving; it exposes gaps immediately. The fact that he’s already holding his own at the college level speaks to an advanced wrestling IQ, emotional maturity, and a competitive mindset beyond his years. This is the kind of transition that, when done right, often signals not just early success—but long-term greatness.”
Forrest vs Seidel
Forrest enters the 2026 NCAA Championships seeded first at 133 pounds. His 13-0 college record has been mostly dominant, and his 10-9 victory over Virginia Tech’s Aaron Seidel on February 15 was the most entertaining match of the season.
The Seidel slugfest was a rematch of the 2025 Pennsylvania state finals won by Forrest, 7-1. It, too, was a thriller that will stand the test of time.
Should the seeds hold, Forrest and Seidel will meet in the semis. Both have reasons to believe they can win. Seidel won the takedown game, 3-1, but Forrest used his otherworldly scrambling and positioning to score near-fall points.
A Forrest vs #2 Ben Davino (Ohio State) or #3 Blaze finals are also looming.
“What Jax Forrest is doing isn’t just impressive, it’s historically rare." --3x World champion Lee Kemp
Stylistically, Forrest is without peer. A possible comparison might be Portland State’s Rick Sanders — a wildly creative and inventive wrestler who won the 1969 World Championships and silver medals at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.
Another comparison could be Jimmy Carr. Carr reached the 1972 Olympics at 17, displaying otherworldly confidence as a teenager.
“I think a lot of these young guys are good because they tapped into past champions,” said three-time NCAA champion Nate Carr, Jimmy’s younger brother. “Whoever is coaching them has a lot of wisdom, has a lot of insight. Somebody like Jax Forrest was getting taught some serious technique from the jump. Not that he grasped all of it, but as you grow, you start developing, and you remember what you’ve been shown. A lot of what he’s been shown, he makes his own — and that’s what’s helping him.
“That’s where the mental part comes in. The technique nullifies the muscle. Look at everyone in the weight class. Everyone is buff except for the guy who wins. The technique works. The more you drill the technique, the better. And then the mindset, because you know why it works. Perspective is the one thing that can change the outcome without changing the facts.”
Forrest is on a path that’s as unique as his personality. He’s not a lock to win the NCAA Championships, but he is taking college wrestling to another level with a style that’s all his own.