For Oklahoma State, it was a matter of pride. Despite being the most successful NCAA wrestling program, the Cowboys haven’t won the national title in almost two decades. To reclaim its former glory, OSU announced last year that Olympic gold medalist David Taylor would take over the reins as the eighth head coach of the program. And it’s already starting to show its results.

The Cowboys finished the 2025 NCAA D1 Championships in third place, behind only Penn State and Nebraska. A pretty solid result considering Taylor only arrived in Stillwater in May 2024. Along with the main NCAA program, the “Magic Man” also started the ball rolling to step up the Cowboys’ RTC (regional training center) infrastructure. But all those efforts are starting to generate positive news, and Taylor couldn’t be more elated.

In his recent Instagram story from July 24, the OSU wrestling boss shared more exciting news about how the Cowboys RTC is making waves on the international scene. Captioned “Hassaaaa,” the IG update reveals that Mirzo Khayitov has made the Uzbek national team for the upcoming 2025 World Wrestling Championships. This year’s global wrestling tournament will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, in September, and it looks like the Cowboys RTC will have its representative at the tournament, albeit under a different banner.

Nonetheless, Taylor justifiably sees this as a huge win for the OSU program. For Khayitov, too, this would be a milestone moment in his wrestling career. The 6x Uzbekistani national champion committed to Oklahoma State in 2023. He is also a two-time NJCAA All-American honoree, whose commitment to the program turned a lot of heads thanks to his being a national finalist in the 165lb bracket for Ellsworth Community College in the previous season.

Khayitov is the only wrestler in his native country’s history to bag the national title six times. On top of that, he is also a two-time cadet national champion and a President’s Tournament champion. Goes without saying, having him around in the Cowboys RTC presented Taylor with a special opportunity to sharpen the program’s wrestling skills. And both the former Olympic champ and his colleagues seem to be taking advantage of their collaboration fully.

But is such a triumph really that shocking? After all, Taylor had made it clear that he would do everything in his power to make OSU great again. By early May, the Penn State alum had already roped in $40 million in investments to beef up the program’s wrestling infrastructure. In April this year, Taylor also got seasoned wrestling veteran Zoheir El Ouarraqe to return to the Cowboys RTC and help the aspiring wrestlers to learn tricks of the trade on the mat.

Khayitov worked closely with David Taylor ahead of the 2024 World Championships, but finished the tournament in 15th place of the 79kg weight bracket. This time, he will undoubtedly look to score better. But the Uzbek won’t have an easy ride in Croatia.

David Taylor will have a lot of representatives in Croatia

After Final X last month, the USA announced its own roster for the upcoming top-tier wrestling competition. In the 79kg weight class, the Stars and Stripes will be represented by Levi Haines, a proud member of the Nittany Lions Wrestling Club. Haines is the 2024 national champion and a 2x Big Ten gold medalist. Safe to assume, should he and Khayitov cross paths in Zagreb, the next chapter of the thrilling rivalry between Penn State and OSU will unfold before our very eyes.

But Taylor will also have many other OSU wrestlers carrying the USA’s banner at the World Championships as well. In the 86kg weight class, Zahid Valencia, a two-time NCAA gold medalist and the 2023 World Championships bronze medalist, will represent Taylor’s name, while Wyatt Hendrickson, the 2025 NCAA gold medalist, will do the same in the 125kg weight class.

Moreover, more Cowboys RTC wrestlers like Roman Bravo Young (Mexico) and Rin Sakamoto (Japan) will also increase OSU’s chances of boasting internationally successful wrestlers in its roster. So, which of David Taylor’s flagbearers do you think will shine through at this year’s biggest wrestling event? Tell us in a comment!