At the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the Oklahoma State Cowboys made history when Sergio Vega became the first undefeated true freshman to win a national title since 1947. Just a few hours later, it happened again, as teammate Jax Forrest captured the 133 pound crown. But while Vega and Forrest were making history, they were also echoing it. The last to do it wore the same singlet, Oklahoma State legend Dick Hutton.

As we look closer at how these Cowboys reached the top of the sport, one universal truth begins to connect the present with the past and carries into everyday life.

Leveling Up

Jax Forrest’s journey to college wrestling immortality began at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where he became a two time state champion. In 2025, he made history by becoming the youngest athlete since 1974 to represent the United States at the Senior World Championships. In December, he decided to reclassify and enroll at Oklahoma State early so he could compete in this year’s wrestling season.

The gamble paid off. Forrest went 18-0 in his first college campaign, defeating Ben Davino 5-2 to take home the title.

After his thrilling victory at nationals, Forrest gave some insight into a conversation he had with his coach that helped him have the confidence to reclassify.

“I didn’t come here to be an All American,” he told reporters after the match. “I called Coach David and was like, Hey, do you believe in me? Do you think I can win a national title this year? He said if nationals were today, I’d pick you. In the room, I had a couple hard days in the beginning, but I just trusted my coaches, trusted my abilities, and now I’m the national champion forever.”

Stay the Course

Like Forrest, Vega also had immense success in high school at Sunnyside High School in Tucson, Arizona, going 140-2 with four state championships. However, in his middle school days, it did not look like he would become so dominant. As a middle schooler, Vega did not win a single medal. Years later, at a celebration of his national championship, his high school head coach explained how those moments built him into the champion he is today.

“I’ve seen Sergio under a table after a loss. I’ve seen him crying over his pepperoni pizza. Those moments shaped him as a man. Thank God for everyone in his life who helped him overcome those moments and become the person he is today, because he did not wake up and have immediate success.”

Vega went on to echo that sentiment, explaining that at the start of his high school career, winning did not come automatically. The journey was a grind.

“A lot of people see the success, but they don’t see when I was little and I was not scoring a point,” Vega said. “People don’t know what it takes to get there. Even this year, I went to college and I was not finding success at all.”

He admitted that he even considered redshirting that year.

Instead, Vega leaned on his support system, figuring out the small adjustments he needed to excel at the college level. And excel he did, completing a 24-0 season without allowing a single takedown. In the national championship match, he defeated two time national champion Jesse Mendez of Ohio State in sudden death overtime.

The Veteran

In 1947, Dick Hutton became the last undefeated freshman to win a national championship until his fellow Cowboys did it 79 years later. Like his teammates, he had success in high school, becoming a two time state finalist. However, his start to college was delayed. Hutton joined the Army and served during World War II. When he returned, he enrolled in college as a 24 year old freshman at Oklahoma A and M, now known as Oklahoma State University.

He went on to win two more national championships in his college career and made the United States Olympic team in 1948. After his college career, he became a professional wrestler. He retired in 1964 and was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1995.

Takeaways

The championship journeys of these three athletes can teach us all something.

Whether you are ready to make a big jump in your career or sport and step into something new and more challenging like Jax Forrest, or you are like Sergio Vega, coming in as a highly touted recruit with everything seemingly on track yet still battling doubt and uncertainty along the way, or maybe your path looks more like Dick Hutton’s, starting later than expected, taking a different route, and feeling behind.

These three athletes show us that no matter which path you identify with most, success is still possible. You can become a champion as long as you are willing to make the jump, get started, and stay the course.