Oklahoma State Wrestling Coach to Compete in 2024 World Championships
When legendary Oklahoma State wrestling Coach John Smith retired from the Cowboy’s program on April 11th, the countdown to name the next head coach began. It was going to be difficult to replace Coach Smith’s 490-73-6 overall dual meet record which included five NCAA Division I national team titles.
Oklahoma State instantly went to work, and their search began out east. They had their eyes set on Penn State great Casey Cunningham, but he declined the offer so once again the Cowboys were sent searching for the next head coach of the Oklahoma State Wrestling program. They quickly found their next coaching interest and the Cowboys wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Who is David Taylor?
When searching for the next OSU wrestling coach the Cowboys organization aimed for the stars in their pursuit of former Penn State legend David Taylor. O-State went in not knowing if they could even entice the number one ranked wrestler in the world at 86Kg, yet in May of this year the Cowboys landed the former Olympic Gold Medalist.
Taylor held a mind boggling 57-match winning streak which was snapped in the 2021 World Championships. He followed up the loss with 13 straight victories including back-to-back World titles in 2022 and 2023. Taylor, in all, had a senior freestyle record of 158-21 throughout his career.
Taylor and his wife Kendra have three girls, London, Ivy and Birdie.
Taylor’s Distinguished Resume
While at Penn State from 2011-14 David Taylor helped the Nittany Lions win four team championships. He won individual NCAA Championships in 2012 and 2014 to go along with four Big Ten Individual Championships. Taylor won World Champions in 2018, 2022 and 2023. His Olympic Gold medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games may have been the highlight of his career.
What’s Next for Coach David Taylor
Coach Taylor takes over arguably the greatest collegiate wrestling program in NCAA history. The Cowboys have won 34 titles which is the most in NCAA history. Their 1,170 career wins is tops in all of college wrestling as well as an NCAA best .888 win percentage.
He's in.
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling) October 14, 2024
📰: https://t.co/XwIGvw0Gia#GoPokes pic.twitter.com/S5YjARSnwL
But before he dives headfirst into coaching, one thing still remains on the table for Coach David Taylor. He recently announced that he would be competing in the 2024 Senior World Championships. Coach Taylor will compete in the 92-kilogram division in hopes of making it a three-peat following World Championship wins in 2022 and 2023.
The 2024 Senior World Championships are scheduled for October 28-31 in Tirana, Albania.
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Taylor Skieens has been an avid sports journalist with the McCurtain Gazette in Idabel, Oklahoma for seven years. He holds the title of Sports Editor for one of the oldest remaining print publications in the state of Oklahoma. Taylor grew up in the small lumber town of Wright City Oklahoma where he played baseball and basketball for the Lumberjax.