Freshman Ramirez and veteran Ryder also claim first-place finishes as Cowboys prepare for ranked matchups in Morgantown
Alex Facundo’s journey to Oklahoma State, in his own words, has been a “whirlwind.”
Out of high school, Facundo was a prized recruit, pledging to wrestle for coach Cael Sanderson and Penn State. But injuries and missed time resulted in Facundo’s status dwindling within the lineup. Eventually, he entered the transfer portal once the offseason commenced, in search of a fresh start.
That fresh start came over the summer, when Facundo committed to Oklahoma State. And while it took time for him to become acclimated to his starting spot, Facundo dazzled at the Cougar Clash, hosted by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, over the weekend, logging a first-place finish in the 174-pound bracket. Facundo was one of three Cowboys to clinch first, along with 133-pound freshman Ronnie Ramirez and 184-pounder Zack Ryder.
“I haven’t had that many competitions since (my freshman year),” Facundo said. “Just being active and being busy, I feel like it’s going to get better (for me) over time.”
Sure, not starting for three years can take its toll. Facundo acknowledged that Wednesday during OSU’s weekly media availability.
Facundo said he knew heading into the season that time was of essence. Still, frustrations boiled after a 2-3 start to the season, despite all of his early losses coming against top-five opponents at the National Duals Invitational.
But Facundo stuck with it and trusted the process — time.
“We got the wheel rolling,” Facundo said. “We haven’t stopped since.”
A message from Visit Stillwater
The temperatures are dropping, but the holiday spirit is heating up in Stillwater! Find special gifts and holiday happenings all throughout America’s Friendliest College Town.
Now, the contrasts between Facundo’s recent production on the mat to that on display at the start of the season couldn’t be starker. He’s finishing matches and dominating with relative ease, as shown over the weekend, where he outscored his opponents by a combined 36-5 through two matches — his title match was clinched via medical forfeit.
But greater tests await.
On Sunday, the 14th-ranked Facundo will clash with No. 15 Brody Conley when the No. 5 Cowboys (6-1) travel to Morgantown to wrestle at No. 18 West Virginia. Also lingering on Facundo’s slate is No. 7 Carter Schubert of Oklahoma, No. 11 Cam Steed of Missouri, No. 13 MJ Gaitan of Iowa State, among others.
But for now, Facundo said, he’s at ease with his progression thus far. And his coach echoed that sentiment.
“There was a little hesitation (to start the season), but I think (over) his last couple of matches, he’s started to click on all cylinders,” OSU coach David Taylor said. “I think he’s started to get the confidence and the reps back and looked really smooth. So, Alex is gonna keep getting better. He needed that tournament.”
Taylor is no stranger to shaking up his lineups.
While many college wrestling coaches prefer having a set lineup, Taylor, now in his second season at the helm for OSU, has often used a bulk of his roster over a season’s course. A year ago, Taylor dabbled between Cael Hughes and Reece Witcraft at 133.
This season, he’s doing the same at 133.
Richie Figueroa, the 2024 national champion at 133, was presumed to be the surefire starter for the Cowboys entering the season after transferring in from Arizona State. But freshman Ronnie Ramirez has put heads on a swivel, most recently clawing his way to the 133-pound title at the Cougar Class last weekend. But Figueroa’s upside is well-known, Taylor said. His agility, shiftiness and general wrestling I.Q. could be a commodity for OSU down the stretch.
As the season progresses, the vitality of having a set starter at each weight becomes all the more important. For now, however, Taylor said he is pleased with the efficiency both wrestlers have displayed.
“I don’t know who’s gonna wrestle (at 133),” Taylor said. “I just think that every week is a new week to keep earning your opportunity to go wrestle. Ronnie is doing a really good job of doing that right now. But he’s still young. He’s still got to continue to get better, and we’ve still got other guys in there who are pushing every day.”
On paper, OSU’s matchup at West Virginia (5-0) fits the mold of a trap dual.
At 125, No. 8 Troy Spratley wrestles No. 7 Jett Strickenberger, whom Spratley lost to twice a year ago. At 133, Ramirez of Figueroa will wrestle No. 19 Gunner Andrick. At 157, second-ranked freshman Landon Robideau wrestles top-ranked Ty Watters. There’s also Facundo and Conley at 174, and No. 10 Zack Ryder against No. 21 Ian Bush at 184.
A lot of ranked matches early, meaning a lot of momentum could be on the line at the early portion of dual. And Taylor wasn’t coy about that, either.
“West Virginia has a good team,” Taylor said. “When we wrestled them here last year, it was a tough dual. Kind of like Arizona State, West Virginia (is) gonna have four or five pretty good guys. They’re gonna put a lot of effort and emphasis into those matches, probably. So, as a team, we’ve got to be ready for all 10 matches.
“Some guys are gonna have maybe a little bit tougher matches than others. So, the energy has got to be high, we’ve got to expect their very best in those matches and we’ve got to match it all.”