Oklahoma State University Athletics
Beyond the Mat: Sergio Vega
October 07, 2026 | Cowboy Wrestling
Sergio Vega didn't always have a smile on his face. He didn't always love wrestling. For a while, he said he did it for everyone but himself.
"When I was younger, I didn't really like the sport, didn't love it at all," Vega said. "I was doing it for the wrong reasons, for my dad, for my brother, whoever, all my family. It was kind of miserable."
That changed when he decided to wrestle for himself instead of for the people around him. The shift in mindset carried him through a true freshman season at Oklahoma State that hasn't been seen in nearly 80 years.
Vega finished 24-0 overall and 15-0 in dual matches with 10 bonus-point wins. He didn't surrender a single takedown all season. His 4-1 overtime win over Ohio State's Jesse Mendez in the national title match made him the first undefeated true freshman national champion since 1947. He shared that distinction with teammate Jax Forrest, who also went unbeaten in his first college season.
"It was awesome, just being around a bunch of really good wrestlers the whole season," Vega said. "Every time I went and competed, I knew that all my preparation was there. I was ready to go, because I was wrestling a bunch of killers every time I stepped in the room. I practiced against the best competition that I could, so it was just going out there, having fun and then the results took care of themselves."
An Underdog Who Stopped Feeling Like One
Vega wasn't given much chance against Mendez, a two-time defending national champion, heading into the final.
"There weren't many people that thought I was going to win, but I started to believe that I could win and then it was just excitement to prove everyone wrong, prove myself right, my family right and all my teammates that believed in me." Vega said.Â
He pointed to Oklahoma State's National Duals run as a turning point, where he went 4-0 against ranked opponents. He entered the postseason with eight ranked wins at 141 pounds during his freshman season.
"Every time I honestly saw that I was going to face all those guys, I was really nervous," Vega said. "I wasn't sure how I was going to compete against them, but I guess that was the time to find out. There was no getting away from it. Every time that I won one match, I just kept stacking them, and it was just like, 'Dang, man, I'm right there. My wrestling is right there with the best, and I can do whatever.'"
All of his ranked wins came against top-10 opponents, and he said he's come to prefer those matchups over easier ones.
"I feel like I wrestle best whenever I'm wrestling against those top guys," Vega said. "Any time I get to wrestle with someone with a big name, it's awesome because that's what the wrestling world wants to see. Just go out there, have some fun, and try my best."
Vega earned the 2026 Hammer Award from Amateur Wrestling News, presented annually to the national champion at what the publication's writers judge to be the tournament's most competitive weight class. He became the third Oklahoma State wrestler to win it and the second in head coach David Taylor's short time at OSU, following 174-pound champion Dean Hamiti Jr. in 2025 and Alex Dieringer in 2016.Â
The Gunslinger From Tucson
Vega's nickname, "Gunslinger," has followed him onto social media and into arenas, paired with a walkout song he adopted on his teammates' recommendation.
"I never heard that song, and then I heard it, and they told me, 'Yo, you have to use this song,'" Vega said. "I was like, 'Yeah, you're right, I do. It's cool.' Everyone's telling me that it's an awesome song and I knew I had to stick with it."
Vega grew up training at Tucson Cyclones Wrestling, a club his father, Danny, co-founded in Arizona. Danny was a three-time state champion at Sunnyside High School, and Sergio's older brother, Danny Jr., was a three-time state champion at Ironwood Ridge High School before wrestling at South Dakota State.
"My dad and my brother were both three-time state champions from Arizona, so they were really good," Vega said. "It was kind of tough at the beginning, because I wasn't finding success, and my brother was ranked No. 1 in the country. I didn't really like it, but then eventually I started to fall into their footsteps."
Vega also pushed back some on the idea that Arizona wrestling doesn't stack up nationally.
"I would definitely say that it's seen as underrated," he said. "There's a lot of kids with not as many resources as other people, but I think it's definitely on the come up. I look forward to seeing all the kids from my high school, my dad's wrestling club, all those things, continue to get better and hopefully fall into my footsteps."
Vega went 140-2 at Sunnyside under coach Anthony Leon, who has led Sunnyside to 10 state titles. He credited Leon with being there for him throughout his career.
"My high school head coach, Coach Leon, he did a really good job of always being there for me, showing me that people believe in me," Vega said. "It was good to see."
Vega also pointed to Taylor as a reason he chose Stillwater.
"I've watched him forever growing up. He's always done cool things, like wrestling cradles, and that's what I love to do too," Vega said. "When I had the opportunity to get recruited by him, I kind of knew instantly that's where I wanted to be, because he's one of the greatest to ever do it. If I could learn some of the things that he likes to do with his wrestling, then I could be unstoppable."
Running To Family
Vega said his favorite wrestling memory is also his most recent: winning the national title and running to find his father and brother in the stands, a moment he said he had pictured since childhood.
"That moment is something that I look forward to doing since I found the love for the sport. Honestly, not even since then, since I watched it as a little kid," Vega said. "That was a moment that I always talked about with my brother, my dad. I told them, I can't wait to win a national title and go run up to them. Knowing that moment was coming true, when I was around the guy and I knew I was going to get the takedown, it was just like, 'Dang, I really did it.' I was sitting there with them, and I got emotional, and it was really cool."
He also credited teammate Casey Swiderski with getting him through the grind of cutting weight during the season.
"Me and Casey are in the trenches together every time," Vega said. "That's what grew us really close, to being brothers. Any time I was doing something hard, I had him right by my side, keeping me mentally prepared and telling me that I could do it. Any time I was on the treadmill and I looked to my right, Casey was there."
He said he's also close with the team's other young standouts, naming Landon Robideau, Rocklin Zinkin, Jax Forrest and Dreshaun Ross, among others.
"I think that's the coolest thing about this place. We're all really close, and we have a really strong bond," Vega said. "I think that's why I was just wrestling the best I ever have."
Looking Ahead
Vega said his focus this season is scoring more points and enjoying the process, something he admitted he didn't always do as a freshman.
"Last year I didn't do a good job of enjoying every single moment. I kind of just went and went, and then it was like I was at the end of season," he said. "I'm looking forward to going out there, having fun, scoring points, enjoying every moment and having a smile on my face."
Away from the mat, Vega said he bowls and that he's good at it. He said he hit a personal-best score of 236 early in the fall semester. He also plays pickleball and said he mostly just likes spending time with friends.
Asked if he's the best bowler on the team, he answered without hesitation: "100%."
Still, for all the history he made as a freshman, Vega said he doesn't consider himself a finished product. "Still to this day, I have so much room to improve," he said.
He said finding that love for wrestlng, keeping a smile on his face and learning to enjoy the process rather than just chase results was the biggest turning point of his career.
"Once I figured out that you have to love the sport for yourself to find success and enjoy it, I just started to love it, have fun, and enjoy every time that I was going to practice," Vega said. "I didn't really see it as a negative thing anymore. It was just something I looked forward to."
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"When I was younger, I didn't really like the sport, didn't love it at all," Vega said. "I was doing it for the wrong reasons, for my dad, for my brother, whoever, all my family. It was kind of miserable."
That changed when he decided to wrestle for himself instead of for the people around him. The shift in mindset carried him through a true freshman season at Oklahoma State that hasn't been seen in nearly 80 years.
Vega finished 24-0 overall and 15-0 in dual matches with 10 bonus-point wins. He didn't surrender a single takedown all season. His 4-1 overtime win over Ohio State's Jesse Mendez in the national title match made him the first undefeated true freshman national champion since 1947. He shared that distinction with teammate Jax Forrest, who also went unbeaten in his first college season.
"It was awesome, just being around a bunch of really good wrestlers the whole season," Vega said. "Every time I went and competed, I knew that all my preparation was there. I was ready to go, because I was wrestling a bunch of killers every time I stepped in the room. I practiced against the best competition that I could, so it was just going out there, having fun and then the results took care of themselves."
An Underdog Who Stopped Feeling Like One
Vega wasn't given much chance against Mendez, a two-time defending national champion, heading into the final.
"There weren't many people that thought I was going to win, but I started to believe that I could win and then it was just excitement to prove everyone wrong, prove myself right, my family right and all my teammates that believed in me." Vega said.Â
He pointed to Oklahoma State's National Duals run as a turning point, where he went 4-0 against ranked opponents. He entered the postseason with eight ranked wins at 141 pounds during his freshman season.
"Every time I honestly saw that I was going to face all those guys, I was really nervous," Vega said. "I wasn't sure how I was going to compete against them, but I guess that was the time to find out. There was no getting away from it. Every time that I won one match, I just kept stacking them, and it was just like, 'Dang, man, I'm right there. My wrestling is right there with the best, and I can do whatever.'"
All of his ranked wins came against top-10 opponents, and he said he's come to prefer those matchups over easier ones.
"I feel like I wrestle best whenever I'm wrestling against those top guys," Vega said. "Any time I get to wrestle with someone with a big name, it's awesome because that's what the wrestling world wants to see. Just go out there, have some fun, and try my best."
Vega earned the 2026 Hammer Award from Amateur Wrestling News, presented annually to the national champion at what the publication's writers judge to be the tournament's most competitive weight class. He became the third Oklahoma State wrestler to win it and the second in head coach David Taylor's short time at OSU, following 174-pound champion Dean Hamiti Jr. in 2025 and Alex Dieringer in 2016.Â
The Gunslinger From Tucson
Vega's nickname, "Gunslinger," has followed him onto social media and into arenas, paired with a walkout song he adopted on his teammates' recommendation.
"I never heard that song, and then I heard it, and they told me, 'Yo, you have to use this song,'" Vega said. "I was like, 'Yeah, you're right, I do. It's cool.' Everyone's telling me that it's an awesome song and I knew I had to stick with it."
Vega grew up training at Tucson Cyclones Wrestling, a club his father, Danny, co-founded in Arizona. Danny was a three-time state champion at Sunnyside High School, and Sergio's older brother, Danny Jr., was a three-time state champion at Ironwood Ridge High School before wrestling at South Dakota State.
"My dad and my brother were both three-time state champions from Arizona, so they were really good," Vega said. "It was kind of tough at the beginning, because I wasn't finding success, and my brother was ranked No. 1 in the country. I didn't really like it, but then eventually I started to fall into their footsteps."
Vega also pushed back some on the idea that Arizona wrestling doesn't stack up nationally.
"I would definitely say that it's seen as underrated," he said. "There's a lot of kids with not as many resources as other people, but I think it's definitely on the come up. I look forward to seeing all the kids from my high school, my dad's wrestling club, all those things, continue to get better and hopefully fall into my footsteps."
Vega went 140-2 at Sunnyside under coach Anthony Leon, who has led Sunnyside to 10 state titles. He credited Leon with being there for him throughout his career.
"My high school head coach, Coach Leon, he did a really good job of always being there for me, showing me that people believe in me," Vega said. "It was good to see."
Vega also pointed to Taylor as a reason he chose Stillwater.
"I've watched him forever growing up. He's always done cool things, like wrestling cradles, and that's what I love to do too," Vega said. "When I had the opportunity to get recruited by him, I kind of knew instantly that's where I wanted to be, because he's one of the greatest to ever do it. If I could learn some of the things that he likes to do with his wrestling, then I could be unstoppable."
Running To Family
Vega said his favorite wrestling memory is also his most recent: winning the national title and running to find his father and brother in the stands, a moment he said he had pictured since childhood.
"That moment is something that I look forward to doing since I found the love for the sport. Honestly, not even since then, since I watched it as a little kid," Vega said. "That was a moment that I always talked about with my brother, my dad. I told them, I can't wait to win a national title and go run up to them. Knowing that moment was coming true, when I was around the guy and I knew I was going to get the takedown, it was just like, 'Dang, I really did it.' I was sitting there with them, and I got emotional, and it was really cool."
He also credited teammate Casey Swiderski with getting him through the grind of cutting weight during the season.
"Me and Casey are in the trenches together every time," Vega said. "That's what grew us really close, to being brothers. Any time I was doing something hard, I had him right by my side, keeping me mentally prepared and telling me that I could do it. Any time I was on the treadmill and I looked to my right, Casey was there."
He said he's also close with the team's other young standouts, naming Landon Robideau, Rocklin Zinkin, Jax Forrest and Dreshaun Ross, among others.
"I think that's the coolest thing about this place. We're all really close, and we have a really strong bond," Vega said. "I think that's why I was just wrestling the best I ever have."
Looking Ahead
Vega said his focus this season is scoring more points and enjoying the process, something he admitted he didn't always do as a freshman.
"Last year I didn't do a good job of enjoying every single moment. I kind of just went and went, and then it was like I was at the end of season," he said. "I'm looking forward to going out there, having fun, scoring points, enjoying every moment and having a smile on my face."
Away from the mat, Vega said he bowls and that he's good at it. He said he hit a personal-best score of 236 early in the fall semester. He also plays pickleball and said he mostly just likes spending time with friends.
Asked if he's the best bowler on the team, he answered without hesitation: "100%."
Still, for all the history he made as a freshman, Vega said he doesn't consider himself a finished product. "Still to this day, I have so much room to improve," he said.
He said finding that love for wrestlng, keeping a smile on his face and learning to enjoy the process rather than just chase results was the biggest turning point of his career.
"Once I figured out that you have to love the sport for yourself to find success and enjoy it, I just started to love it, have fun, and enjoy every time that I was going to practice," Vega said. "I didn't really see it as a negative thing anymore. It was just something I looked forward to."
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