Oklahoma State University Athletics
Ross & Robideau earn medals at the U20 World Championships
August 23, 2026 | Cowboy Wrestling
Bratislava, Slovakia – Oklahoma State wrestling earned two medals at the U20 World Championships on Sunday morning in Slovakia, with Dreshaun Ross winning silver at 125kg and Landon Robideau taking bronze at 70kg.
Ross, an incoming freshman from Iowa, and Robideau, an NCAA champion, only dropped two matches combined, both against the gold medalists, throughout the entire weekend to claim their medals.
Ross' run began on Saturday, winning three straight matches to advance to the semifinals. In those three matches, Ross didn't surrender a single point and won multiple matches in less than a minute, including a 33-second victory over South Korea's Baejoon Jang. In Saturday's semifinal, Ross controlled the bout from the jump, working patiently to secure a medal with a 4-1 decision over Azerbaijan's Yusif Dursunov.
Ross' work Saturday set up a chance at gold on Sunday, where he faced off against Iran's Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad. Nezhad got out to a 5-0 lead, with Ross cutting it down before eventually falling via a 5-3 decision. Ross' silver medal is his first in world competition.
Robideau, fresh off an NCAA championship back in March, had an equally impressive run in Bratislava, going 4-1 en route to his bronze medal.
Saturday saw the Minnesota native take two matches early to advance to a tough quarterfinal match with Russia's Maribek Merov where Robideau decisively took the match via a 7-4 decision.
This set up a semifinal match with Sina Khalili of Iran. Robideau fought hard but eventually dropped the match (Dec. 3-2). Khalili would go on to win the gold, with his match against Robideau being the closest of his gold medal run.
Moving to Sunday, Robideau matched up against Kyrgyzstan's Zalkarbek Tabaldiev with a medal on the line. Tabaldiev got out to an early lead and was up 1-0 at the break, but Robideau, with the help of multiple push outs, claimed the match and the bronze medal with a 3-1 decision in his first ever world championships.
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State wrestling, visit okstate.com and follow @CowboyWrestling on Instagram and X.
U20 World Championship Results
Dreshaun Ross | Silver Medalist
Qualifying: def. Baejoon Jang (KOR), Tech Fall 10-0 (0:33)
Round of 16: def. Riza Izakhar (KAZ), Tech Fall 10-0 (0:54)
Quarterfinals: def. Aleksandre Abramishvili (GEO), Tech Fall 12-0 (2:11)
Semifinals: def. Yusif Dursunov (AZE), Dec. 4-1
Gold Medal Match: Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad (IRN) def. Dreshaun Ross (USA), Dec. 5-3
Landon Robideau | Bronze Medalist
Qualifying: def. Zurab Abalaki (GEO), Tech Fall 12-1 (3:42)
Round of 16: def. Ankh Altangerel (MNG), Dec. 13-5
Quarterfinals: def. Maribek Merov (RUS), Dec. 7-4
Semifinals: Sina Khalili (IRN) def. Landon Robideau (USA), Dec. 3-2
Bronze Medal Match: def. Zalkarbek Tabaldiev (KGZ), Dec. 3-1
Ross, an incoming freshman from Iowa, and Robideau, an NCAA champion, only dropped two matches combined, both against the gold medalists, throughout the entire weekend to claim their medals.
Ross' run began on Saturday, winning three straight matches to advance to the semifinals. In those three matches, Ross didn't surrender a single point and won multiple matches in less than a minute, including a 33-second victory over South Korea's Baejoon Jang. In Saturday's semifinal, Ross controlled the bout from the jump, working patiently to secure a medal with a 4-1 decision over Azerbaijan's Yusif Dursunov.
Ross' work Saturday set up a chance at gold on Sunday, where he faced off against Iran's Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad. Nezhad got out to a 5-0 lead, with Ross cutting it down before eventually falling via a 5-3 decision. Ross' silver medal is his first in world competition.
Robideau, fresh off an NCAA championship back in March, had an equally impressive run in Bratislava, going 4-1 en route to his bronze medal.
Saturday saw the Minnesota native take two matches early to advance to a tough quarterfinal match with Russia's Maribek Merov where Robideau decisively took the match via a 7-4 decision.
This set up a semifinal match with Sina Khalili of Iran. Robideau fought hard but eventually dropped the match (Dec. 3-2). Khalili would go on to win the gold, with his match against Robideau being the closest of his gold medal run.
Moving to Sunday, Robideau matched up against Kyrgyzstan's Zalkarbek Tabaldiev with a medal on the line. Tabaldiev got out to an early lead and was up 1-0 at the break, but Robideau, with the help of multiple push outs, claimed the match and the bronze medal with a 3-1 decision in his first ever world championships.
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State wrestling, visit okstate.com and follow @CowboyWrestling on Instagram and X.
U20 World Championship Results
Dreshaun Ross | Silver Medalist
Qualifying: def. Baejoon Jang (KOR), Tech Fall 10-0 (0:33)
Round of 16: def. Riza Izakhar (KAZ), Tech Fall 10-0 (0:54)
Quarterfinals: def. Aleksandre Abramishvili (GEO), Tech Fall 12-0 (2:11)
Semifinals: def. Yusif Dursunov (AZE), Dec. 4-1
Gold Medal Match: Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad (IRN) def. Dreshaun Ross (USA), Dec. 5-3
Landon Robideau | Bronze Medalist
Qualifying: def. Zurab Abalaki (GEO), Tech Fall 12-1 (3:42)
Round of 16: def. Ankh Altangerel (MNG), Dec. 13-5
Quarterfinals: def. Maribek Merov (RUS), Dec. 7-4
Semifinals: Sina Khalili (IRN) def. Landon Robideau (USA), Dec. 3-2
Bronze Medal Match: def. Zalkarbek Tabaldiev (KGZ), Dec. 3-1
Players Mentioned
/ Cowboy Wrestling
/ Cowboy Wrestling
Thursday, August 20
Monday, August 17
Monday, August 17
Monday, August 17
