# Jax Forrest
**Jax Forrest** (full name Jaxen Patrick Forrest; born 2006) is an American freestyle wrestler who won the 2025 U23 World Championship at 61 kg and the 2026 [NCAA Division I](https://www.edgepedia.org/ncaa-division-i) title at 133 pounds as a true freshman (first-year college athlete competing in their initial academic year) at Oklahoma State University. He is known for an unorthodox style that fans and commentators call "funky."
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2006; hometown Chapel Hill, NC; wrestled at Bishop McCort High School, Johnstown, Pennsylvania[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) |
| International honors | 2025 U23 World champion (61 kg), 2022 U17 World silver medalist (55 kg), 2025 Senior Worlds fifth at 61 kg[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) |
| Senior titles | 2025 U.S. Open and Pan American Championships champion; 2025 Final X winner over Vito Arujau[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) • [2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/) |
| College | 2026 NCAA champion at 133 lb with a 19-0 freshman season; Big 12 champion and Most Outstanding Wrestler[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628) |
| 2026 season | World Team Trials champion (May 2026); Final X runner-up to Marcus Blaze[4](https://okstate.com/news/2026/5/15/cowboy-wrestling-forrest-wins-world-team-trials-punches-ticket-to-final-x) • [2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/) |
| Freestyle record | 33-8 with 19 technical falls in UWW-listed competition[2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/) |
## Background
Forrest is from [Chapel Hill, North Carolina](https://www.edgepedia.org/chapel-hill-north-carolina), and moved to Pennsylvania, where he wrestled for Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown as a class of 2026 athlete[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) • [5](https://www.flowrestling.org/people/7945626-jaxen-forrest). His father, Howard Forrest, was a state champion wrestler and later coached at Bishop McCort, and his younger brother Jamison wrestled alongside him there[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest). He is one of six siblings[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest).
In high school he won two PIAA state titles, at 127 pounds in 2024 and 133 pounds in 2025, and was ranked the top pound-for-pound recruit in the 2026 class by FloWrestling[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) • [3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628). He also won two Super 32 titles, an Ironman title, and two Fargo national championships[2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/).
## International career
Forrest won silver at the 2022 U17 World Championships in Rome at 55 kg, at age 16[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest). In 2025 he won the U.S. Open in Las Vegas in April, the Pan American Championships in [Monterrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/monterrey) in May, and beat returning NCAA champion Vito Arujau twice at Final X in July to make the senior world team[2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/). At the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb he placed fifth at 61 kg, losing to Zavur Uguev of Russia and Assylzhan Yessengeldi of Kazakhstan[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) • [2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/). Oklahoma State's media guide describes him as the youngest American senior world team member of all time[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628).
He won gold at the 2025 U23 World Championships in [Novi Sad](https://www.edgepedia.org/novi-sad), Serbia[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest).
## College wrestling
Forrest enrolled at Oklahoma State in January 2026, during the second semester of his senior year of high school, and wrestled the remainder of the season as a true freshman[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628). He finished 19-0, going 6-0 in duals, and together with teammate Sergio Vega was the first undefeated true freshman national champion since 1947[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628). In the NCAA final at 133 pounds he defeated second-ranked Ben Davino of Ohio State 5-2[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628). Oklahoma State became the first program in NCAA history with three freshman national champions in one tournament: Forrest, Vega at 141 pounds, and Landon Robideau at 159 pounds[6](https://admin.big12sports.com/news/2026/3/22/oklahoma-state-delivers-three-national-titles-in-historical-performance-at-ncaa-wrestling-championships.aspx).
At the Big 12 Championships he won the 133-pound title with a 15-2 major decision over Arizona State's Kyler Larkin and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler, the first freshman to receive the award since 2021[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628). He was also named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and finished runner-up for the Hodge Trophy[1](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest) • [3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628).
## 2026 season and rivalry with Marcus Blaze
In May 2026 Forrest won the Senior World Team Trials at 61 kg, beating [Virginia Tech](https://www.edgepedia.org/virginia-tech)'s Aaron Seidel 9-4 and then Ben Davino by an 11-1 technical fall in 5:20[4](https://okstate.com/news/2026/5/15/cowboy-wrestling-forrest-wins-world-team-trials-punches-ticket-to-final-x). At June's Final X in Newark he met Penn State's Marcus Blaze for the fifth time in their careers; Blaze won the best-of-three series 2-1, taking the world team spot at 61 kg[2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/) • [7](https://owrestle.com/osus-jax-forrest-and-wyatt-hendrickson-to-compete-at-final-x/). Forrest had earlier placed third at the 2026 U.S. Open, losing to Davino before rallying with wins over Michael McGee and Austin DeSanto[2](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/).
## Style
Forrest is known for a "funky" style of wrestling and walks out to the song "Funky Town" at duals[3](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628) • [8](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pursuit-not-being-normal-jax-035900589.html).
## References
1. [Jax Forrest, USA Wrestling athlete profile](https://www.themat.com/profiles/jax-forrest)
2. [Jax Forrest, Wrestling Record](https://wrestlingrecords.com/wrestler/jax-forrest/)
3. [Jax Forrest, 2026-27 Cowboy Wrestling roster, Oklahoma State University Athletics](https://d1yllc564ye8is.cloudfront.net/sports/wrestling/roster/jax-forrest/14628)
4. [Forrest Wins World Team Trials; Punches Ticket to Final X, Oklahoma State University Athletics](https://okstate.com/news/2026/5/15/cowboy-wrestling-forrest-wins-world-team-trials-punches-ticket-to-final-x)
5. [Jaxen Forrest, FloWrestling](https://www.flowrestling.org/people/7945626-jaxen-forrest)
6. [Oklahoma State Delivers Three National Titles in Historical Performance at NCAA Wrestling Championships, Big 12](https://admin.big12sports.com/news/2026/3/22/oklahoma-state-delivers-three-national-titles-in-historical-performance-at-ncaa-wrestling-championships.aspx)
7. [OSU's Jax Forrest and Wyatt Hendrickson to Compete at Final X, Oklahoma Wrestling](https://owrestle.com/osus-jax-forrest-and-wyatt-hendrickson-to-compete-at-final-x/)
8. [How pursuit of not being 'normal' has Jax Forrest chasing history, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/pursuit-not-being-normal-jax-035900589.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Amateur and collegiate wrestling*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license