There have been perpetual inquiries about this #4 Oklahoma State team being “different.” While some Cowboy wrestlers have agreed some things have changed, only recently did the head Cowboy reveal how it’s different.

After the Cowboys’ victory against Iowa State, Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith said the dependency on a handful of wrestlers isn’t a factor in the locker room anymore. 

“It’s different from the standpoint of that, we don’t have to rely on one guy,” Smith said.

“Dustin Plott, we don’t have to rely on Dustin Plott to win (Friday against Northern Iowa). We don’t have to rely on Izzak (Olejnik) to win (Saturday against Iowa State). Somebody else is stepping up that doesn’t have that kind of name. That’s the difference. We got good competitors and guys that are wrestling for each other.”

Teague Travis has been one of those guys for the Cowboys.

In three years, Travis has wrestled at three different weight classes, going from 141 his first two years at Oklahoma State to 149 earlier this season — a weight occupied by Sammy Alvarez and Jordan Williams — and now 157. 

Travis said he saw a better opportunity at 157 to help the team and approached Smith about moving up a weight. 

“I saw that the 57 spot was open,” Travis said. “I was like, ‘Just go be the guy there and do it for the team.’ So far it’s been working out pretty good… I knew that last year, cutting to 41 was a pretty big cut. I spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer. I just kept getting bigger and bigger and filling out and maturing more.”

The Cowboys had been rolling with Daniel Manibog and Jalin Harper to start the season at 157 pounds. Then, Oklahoma State faced Lehigh and Oklahoma for the first dual weekend of the season.

In his first dual meet in an orange singlet, Travis defeated Max Brignola 5-1. To finish the weekend, he scored an 11-2 major decision win against Oklahoma’s John Wiley. Since then, there’s been no question about who the guy is at 157 pounds for the Cowboys.

Travis’s triumphs are no surprise to him, or his head coach. After a major upset over then-fifth-ranked Ed Scott of NC State, Smith said over the last two years, Travis was probably the hardest-working wrestler he had on the team.  

Before losing to Northern Iowa’s Ryder Downey, Travis was 7-0 at 157 pounds and is 8-1 after last weekend. He is 14-2 overall, with his only other loss coming to his teammate, Williams. Travis’s hard work will be put to the test again this weekend when he wrestles two top-10 opponents.

First, he’ll face Arizona State’s #4 Jacori Teemer on Friday before traveling to Columbia, Mo., where he was a three-time high school state champion before attending Stillwater High School. He will wrestle his former high school teammate, Missouri’s #8 Brock Mauller. 

To say Travis has a loaded weekend would be an understatement, but even one win could be enough to garner more respect in the Big 12 and nationally.

Many eyes will be on the major Big 12 clash on Sunday between Oklahoma State and Missouri, Travis isn’t overlooking his match on Friday.

“Not making it bigger than what it is, but, obviously can’t ignore that I did grow up there,” Travis said. “My uncle and my dad both went there and wrestled there. So, yeah, there’s a little history with that. But, just gotta attack it one match at a time and worry about wrestling Arizona State first on Friday.”