Jax Forrest

Jaxen Patrick Forrest(born October 13, 2006) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 61 kilograms and 133 pounds. In freestyle, he was the 2025 US World Team member and National champion, as well as the U23 World champion.

In folkstyle, Forrest was an undefeated NCAA Division I National champion as well as a Big 12 Conference champion as a true-freshman in 2025–2026, out of the Oklahoma State University.

Career

High school

Born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Forrest moved to Johnstown, Pennsylvania to attend Bishop McCort High School. Forrest was a two-time PIAA class AA state champion. While in high school, he competed at and won multiple collegiate open tournaments. At the freestyle age-group level, Forrest claimed a U17 World silver medal at 55 kg in 2022 and was the U23 World gold medalist at 61 kg in 2025.

2024

In April 2024, Forrest made his senior level debut and qualified for the US Olympic Team Trials by claiming the US Last Chance Qualifier crown, racking up dominant wins over NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello, veteran Josh Rodriguez and All-American Devan Turner.

Later in the month, Forrest competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, where, after defeating All-American Liam Cronin, he suffered a loss to World champion Thomas Gilman. Competing for third-place after a pair of forfeit wins, he was defeated by U17 World champion Marcus Blaze.

2025

In February 2025, Forrest, a high school junior, committed to wrestle for David Taylor at the Oklahoma State University.

In April, Forrest claimed the US Open National championship at 61 kilograms, notably defeating NCAA champions Nahshon Garrett in the quarterfinals and Seth Gross in the finals, both by technical fall. As the winner of the tournament, Forrest qualified for Final X, where he would face World champion Vito Arujau for the US World Team spot. Originally scheduled to take place at the Final X event, the series was postponed after Arujau's request following an injury. In the meantime, Forrest claimed a Pan American title after three victories over foreign opposition, in May.

In July, Forrest faced Arujau at the Fargo National tournament, clinching up two upset victories in a row to dethrone the World champion and become the United States' senior level rep at 61 kilograms for the 2025 World Championships

In September, Forrest competed at the World Championships, where he racked up notable wins over Asian champions Takara Suda from Japan and Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu from Kyrgyzstan, before falling to World and Olympic champion Zaur Uguev from Russia in the semifinals and U23 World finalist Assylzhan Yessengeldi from Kazakhstan in the bronze-medal match, finishing in fifth place.

A month after the senior level 2025 World Championships were held in September, he won gold at the U23 World Championships at 61 kg in October 2025, at the age of nineteen.

On December 30, 2025, Forrest, a high school senior, announced he would be graduating early in order to enroll at Oklahoma State University and compete in the NCAA during the second semester of the 2025–2026 season.

Oklahoma State University

2025–2026

On January 11, 2026, Forrest made his Oklahoma State wrestling debut, pinning his opponent in 47 seconds, as Oklahoma State shut out the Oklahoma Sooners in their dual meet. After his dual meet match against Iowa on February 22, 2026, Forrest officially burned his redshirt, with the intention to compete in the 2026 post-season. Forrest won the 133-pound title at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

At the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Forrest delivered a dominant performance en route to an NCAA title. He scored a fall in the first round followed by two technical falls in the second round and quarterfinals, all three finishes coming in during the first period. In the semifinals, Forrest defeated Aaron Seidel from Virginia Tech by a 14–3 major decision, in a rematch of their 10–9 match during regular season, where Forrest had also been victorious. In the finals, Forrest posted a 5–2 score over Ben Davino from Ohio State, who had previously not been taken down during his college career.

Freestyle record

NCAA record

Stats

External links

• at United World Wrestling