Jaxen Patrick Forrest (born October 13, 2006)Abbott, Gary. (July 17, 2024). 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals Men's Freestyle finalist biographies. USA Wrestling. Retrieved July 17, 2025. 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.Bishop McCort Crimson Crushers Wrestling : Jax Forrest. PA-Wrestling.com. Retrieved August 8, 2025. 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.Smith, Earl. (October 27, 2025). Forrest Wins U23 World Championship; USA Takes Team Title. InterMat. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
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.
In September, Forrest moved up to 61 kilograms and competed at the US World Team Trials, where he went 3–1 with a lone loss to four-time All-American Austin DeSanto and technical fall wins over All-Americans Nico Provo and Liam Cronin.
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.Forrest Delivers Gold Medal, Men’s Freestyle Wins U23 World Team Title. nwhof.org. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
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.Bush, Braden. (January 6, 2026). Jax Forrest enrolls early at Oklahoma State, joins Cowboy wrestling roster: Will he compete right away?. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
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.Keating, Bryan. (January 12, 2026). Oklahoma State's Jax Forrest shines in wrestling debut. KOCO. Retrieved March 20, 2026. 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.Kosko, Nick. February 22, 2026). Oklahoma State uses Jax Forrest vs. Iowa, burns redshirt. On3. Retrieved March 20, 2026. Forrest won the 133-pound title at the 2026 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.(March 8, 2026). Bishop McCort graduate Jax Forrest wins Big 12 title, OW honors. Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
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.NCAA Wrestling Championships 2026 Results, Champions, Team Scores www.flowrestling.org
Onto freestyle season, Forrest competed at the US Open National Championships held in April, where he was knocked off in the semifinals by Ben Davino in a rematch from the NCAA finals held a month earlier. He defeated All-American Michael McGee and avenged a loss to Austin DeSanto to come back for third-place.
In May, Forrest competed at the US World Team Trials Challenge, in a second attempt to qualify for Final X. He took out All-American Aaron Seidel on points to set up a rematch with Davino, where he was victorious by technical fall. This result set up a best-of-three showdown against US Open and U20 World champion Marcus Blaze, which took place in June. Forrest was defeated two matches to one.
Freestyle record
! colspan="7"| Senior Freestyle Matches |- ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |32–8 |align=left| Marcus Blaze |style="font-size:88%"|2–5 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|June 19, 2026 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2026 Final X |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Newark, New Jersey |- |Win |32–7 |align=left| Marcus Blaze |style="font-size:88%"|6–1 |- |Loss |31–7 |align=left| Marcus Blaze |style="font-size:88%"|2–2 |- |Win |31–6 |align=left| Ben Davino |style="font-size:88%"|TF 11–1 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|May 14–15, 2026 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|2026 US World Team Trials Challenge |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2| Louisville, Kentucky |- |Win |30–6 |align=left| Aaron Seidel |style="font-size:88%"|9–4 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |29–6 |align=left| Austin DeSanto |style="font-size:88%"|5–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|April 24–25, 2026 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2026 US Open National Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Las Vegas, Nevada |- |Win |28–6 |align=left| Michael McGee |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Loss |27–6 |align=left| Ben Davino |style="font-size:88%"|4–8 |- |Win |27–5 |align=left| Kyle Burwick |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |26–5 |align=left| Tallon Chambers |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |25–5 |align=left| Omurbek Asan Uulu |style="font-size:88%"|17–14 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|October 24–25, 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2025 U23 World Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Novi Sad, Serbia |- |Win |24–5 |align=left| Akito Mukaida |style="font-size:88%"|TF 15–5 |- |Win |23–5 |align=left| Mykyta Abramov |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |22–5 |align=left| Vasile Marcu |style="font-size:88%"|TF 13–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |21–5 |align=left| Assylzhan Yessengeldi |style="font-size:88%"|8–10 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|September 13–14, 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2025 World Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Zagreb, Croatia |- |Loss |21–4 |align=left| Zaur Uguev |style="font-size:88%"|3–10 |- |Win |21–3 |align=left| Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu |style="font-size:88%"|13–8 |- |Win |20–3 |align=left| Takara Suda |style="font-size:88%"|7–2 |- |Win |19–3 |align=left| Han Sang-boum |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |18–3 |align=left| Vito Arujau |style="font-size:88%"|7–2 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|July 14, 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2|2025 US Fargo National Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2| Fargo, North Dakota |- |Win |17–3 |align=left| Vito Arujau |style="font-size:88%"|4–3 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |16–3 |align=left| Joseph Silva |style="font-size:88%"|TF 11–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|May 10, 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2025 Pan American Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Monterrey, Mexico |- |Win |15–3 |align=left| Josh Kramer |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |14–3 |align=left| Esteban Perez |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |13–3 |align=left| Seth Gross |style="font-size:88%"|TF 19–8 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|April 25–26, 2025 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2025 US Open National Championships |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| Las Vegas, Nevada |- |Win |12–3 |align=left| Ben Davino |style="font-size:88%"|4–0 |- |Win |11–3 |align=left| Nahshon Garrett |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |10–3 |align=left| Kyle Gollhofer |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |9–3 |align=left| Nathanie Johnson |style="font-size:88%"|TF 13–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |8–3 |align=left| Liam Cronin |style="font-size:88%"|TF 16–6 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|September 14–15, 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|2024 US World Team Trials |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6| Omaha, Nebraska |- |Win | |align=left| Nahshon Garrett |style="font-size:88%"|FF |- |Win | |align=left| Nasir Bailey |style="font-size:88%"|FF |- |Win |7–3 |align=left| Kyle Burwick |style="font-size:88%"|TF 16–6 |- |Loss |6–3 |align=left| Austin DeSanto |style="font-size:88%"|6–9 |- |Win |6–2 |align=left| Nico Provo |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Loss |5–2 |align=left| Marcus Blaze |style="font-size:88%"|1–8 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|April 19–20, 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5|2024 US Olympic Team Trials |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=5| State College, Pennsylvania |- |Win | |align=left| Zane Richards |style="font-size:88%"|FF |- |Win | |align=left| Nick Suriano |style="font-size:88%"|FF |- |Loss |5–1 |align=left| Thomas Gilman |style="font-size:88%"|4–5 |- |Win |5–0 |align=left| Liam Cronin |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- ! style=background:white colspan=7 | |- |Win |4–0 |align=left| Nathan Tomasello |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|April 6–7, 2024 |style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2024 US Last Chance Qualifier |style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Fairfax, Virginia |- |Win |3–0 |align=left| Josh Rodriguez |style="font-size:88%"|13–4 |- |Win |2–0 |align=left| Devan Turner |style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0 |- |Win |1–0 |align=left| Gary Steen |style="font-size:88%"|TF 12–2
NCAA record
! colspan="8"| NCAA Division I Record (incomplete) |- ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event |-