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David Taylor shared his reaction to former NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski announcing his retirement on social media. Gwiazdowski is recognized as one of the best wrestlers in the nation, earning All-American honors at both North Carolina State and Binghamton University.
Gwiazdowski last competed at the U.S Olympic Team Trials in 2024, where he lost to Hayden Zillmer by a decision of 5-2.
Taylor, who is currently the head coach of the Oklahoma State wrestling program, is also a two-time NCAA champion. Taylor represented Penn State University during his collegiate career, and went on to represent Team USA at the Olympics where he won a gold medal. He has also won three gold medals at the World Championships.
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In Nick Gwiazdowski's latest post on Instagram announcing his retirement, he shared an image of a pair of boots hanged up.
"Signing off."
Taylor commented on the post, writing:
"U da man Mr Gwiz"
On the international stage, Gwiazdowski is a two-time bronze medalist at the World Championships, having earned the medals in 2017 and 2018 at 125 kg.
Oklahoma head coach David Taylor shares reaction to Wyatt Hendrickson's NCAA title win
Oklahoma head coach David Taylor shared his reaction to Wyatt Hendrickson winning the NCAA Championship as he defeated Gable Steveson 5-4 in the heavyweight final in March 2025. Hendrickson made history as he became the first Oklahoma State wrestler to win an NCAA title in the heavyweight category since Steve Mocco in 2005.
David Taylor reacted to Hendrickson's historic win in an interview with Oklahoma State Athletics, where he said (0:14 onwards):
"That was crazy. I just think this is a sport where everyone's got a chance, you just got to believe, and I mean it's easy to get caught up in what you can and what you can't do, and you know, Wyatt believed."
"This summer when I was training, I was able to wrestle him and back then I could still wrestle him a little bit you know, and then you know he got in shape and he cleaned some things up, and you get a 260 pound guy that's motivated and hungry, with that kind of athleticism, that starts to learn his technique and starts to dial things in and really focus you know, anything could be possible and that's really what happened tonight."
David Taylor is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers to represent the U.S, with the highlight of his international career coming at the 2020 Olympics where he won a gold medal in the 86 kg category.
