Cowboys hit road for Big 12 double header

* University of Wyoming Athletics media relations release

LARAMIE -- After three straight duals at home, the Wyoming Cowboy wrestling squad will hit the road this Saturday for a Big 12 double-header against No. 8 Missouri and Utah Valley. Both duals will be hosted by Utah Valley with Wyoming competing at 4 p.m and 6 p.m. MT.

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“I’m actually excited to get on the road and out of our comfort zone to see how we respond. I feel like we have been in a bit of a rut here so to get on the road against two conference teams will be refreshing in several ways,” UW head wrestling coach Mark Branch said. “Obviously, Missouri is a Top-10 team nationally and will be one of the top teams in the conference, so this challenge is a great opportunity.”

The Cowboys will be in for two tough tests on Saturday beginning with the No. 8-ranked Missouri Tigers who boast a line-up featuring eight ranked wrestlers and multiple All-Americans.

There are four ranked matches projected for the dual between the Pokes and Tigers highlighted by battle of All-Americans at 197 pounds between No. 7-ranked Stephen Buchanan and No. 5-ranked Rocky Elam. 165 pounds will also be a weight to watch as No. 20 Cole Moody will take the mat against No. 1-ranked Kegan O’Toole.

The last time Wyoming and Missouri met was a season ago in Columbia, Missouri where the Tigers downed the Cowboys, 29-3. This season Missouri is currently 7-3 on the season with big wins over Oklahoma and Northern Iowa.

Wyoming will close out Saturday against host school Utah Valley in a battle of two teams looking for their first conference dual win of the season. The dual between Wyoming and Utah Valley will be headlined by three straight ranked matchups at 174, 184 and 197 pounds. At 197 it will be a rematch for Buchanan as he is set to face No. 24 Evan Bockman, who Buchanan defeated earlier in the season at the Cowboy Open.

The Cowboys took the last meeting between the teams during the 2019-20 season in Green River, Wyo. where the Pokes picked up a 37-9 victory.

Another Cowboy to watch this weekend will No. 11 Hayden Hastings.

Hastings is now on a nine-match winning streak with his last three wins all coming over ranked opponents. During this streak Hastings has won the 174-pound title at the Reno Tournament of Champions and post a shutout victory over No. 20 Joel Devine (ISU).

Both of Saturday’s duals will be streamed on FloWrestling with live results available on Track Wrestling.