Cowboys Travel to West Virginia for a Top-25 Tussle
LARAMIE -- The University of Wyoming wrestling team takes to the road this weekend for a top 25 battle. The No. 23 Cowboys travel to No. 19 West Virginia for a 4 p.m. dual inside Hope Coliseum.
It will be broadcast on ESPN-Plus.
The Pokes returned to the NWCA Coaches’ Poll this week following a, 24-18, victory over No. 10 South Dakota State on Sunday in Laramie. It improved Wyoming to 4-3 on the season and 3-0 in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers – who have resided in the top 25 all season – are 8-3 overall and 3-1 in league and pulled an upset this past weekend, as well, defeating No. 16 Oklahoma, 19-17.
“(West Virginia) has one of the best teams they’ve had in quite a while,” head coach Mark Branch said. “They’ve been wrestling really well. They had a big upset of their own last weekend. They have a very good dual team. They have a lot of solid guys top to bottom.”
Branch is hopeful his squad can harness some of its form from this past weekend and put it back on display at West Virginia. The Cowboys pulled a pair of upsets en route to defeating the top 10 Jackrabbits, as then-No. 32 Jared Hill (157) and Sloan Swan (165) each claimed unexpected victories.
It’s going to take much of the same against a Mountaineers’ outfit that features six ranked grapplers.
“When it comes to duals, a lot of it is how you match up,” Branch said. “Now, I would have told you last week we didn’t match up great with South Dakota State, but then you pull off a couple big upsets, and those matchups look a little better in your favor. So, it does come down to matchups, but it comes down to who steps up that day to wrestle and who makes big moments happen like Jared and Sloan.”
Hill vaulted up to No. 17 in the latest rankings. In addition to his ranking, No. 4 Joey Novak (197), No. 8 Christian Carroll (HWT), No. 10 Eddie Neitenbach (184), No. 18 Gabe Willochell (149), No. 28 Luke Willochell (133) and No. 28 Riley Davis (174) also possess and national rank.
As stated, West Virginia has six guys ranked. The lineup is headlined by No. 4 Ty Watters (157) followed by No. 8 Jett Strickenberger (125), No. 13 Brody Conley (174), No. 15 Rune Lawrence (197), No. 17 Gunner Andrick (133) and No. 17 Ian Bush (184).
Wyoming leads the all-time series with West Virginia, 5-1. The Cowboys have claimed a win in each of the last three meetings, including a 19-18 upset win over the Mountaineers last season in Laramie.
Following the dual in Morgantown, the Pokes return home for a dual against Oregon State. That’s scheduled for Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. inside the UniWyo.
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