LAS VEGAS (Dec. 1, 2017) -- Facing its biggest test yet, the University of Wyoming wrestling team will be well represented on day two of the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational tomorrow. Four Pokes are still alive after the first day of competition, with Bryce Meredith (141 pounds) reaching Saturday's semifinals and Montorie Bridges (125 pounds), Archie Colgan (157 pounds) and Branson Ashworth (165 pounds) in the wrestlebacks.

"When you look at this field and the level of competition that is here in Vegas, I'm happy where we're at right now," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "I think we are sitting at a good spot as a team, with high-level teams just ahead and also right behind us. Everyone scored points for us today, and a few came up with bonus-points which helps a lot in these types of tournaments. We did some big things today and will look to do more of that again tomorrow."
 
Wyoming has 46.5 points for eighth place in the team standings. No. 9 Michigan is leading after day one with 90 points, as No. 2 Ohio State sits in second and No. 13 Nebraska is in third with 85 and 73.5 points, respectively. The Pokes are just ahead of No. 14 Cornell and No. 25 Stanford with one day remaining.
 
Redshirt freshman Trent Olson picked up three victories in Vegas on Friday. The Gillette native earned a decision over both Ethan Rotondo (Wisconsin) and Michael (Johnson (Northern Colorado) before pinning Cornell's Michael Russo.
 
Redshirt freshman Bridges (133 pounds) jumped into Trackwrestling's individual rankings earlier this week and continued to turn heads throughout today. Bridges earned a tech fall over Lane Peters of Army and a 5-2 decision of Steve Polakowski (Minnesota) on his way to the quarterfinals. He scored a third-period takedown against No. 9 Luke Pletcher in the quarterfinals, but dropped the 8-6 decision. He made quick work of Duke's Josh Finesilver with a pin and added a major over Dresdan Simon (CMU) in his last bout of the day.
 
Meredith, the No. 1 seed at 141 pounds, reached the quarterfinals with a 4-0 decision over Nikko Villarreal of Arizona State. Earlier in the day, Meredith picked up what is sure to be the first of many bonus-point victories this season with an impressive major of North Carolina's A.C. Headlee and then a pin of No. 19 Kanen Storr of Iowa State. The senior now draws Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell in the semifinals tomorrow. Diakomihalis is the 12th-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds and the No. 5 seed at the CKLV Invite.
 
Redshirt freshman Sam Turner earned the biggest victory of his young career on Friday morning. Turner upset No. 20 Nick Monico of Kent State with a 6-2 decision and then unfortunately came up short in his next two matches to close out the day. Senior Kyle Pope also pulled off an upset to begin the invite. At 174 pounds, Pope earned a 7-4 decision over No. 17 Ben Harvey before later falling to No. 8 Taylor Lujan of UNI and Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen.
 
At 157 pounds, Colgan, who is the No. 10 seed, eased his way into the quarterfinals. He started the day with a tech fall of J.J. Wolfe of Eastern Michigan, before a 2-0 decision over American's Eric Hong. No. 5 Josh Shields of Arizona State then came away with a 3-1 sudden victory over Colgan in the quarterfinals.
 
Junior Ashworth, the No. 7 seed at 165 pounds, had a hiccup in his first match as he dropped a 7-2 decision to Zac Carson (EMU). After a medical forfeit, Ashworth moved on and found his footing with a 9-3 decision over Dawaylon Barnes of Oklahoma and an impressive 16-1 major over NCAA qualifier Jacob Morrissey of Purdue. He'll fight on tomorrow after a 3-1 decision over Jake Wentzel (Pitt) to close out the day.
 
After falling in his first match of the day, senior Chaz Polson was able to get his offense rolling a bit. He pinned Austin Klient in his second bout and added a 16-0 tech fall over NDSU's Tyler McNutt. Polson then dropped a 10-8 decision to North Carolina's Chip Ness to close out his competition for the weekend.
 
Junior Cody Vigoren went 2-2 during the opening day of the CLKV Invite. Vigoren was solid in his first bout with a 4-1 decision over Nick May of Michigan State. His second victory came via a 9-3 decision over Harvard's Rico Stormer.
 
Redshirt freshman Hunter Mullins began the invite with two wins on Friday. He earned a 3-2 decision over Devin Nye of Kent State, before adding a 4-2 decision over Jon Spaulding (Edinboro). In the quarterfinals, Mullins fell to No. 13 Stanford's Nathan Butler before dropping a tough match to Cody Crawford by way of a 3-2 decision.
 
The second day of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. MT. The Championship finals bouts are set for a 4 p.m. start time.
 
Wyoming Day One Results
125 pounds: Trent Olson, 3-2
Will Bardezbain (Kent State) fall Olson, 2:45
Olson dec. Ethan Rotondo (Wisconsin), 9-3
Olson dec. Michael Johnson (UNC), 5-3
Olson fall Michael Russo (Cornell), 2:53
Sergio Mendez (CSUB) dec. Olson, 9-4
 
133 pounds: Montorie Bridges, 4-1
Bridges tech. fall Lane Peters (Army West Point), 21-1
Bridges dec. Steve Polakowski (Minnesota), 5-2
No. 9 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Bridges, 8-6
Bridges fall Josh Finesilver (Duke), 0:51
Bridges major Dresdan Simon (CMU), 12-4
 
141 pounds: Bryce Meredith, 3-0
Meredith major A.C. Headlee (North Carolina), 14-3
Meredith dec. Nikko Villarreal (Arizona State), 4-0
Meredith fall No. 19 Kanen Storr (Iowa State), 2:04
 
149 pounds: Sam Turner, 1-2
Turner dec. No. 20 Nick Monico (Kent State), 6-2
Michael Sprague (American) dec. Turner, 6-1
Sam Krivus (Virginia) dec. Tuner, 4-1
 
157 pounds: Archie Colgan, 2-1
Colgan tech. fall J.J. Wolfe (EMU), 19-4
Colgan dec. Eric Hong (American), 2-0
No. 5 Josh Shields (Arizona State) dec. Colgan, 3-1 SV-1
 
165 pounds: Branson Ashworth, 4-1
Zac Carson (EMU) dec. Ashworth, 7-2
Ashworth med. forfeit Isaiah Holt (Fresno State)
Ashworth dec. Dawaylon Barnes (Oklahoma), 9-3
Ashworth major Jacob Morrissey (Purdue), 16-1
Ashworth dec. Jake Wentzel (Pitt), 3-1
 
174 pounds: Kyle Pope, 1-2
Pope dec. No. 17 Ben Harvey (Army West Point), 7-4
No. 8 Taylor Lujan (UNI) fall Pope, 3:56
Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Pope, 3-2
 
184 pounds: Chaz Polson, 2-2
Isaac Deaton (UNK) dec. Polson, 13-10
Polson fall Austin Klient (Cal Baptist), 3:00
Polson tech. fall Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 16-0
Chip Ness (UNC) dec. Polson, 10-8
 
197 pounds: Cody Vigoren, 2-2
Vigoren dec. Nick May (Michigan State), 4-1
Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. Vigoren, 5-3
Vigoren dec. Rico Stormer (Harvard), 9-3
Tanner Orndorff (UVU) dec. Vigoren, 6-5
 
285 pounds: Hunter Mullins, 2-2
Mullins dec. Devin Nye (Kent State), 3-2
Mullins dec. Jon Spaulding (Edinboro), 4-2
No. 13 Nathan Butler (Stanford) major Mullins, 12-0
Cody Crawford (Oregon State) dec. Mullins, 3-2
 
*Intermat individual rankings.