LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 18, 2017) – After a strong showing at the Reno Tournament of Champions, the University of Wyoming Cowboy wrestling team will take on No. 3 Oklahoma State on Tuesday evening inside Storey Gym in Cheyenne. The Big 12 matchup will begin at 7 p.m. MT. Live results can be found on Trackwrestling.com and Flowrestling will have live video. Fans are encouraged to follow @WyoWrestle on Twitter for updates throughout the dual.

Last Time Out
With five top-three finishes, UW took second at the Reno Tournament of Champions this last weekend. Senior Bryce Meredith (141 pounds), junior Branson Ashworth (165 pounds) and redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges (133 pounds) led the Pokes with first-place finishes at their respective weights, while seniors Archie Colgan (157 pounds) and Chaz Polson (184 pounds) took third for the Brown and Gold. UW racked up 140 points to finish behind No. 6 North Carolina State (192 points) in the team standings. Of Wyoming's 19 wrestlers that competed on Sunday, 14 recorded a bonus-point victory in their opening round match.
 
About Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are currently the third-ranked team in the nation. They returned six All-Americans from a year ago, after a third-place finish at Nationals. OSU closed out 2016-17 with an impressive 14-1 dual record and also claimed a Big 12 Championship. The rankings for the week of Dec. 11 had eight OSU wrestlers ranked at their respective weights. Reigning two-time NCAA Champ Dean Heil leads the way holding the No. 1 spot at 141 pounds. Four others are within the top-five at their weights. Nick Piccininni (125 pounds) and Kaid Brock (133 pounds) are each No. 3, while Chandler Rogers (165 pounds) and Preston Veigel (197 pounds) are both ranked fourth.
 
Before competing against UW on Tuesday, Oklahoma State will travel to Greeley, Colo., for a dual on Monday night.
 
Wyoming in the Rankings
In the week of Dec. 11 rankings, Wyoming checked in at No. 23 in the InterMat Team Tournament rankings. For the first time this season, UW received a vote in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. The Brown and Gold jumped to 20th in the FloWrestling team rankings last week and the Pokes are currently 21st and 23rd in the Open Mat and Trackwrestling team rankings, respectively.
 
Individually, Wyoming once again has four wrestlers ranked. Meredith will more than likely lead a number of Pokes that will move up in the individual rankings. Meredith earned his fifth-straight win over a ranked opponent on Sunday and will feature in the marquee matchup on Tuesday night against No. 1 Heil. It is also a rematch of the 2016 NCAA Finals. Meredith is fourth at 141 pounds in the FloWrestling, InterMat, The Open Mat and Trackwrestling rankings. Colgan is 16th in The Open Mat rankings at 157 pounds and 17th in both the FloWrestling and InterMat individual rankings. Ashworth remained at 15th in both the FloWrestling and InterMat rankings, and is also 16th in Trackwrestling's rankings. After picking up an upset win a week ago and joining Ashworth and Meredith with titles in Reno, Bridges is currently 20th in the FloWrestling and The Open Mat's 133 pound rankings.
 
Oklahoma State-Wyoming Series
Tuesday's dual in Cheyenne will mark the 23rd meeting between the schools. Oklahoma State holds an impressive 21-0-1 series advantage, with the lone tie coming in 1957. The dual will become the third neutral site contest, and Oklahoma State has won the previous two neutral site duals.
 
Oklahoma State Connections
Both head coach Mark Branch and associate head coach Ethan Kyle wrestled for Oklahoma State in their collegiate days. Branch was a two-time NCAA Champion and four-time NCAA finalist at Oklahoma State from 1994-97. After exhausting eligibility, Branch was the associate head coach for six years, helping the Pokes to titles in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Kyle wrestled at Oklahoma State from 2003-07. He was a member of four national championship teams from 2003-06 and was a team captain in 2007 as a senior.
 
He Said It
"Everyone knows how tough Oklahoma State can be," Branch said. "They are a very dominant team, and have great wrestlers at every weight. We know this isn't the first or the last time we'll see them. We need to go out and put our best foot forward, and that's all you can ask for. Neither team should worry about results, but just go out and put your best effort on the mat."
 
"We always enjoy these outreach events because of the tremendous fan support the wrestling program has throughout Wyoming. We're fired up about the crowd that will be there and after the showing in Reno, from a team standpoint, we feel pretty good with the momentum we have heading into this dual."
 
Up Next
Wyoming will take to the mat after the New Year at the North Carolina Duals. The Pokes are set to compete against North Carolina, Duke, Army and American on Jan. 5 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
 
Projected Lineup v. Oklahoma State
125:        No. 3 Nick Piccininni v. Trent Olson or Drake Foster
133:        No. 3 Kaid Brock v. No. 20 Montorie Bridges
141:        No. 1 Dean Heil v. No. 4 Bryce Meredith
149:        No. 10 Geo Martinez v. Sam Turner or Ben Hornickle
157:        Jonce Blaylock v. No. 17 Archie Colgan
165:        No. 6 Chandler Rogers v. No. 15 Branson Ashworth
174:        No. 10 Jacobe Smith v. Kyle Pope
184:        Keegan Moore v. Chaz Polson
197:        No. 4 Preston Weigel v. Cody Vigoren or Cale Davidson
HWT:      No. 8 Derek White v. Hunter Mullins or Sam Eagan