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LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 2, 2017) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team will make its way to Tulsa, Okla., for the Big 12 Championship this weekend. The tournament will be held in the BOK Center and is once again bound to be a great measure of what to expect for the NCAA Championship in St. Louis on March 16-18. 

The championship opens on Saturday as the preliminary matches begin at 10 a.m. MT, with semifinals and the first round of consolations following at 5 p.m. The wrestlers return on Sunday at 7 a.m. for consolation finals and the championship matches at 12 p.m.

The first three sessions of the championship will be streamed exclusively on FloWrestling, as Sunday’s championship finals will be televised live on Root Sports. It will be the second-consecutive year that Root Sports will pick up the finals matches for the Big 12 Championship. 

The Cowboys will send ten wrestlers to the Big 12 Championship this weekend. Five Cowboys in the lineup have experience wrestling in a Big 12 conference championship. Bryce Meredith leads the way with a third-place finish at last year’s tournament. Drew Templeman and Cole Mendenhall each placed fourth in their respective weight classes last season, while Archie Colgan brought home a fifth-place finish in 2016. 

Senior Drew Templeman began the season at 133 for the Brown and Gold, but has since found his groove at 125. Not only will he be looking for a conference championship, but Templeman will look to grab one of the four automatic bids to the NCAA Championship. He was 16-6 on the season and ranks 12th in the latest coaches’ poll. Additionally, Templeman went 5-2 against members of the Big 12 this year. 

Junior Ronnie Stevens will battle for one of the four sports to the NCAA Championship this weekend. The Oregon State transfer saw time at 125 and 133 this season and went 9-10 in duals as well as 0-3 against members of the Big 12. 

Junior Bryce Meredith will look to shine once again during postseason competition. The All-American enters the Big 12 Championship with a 26-5 overall record and 7-1 mark against the Big 12, with three wins against ranked opponents. He ranks eighth in the coaches rankings and 15h in RPI. Meredith will challenge for one of four spots for Nationals and has been ranked in the top-ten in multiple outlets throughout the season. 

Senior Cole Mendenhall settled into the 149 weight class a year ago and has continued to succeed this season. He owns a 26-7 record and is 4-3 against the Big 12 on the year. There will be four bids to Nationals at the 149-pound weight class. Mendenhall is ranked 18th in the coaches’ rankings and 23rd in RPI. 

157 Pounds 

Junior Archie Colgan will look to take one of three spots to the NCAA Championship this weekend. He finished the season with a 31-6 record and 6-2 mark in Big 12 competition, with four wins versus ranked wrestlers. Colgan sits 18th in the coaches’ rankings and 11th in RPI.  

Redshirt sophomore Branson Ashworth has stepped into the 165 weight class and proven he belongs. Ashworth leads UW with 33 wins this season. He is also 6-2 in Big 12 matches. There will be five automatic bids up for grabs this weekend in Tulsa at the 165-pound weight class. 

Junior Kyle Pope has been the Pokes go-to guy at 174 this season and will battle for one of the three spots in Tulsa to move on to Nationals. He has compiled a 20-14 overall record and 3-5 mark against the Big 12. He will be one of five Cowboys making their Big 12 Conference Championship debut. 

Only two spots for the NCAA Championship are up for grabs this weekend in the 184-pound weight class. Redshirt freshman Lucas Lovvorn will get his first taste of postseason action for the Brown and Gold. He holds a 16-10 mark in addition to a 1-4 record in Big 12 duals. 

Junior Luke Paine will man the 197 weight class for the Brown and Gold. The junior sports a 10-14 overall record with a 1-4 mark against Big 12 opponents. He has seen time at 184 and 197 for UW this season and will look to secure one of five bids for the NCAA Championship.

Senior Brandon Tribble will return to the Big 12 Championship this season, only up one weight. He went 1-2 last season at 197. Tribble holds an 11-17 mark and a 2-5 record against the Big 12 this year. Tribble will try to snag one of four automatic bids this weekend in Tulsa.

The Big 12 conference was allotted 38 automatic bids for the NCAA Championship. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data.  Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class; RPI; and coaches’ ranking. For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. 

125: 4

133: 4

141: 4

149: 4

157: 3

165: 5

174: 3

184: 2

197: 5

285: 4

Five Pokes Earn Top-Four Seeds for the Big 12 Championship 

Five Cowboy wrestlers earned top-four pre-seeds for the 2017 Big 12 Championship, the conference announced Monday. Meredith leads the way for the Brown and Gold with the No. 2 seed at 141 pounds. Templeman (125) and Ashworth (165) each picked up the No. 3 seeds in their respective weight classes. Mendenhall (149) and Colgan (157) round out Cowboys pre-seeded in the top-four. The pre-seeds are tentative and will be finalized on Friday evening before the championships begin. 

“Hopefully our guys are relaxed, focused on themselves and just go out and wrestle to extend their season,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “We have had a couple weeks of tough workouts and practices, but I think we are ready to go. This past week and a half we’ve focused on matches with a lot of simulation to help prepare for this weekend.”

“I felt our pre-seeds were fair and just about where I thought we would be at. There will be finalized later this week, but we know there is incredible opportunity for all our guys to work some magic. At the same time, we all understand there is plenty of work to do.”