LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 25, 2018) -- Wyoming wrestling will be back in Laramie this weekend, as the Brown and Gold are set to take on Fresno State for the Dual in the Dome. The dual will begin at 6 p.m. MT on Saturday. Live results can be found on Trackwrestling with live video on Flowrestling. Fans are also encouraged to follow @WyoWrestle on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
 
Last Time Out
The Pokes (8-3, 2-2 Big 12) are coming off a 32-6 victory at North Dakota State on Saturday night. The Pokes dominated with eight wins, four of which came via bonus points. It also marked the fifth-straight win for Wyoming at NDSU.
 
Saturday's victory was the 95th dual win for head coach Mark Branch. He is inching towards becoming the fourth coach in UW history to earn 100 dual wins. Everett Lantz (1936-43, '46-52, '53-65) went 141-73-8 during his tenure, while Steven Suder (1989-2008) and Joe Dowler (1973-87) posted records of 127-136-2 and 104-64-1, respectively.
 
Know the Competition – Fresno State
Fresno State (3-11, 0-2 Big 12) will face off with Northern Colorado on Friday night before making the trip to Laramie. The Bulldogs have lost the last five duals, with their most recent win coming against Bucknell in the Virginia Duals on Jan. 12. Fresno State wrestling saw its 11-year hiatus end, as the Bulldogs returned to competition this season for the first time since 2005-06.
 
Saturday's match will be the first between Fresno State and UW since 2005. Fresno State holds the all-time series advantage having won 11 of the 12 dual contests. The Bulldogs won the last matchup, 24-18.
 
Both Khristian Olivas (149 pounds) and AJ Nevills (285 pounds) are within the NCAA coaches' panel rankings. Olivas is No. 22, while Nevills leads the Bulldogs with a 24-3 overall mark, is sitting No. 28 at heavyweight.
 
Wyoming in the Rankings
Not much has changed from a week ago in the individual rankings. Bryce Meredith is once again the No. 1 wrestler at 141 pounds in each of the Flowrestling, InterMat, Trackwrestling and The Open Mat individual rankings. He is Wyoming's first wrestler to own the No. 1 ranking at any weight since Joe LeBlanc (184 pounds) was No. 1 heading in to Nationals in 2011-12. Montorie Bridges was tested last weekend with tough and experienced competition, but he no doubt prevailed. He is No. 5 in the Flowrestling individual rankings, and also owns the No. 4 spot according to Trackwrestling, No. 7 in The Open Mat rankings and No. 9 by InterMat.
 
After moving past Shane Woods (2014-17) and Lonnie Currier (1980-85) for 16th all-time with 102 career wins, Archie Colgan (157 pounds) sits at No. 10 by InterMat, Trackwrestling and Flowrestling. He is also No. 12 for The Open Mat individual rankings.
 
Branson Ashworth (165 pounds), who is ranked seventh in the nation with seven tech falls against Division I competition, held steady at No. 14 in all individual rankings, while Sam Turner moved up to No. 16 in Flowrestling's individual rankings.
 
As a team, Wyoming is ranked No. 22 for the second week in a row in the USA Today/NWCA poll. The Brown and Gold are also No. 11 according to Flowrestling and Trackwrestling. They are No. 20 in InterMat's Tournament rankings, and broke into the top-ten in Trackwrestling's team rankings.
 
The NCAA released the first of four coaches' panel rankings for the 2017-18 wrestling season last Thursday. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
 
Two-time All-American Meredith leads UW as the top wrestler at 141 pounds. He is followed by Bridges ranked eighth at 133 pounds. Colgan is tenth at 157 pounds, while Ashworth is ranked 14th (165 pounds). Turner holds the 24th spot at 149 pounds, as Kyle Pope rounds out the Pokes as the 32nd-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds.
 
Up Next
Following UW's dual on Saturday evening, the Brown and Gold will next welcome the Oklahoma Sooners for a dual on Feb. 4. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. MT in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
 
Probable Lineups
125: Drake Foster (14-9; 4-5 dual record) / Trent Olson (11-8; 0-2) v. Sean Wiliams (5-12; 4-8)
133: #5 Montorie Bridges (25-3; 11-0) v. Trevor Williams (6-16; 3-11)
141: #1 Bryce Meredith (21-1; 11-0) v. Chris DeLoza (7-17; 1-13)
149: #16 Sam Turner (19-12; 7-4) v. #22 Khristian Olivas (21-3; 13-1)
157: #10 Archie Colgan (24-7; 6-3) v. Greg Gaxiola (13-10; 8-6)
165: #14 Branson Ashworth (26-3; 10-1) / Dewey Krueger (14-6; 3-1) v. Isaiah Hokit (13-12; 5-9)
174: Kyle Pope (18-9; 8-3) v. Dominic Kincaid (9-16; 2-12)
184: Chaz Polson (22-9; 5-5) / Luke Paine (0-0) v. Richie Brandt (6-11; 1-6) / Angel Solis (7-15; 2-11)
197: Cody Vigoren (7-12; 2-7) v. Josh Hokit (4-4; 4-4)
285: Sam Eagan (9-9; 3-3) v. #28 AJ Nevills (24-3; 14-0)
- Rankings reflect Flowrestling individual rankings.