CLEVELAND (March 16, 2018) – Bryce Meredith shined once again at the 2018 NCAA Championships inside the Quicken Loans Arena on Friday. After becoming the third three-time All-American in Cowboy history on Friday morning, the senior advanced to the 141 pound finals for the second time in his career by earning a 1-0 decision over No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) in the semifinals.
 
"This is what we train all year for," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "It's a hard path to get to the finals and everyone knows Bryce (Meredith) is facing one of the hottest guys in the country right now. It was unexpected with how the semifinal played out but it's an emotional high right now. I can't be more excited for him. Then looking at the future of the program and to have a freshman come through and become an All-American is extremely special. Montorie (Bridges) went out there and wrestled great. Even though he dropped his last one today, I loved what he represented today. He is wrestling on Saturday and that is what it's all about."
 
It will be the ninth time a Cowboy will compete for a national title. Meredith will face Cornell freshman Yianni Diakomihalis tomorrow night. Additionally, redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges went 1-2 on the day and will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow morning. Bridges became the first Cowboy to earn All-American honors in his freshman season since Joe LeBlanc (184 pounds) in 2009. With Bridges and Meredith both securing their All-American status, it's the first time since 2013 UW had two All-Americans in one season. Tyler Cox (125 pounds) and Alfonso Hernandez (197 pounds) earned the honors in 2013.
 
After two days, Wyoming is sitting 17th in the team standings with 27.5 points. Under Branch, the Pokes highest finish came in 2016 when UW finished 18th. Meredith will look to join Dick Ballinger (167 pounds) as the only Cowboys to win NCAA titles. Ballinger won his championship in 1960 for the Brown and Gold.

On Friday night, Meredith and Big Ten Champ McKenna went scoreless in the first period. Meredith started on bottom to begin the second before picking up the escape. Both took shots in the final period, but Meredith prevailed. The escape was all he needed to move on to the championship. He also defeated McKenna in the 2016 semifinals to advance to his first championship.

Like yesterday, Bridges was the first up for the Brown and Gold. For a chance to solidify his All-American status, he had his work cut out for him facing top-ranked Seth Gross of South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Gross' only lost this year was to Meredith. Gross, a returning NCAA finalist was able to get a takedown and over two minutes or riding time within the first period. Bridges was on top to begin the second and went to work. It took Gross two and a half minutes to score the escape. The two began the third frame in neutral and scrambled for a good part of the period before Gross tacked on another takedown. Bridges would add an escape with 15 seconds remaining and then a takedown, but Gross prevailed with the 6-3 decision.

Bridges earned his opportunity for All-American honors as he competed against No. 5 John Erneste of Missouri in the Blood Round on Friday night. Erneste was the first score as he recorded a takedown early. Bridges then escaped and picked up a takedown of his own. The match didn't disappoint, as it was full of hard-fought scrambling. Bridges came out on top after the first, 5-3. The two moved to the final period with Bridges up, 5-4 and neither would score another point as Bridges claimed the 5-4 decision for the win.  

Brdiges then saw familiar foe No. 4 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State later on Friday night. The two were even at three after the first period but Brock was able to distance himself in the second. He would total two takedowns but Brock would take the 12-7 decision. Bridges will face No. 6 Scott Parker of Lehigh tomorrow morning.

Meredith came out ready to go right after Bridges on Friday morning. He went up against Sa'Derian Perry of Eastern Michigan in the 141 quarterfinals for his chance to garner his third All-American status. Jam packed with action right away, Meredith was on the board first with a takedown just 20 seconds into the match. It was clear the senior was in control with good position as he picked up the fall less than a minute later. With the stellar victory, Meredith joined Dick Ballinger (1958-60) and Reese Andy (1994-96) as the only three-time All-Americans for Wyoming. It was also his 11th career win at NCAAs, which is tied for third most all-time for the Brown and Gold.

The first Cowboy to see action in the wrestlebacks was senior Archie Colgan. He faced Luke Weiland of Army on Friday morning. After going scoreless in the first period, Weiland rode Colgan for the entire second period, and neither competitor was able to score once again. With no points awarded in the second frame, Weiland took a 1-0 lead in the third period. He added a takedown only for Colgan to tack on a reversal with time running out. A riding time point gave Weiland the victory, 4-2. Colgan ended his career for Wyoming as a two-time NCAA qualifier and tied 12th all-time with Jimmy London (1976-81) with 111 career wins. In addition to winning the Big 12 title at 157 pounds, he was 33-9 during his final season.  
 
Junior Branson Ashworth followed Colgan in the wrestlebacks. He went on the offensive early with a takedown of Gordon Wolf from Lehigh. The two swapped reversals keeping the junior in front, 4-2 before they'd each get another with Ashworth taking a 6-4 lead after the first three minutes. No points were awarded in the second frame, but Ashworth was able to add one more takedown in the final two minutes. He kept his season alive with the 8-5 decision and moved on to face sixth-seeded Richie Lewis of Rutgers.
 
Lewis is a two-time qualifier and took third at the Big Ten Championships just a couple weeks ago. Coming in to Nationals, he had eight ranked victories, including two against top-ten opponents this season. Ashworth added his impressive resume with nine wins against ranked opponents in the regular season. Both grapplers took their shots early, it wasn't until late in the first period that Lewis was able to score a takedown. Ashworth started the second on top and would fall behind heading to the final period. A reversal for Ashworth cut Lewis' lead in half early in the third. In the final minute, a takedown from Lewis and an escape from Ashworth gave Lewis the final decision, 7-4.
 
Ashworth closed out his junior season with his second trip to Nationals. His two wins in Cleveland moved his season record to 36-6, while his overall career mark sits at 88-19. Additionally, it's his second-straight season with 36 wins, which is tied 14th all-time.
 
Bridges and session five will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. MT on ESPNU, while Meredith and the finals are set for ESPN2 at 6 p.m.  
 
Wyoming Results
133 pounds: No. 8 Montorie Bridges- 3-2
Champ. Round 1: Bridges major Ben Thornton (Purdue), 16-3
Champ. Round 2: Bridges No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (VaTech)
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. Bridges, 6-3
Blood Round: Brides, dec. John Erneste (Mizzou), 5-4
Conso. Round of 8: No. 4 Kaid Brock (OSU) dec. Bridges, 12-7

141 pounds: No. 1 Bryce Meredith- 4-0
Champ. Round 1: Meredith dec. Colton Schilling (Cal Poly), 5-1
Champ. Round 2: Meredith dec. Vincent Turk (Iowa), 5-2
Quarterfinals: Meredith fall Sa'Derian Perry (EMU), 1:36
Semifinals: Meredith dec. No. 4 Joey McKenna (OSU), 1-0
 
149 pounds: Sam Turner- 0-2
Champ. Round 1: No. 16 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) dec. Turner, 4-3 TB2
Conso. Round 1: Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers) dec.  Turner, 5-3
 
157 pounds: No. 9 Archie Colgan- 1-2
Champ. Round 1: Colgan dec. Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 3-1 SV1
Champ. Round 2: No. 8 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Colgan, 2-1 TB2
Conso. Round 2: Luke Weiland (Army) dec. Colgan, 4-2
 
165 pounds: No. 14 Branson Ashworth- 2-2
Champ. Round 1: Ashworth dec. Connor Flynn (Mizzou), 5-2
Champ. Round 2: No. 3 Vincenzo Jospeh (Penn State) dec. 3-1
Conso. Round 2: Ashworth dec. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh), 8-5
Conso. Round 3: No. 6 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) dec. Ashworth, 7-4
 
184 pounds: Chaz Polson- 1-2
Champ. Round 1: No. 7 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) tech Polson, 19-1
Conso. Round 1: Polson dec. Alan Clothier (Appalachian State), 8-5
Conso. Round 2: Emory Parker (Illinois) major Polson 17-3