LARAMIE, Wyo. (Dec. 27, 2022) –  The Wyoming Cowboy wrestling squad is set to close out the calendar year with a trip to Coralville, Iowa to compete in the Soldier Salute Tournament. After being canceled a year ago, the Soldier Salute Tournament is now set to make its debut boasting a highly competitive field.  
 
"This is an exciting yet very concerning tournament for us. It's not easy to send your team home for a week and have them come back two days before a big competition, but them being home with their families takes precedence over competition" Head Wrestling Coach Mark Branch said, "Hopefully they were responsible and got some good workouts in. I'm excited to see some unfamiliar opponents and to see if our guys will carry over some momentum and confidence from Reno." 
 
The Cowboys are coming off of a strong showing at the Reno Tournament of Champions where they earned a runner-up team finish led by Jacob Wright (157) and Hayden Hastings (174) who both captured individual titles. In total, the Cowboys had 11 place winners in Reno with Quayin Short (184) and Cole Moody (165) making the finals as well earning runner up finishes.
 
In addition to competing for a title at the Soldier Salute tournament, Hastings will look to punch his name into the record books and eclipse the 100-win mark. The Wyoming native currently sits at 98 career wins needing just two more to hit the century mark and move into the program all-time top 20 in career wins. 
 
The Pokes will be up against a very tough field highlighted by national powerhouse and No. 2 ranked Iowa who boasts a lineup with multiple all-Americans. The field will also feature No. 3 Iowa State, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 16 Northern Iowa and No. 18 Minnesota. Rounding out the teams competing in Coralville will be The Citadel, VMI, Army, Navy, Columbia, Bellarmine and South Dakota State. 
 
The action is set to take place over two days with the opening session set for 9 a.m. MT on Thursday, with two sessions of wrestling scheduled for each day. Live results will be avilable on TrackWrestling and live video for the event will be avialible on Big Ten Plus. 
 
Tournament Schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 29 -
Session 1 - 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Session 2 - 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
 
Friday, Dec. 30 -
Session 3 - 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Session 4 - 5 p.m. - 7:30 p.m
 
Cowboys Competing:
125 – Jore Volk and Garret Ricks
133 – Aidan Noonan 
141 – Darren Green 
149 – Chase Zollmann and Warren Carr
157 – Jacob Wright and Bryce Dauphin and Cooper Voorhees (UNAT)
165 – Cole Moody
174 – Hayden Hastings and Brett McIntosh
184 – Quayin Short and Guillermo Escobedo
197 – Tyce Raddon
285 –Terren Swartz and Mason Ding and Kevin Zimmer (UNAT)