Laramie, Wyo. (Feb. 16, 2022) – The Wyoming Cowboy wrestling squad is once again on the road this week traveling to Morgantown, West Virginia for a Friday night Big 12 dual against West Virginia. It will be the final dual of the season for the Cowboys and will set the stage for the Big 12 Championships.
"I really feel like we have been learning more about our team these last three weeks so it will be a great chance to get on the mat again before Big 12's to get a final picture of what we need to do to tweak things for the post-season." Head Wrestling Coach
Mark Branch said, "West Virginia has been improving every week and there will be several key match-ups that will decide the outcome."
The Pokes will look to end the regular season on a high note as they ride a three-match winning streak into Friday's dual against the Mountaineers. West Virginia boasts a lineup that features three ranked wrestlers including No. 7 Killian Cardinale (125) and No. 9 Peyton Hall (165). Wyoming will be led by No. 2 ranked
Stephen Buchanan who is currently 18-2 on the season sporting the highest ranking of his career so far.
While there are no projected ranked matchups, 157 pounds will be a weight to watch as No. 15 ranked
Jacob Wright will face a familiar foe in Alex Hornfeck. The two grapplers met twice last season with Wright winning both of the very competitive meetings.
No. 33 ranked
Jaron Jensen will also look to keep his hot streak going after breaking into the 149 pounds rankings for the first time this season. Coming off of two big wins against Air Force and Northern Colorado, Jensen will put his winning streak on the line against Jeff Boyd.
Wyoming will look to make it for in a row on Friday night after rattling off three straight conference wins. Their most recent win came last week against the Air Force Falcons. The Cowboys won six matches in the dual and used big bonus point wins from No. 12
Hayden Hastings and No. 2 Buchanan to secure the 21-17 victory.
The last time Wyoming and West Virginia was a season ago in Laramie in a meeting where the Cowboys upset the No. 20 Ranked Mountaineers. That upset victory was highlighted by Buchanan upsetting No. 1 ranked and undefeated Noah Adams sparking the Pokes to a 21-12 victory.
Fridays dual will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on track wrestling.
