LARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 3, 2023) –  After back-to-back tournaments, the Wyoming Cowboy Wrestling squad will have a change of pace to ring in the new year as they hit the road for a pair of Big 12 duals. The Pokes open their road trip in Cedar Falls, Iowa against No. 16 Northern Iowa on Thursday, Jan. 5 before heading to Ames, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 7 to take on No. 3 Iowa State. 
 
"We will really be focusing on individual match-ups as we get into these conference duals.  We will have a little different line-up again this week so there is an opportunity for some new faces to make a statement and also lay claim to a starting role." Head Wrestling Coach Mark Branch said, "Our mission, as it has been all season, is to just improve on what we work on leading up to competition and get better every time we step out and compete." 
 
The Cowboys are coming off of a third-place finish at the Soldier Salute where they were led by No. 9 ranked Jacob Wright (157). Wright was the lone Cowboy to win a title at the Soldier Salute picking up back-to-back wins on his way to the first-place finish. With his performance Wright moved to 10-0 on the season and bumped his career win total to 94.
 
In his chase for 100 career wins, Wright will look to join Hayden Hastings (174) in hitting the century mark this season. Hastings eclipsed the 100-win mark at the Soldier Salute finishing the tournament with 102 career wins currently putting him in 18^th all-time in program history. 
 
When the Pokes clash with the Panthers on Thursday it will be their first dual meeting since 2012 when Wyoming came away with a 27-12 in Laramie. So far this season the Panthers are 2-1 in duals picking up an impressive 19-13 upset win over No. 3 Ohio State. The Northern Iowa lineup features eight ranked wrestlers led by two-time all-American and No. 2 ranked Parker Keckeisen. 
 
On Saturday, the Cowboys will go up against a more familiar foe in No. 3 ranked Iowa State who they hosted last season in Laramie, the Cyclones won that meeting 32-6. Iowa State is currently 7-2 on the season with impressive wins over No. 12 Cornell and No. 13 Wisconsin and are coming off of an 11^th place finish at the Southern Scuffle. The Cyclone lineup features seven ranked wrestlers including six wrestlers ranked inside the top ten of their respective weight classes. 
 
Live stats for both duals will be available on TrackWrestling.com, live video for Thursdays dual against Northern Iowa will be available on FloWrestling.com while Saturdays dual against Iowa State will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. 
 
Projected Cowboy Lineup 
125 - Garrett Ricks (10-9)
133 - Darrick Stacey (0-0)
141 -HM Job Greenwood (6-2) OR Darren Green (12-4)
149 - Chase Zollmann (12-8)
157 - No. 11 Jacob Wright (10-0)
165 - Cole Moody (12-6)
174 - HM Hayden Hastings (11-3)
184 - Guillermo Escobedo (9-8) OR Quayin Short (11-3)
197 – Open 
285 - Terren Swartz (10-7) OR Mason Ding (10-5)