TULSA, Okla. (March 4, 2022) – The Wyoming Cowboy Wrestling squad got their postseason underway on Saturday at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma held inside the BOK Center. The Pokes put on a display of grit through the first day of action with
Jacob Wright (157),
Jore Volk (125) and
Cole Moody (165) all earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. March 16-18.
"We had six matches today that we lost last time we faced those guys and we turned that around. That's a really positive thing and only having two guys seeded and now having several guys placing in the top eight is great, this is what we've talked about and we want to wrestle our best despite how our regular season went." Head Wrestling Coach
Mark Branch said, "Moody put together some of his best wrestling today and the way he's competing is really inspiring. With the challenges we've had this season you like to see guys wrestling their best now and we got several guys doing that and we have to keep it going tomorrow."
No. 6 seeded
Jacob Wright opened his day with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seeded Jarrett Jacques (MIZZ). After battling for nine grueling minutes the two grapplers were tied 2-2 through regulation and sudden victory overtime sending the match to tie breakers. In the tie breaker periods Wright picked up an escape before riding out Jacques to seal a gritty 3-2 victory.
The upset win was a monumental one for Wright advancing him to the semifinals as well as earning him a spot at his fourth straight NCAA Championship. Along with the automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament, the victory gave Wright his 100
th career win.
After dropping a nail biter overtime semifinal match to No. 2 seeded Kaden Gfeller (OSU), Wright will be back in action tomorrow in the consolation semifinals taking on Jared Hill (OU).
Entering the tournament unseeded at 165 pounds, Moody put together a statement day that began with a rematch against No. 6 seeded Wyatt Sheets, who defeated Moody in their first meeting this season. This time around Moody flipped the script picking up a takedown late in the third period to ice a 6-3 victory. Moody followed that up with a dominant 12-1 major decision victory over No. 7 Seeded Tanner Cook (SDSU) to put himself in the consolation semifinals.
With his performance, Moody becomes a two-time NCAA qualifier after qualifying for the 2021 NCAA championships. He will open his day tomorrow in the consolation semifinals against No. 4 seeded Peyton Hall.
Competing in his first Big 12 Championship, True Freshman Volk faced early adversity in the 125-pound bracket after dropping his opening match to No. 7 seeded Joey Prata (OU) in overtime. From there Volk put together two controlling performances outscoring his opponents 13-5 punching a spot into consolation semifinals and earning a trip to the NCAA tournament in his first season as a Cowboy. Volk will open his day tomorrow against Reece Witcraft (OSU).
At 141 pounds,
Job Greenwood battled his way back through the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the seventh-place match tomorrow. It will be a must win scenario for Greenwood as he faces No. 8 seeded Jordan Titus (WVU) with the winner earning a spot at the NCAA Championships.
At 133 pounds,
Garrett Ricks will close out his tournament tomorrow competing in the seventh place against No. 4 seeded Cody Phippen (AF).
In the team standings, the Cowboys finished the day in 11
th with 30 points sitting just 1.5 points behind West Virginia. Missouri currently leads the team race with 135 points while Iowa State sits in second with 112 points.
Session three of the Big 12 Championships is set to begin at 11 a.m. MT with three Cowboys slated to wrestle in the consolation semifinals.
Team standings
- Missouri 135
- Iowa State 112
- Oklahoma State 102.5
- Oklahoma 78
- SDSU 69.5
- NDSU 67.5
- Air Force 57.5
- Northern Iowa 57
- Northern Colorado 42
- West Virginia 31.5
- Wyoming 30
- Utah Valley 26
- CBU 1
Day 1 Cowboy Results
125 – No. 2 Jore Volk
Quarterfinal: No. 7 Joey Prata (OU) dec. No. 2 Jore Voljk (WYO) 4-2 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 2: No. 2
Jore Volk (WYO) dec. Kyle Gollhofer (UNI) 6-2
Cons. Round 3: No. 2
Jore Volk (WYO) dec. Corey Cabanban (ISU) 7-3
133 – Garrett Ricks
First Round: No. 1 Daton Fix (OSU) fall (0:55)
Garrett Ricks (WYO)
Cons. Round 2:
Garrett Ricks (WYO) dec. Derrick Cardinal (SDSU) 3-2
Cons. Round 3: Wyatt Henson (OU) dec.
Garrett Ricks (WYO) 3-1
141 – Job Greenwood
First Round:
Job Greenwood (WYO) dec. No. 7 Dylan Droegemueller (NDSU) 4-2
Quarterfinal: No. 2 Mosha Swartz (OU) dec.
Job Greenwood (WYO) 6-3
Cons. Round 2:
Job Greenwood (WYO) dec. Garrett Kuchan (AF) 8-4
Cons. Round 3: Casey Swiderski (ISU) dec.
Job Greenwood (WYO) 3-1
149 – Chase Zollmann – 8th
First Round: No. 1 Brock Mauller (MIZZ) dec.
Chase Zollmann (WYO)
Cons. Round 2: Chase Zolmann (WYO) dec. No. 7 Chris Sandoval (UNC) 3-2
Cons. Round 3: No. 6 Mitch Moore (OU) won via DQ over
Chase Zollmann (WYO)
157 – No. 6 Jacob Wright
Quarterfinal: No. 6
Jacob Wright (WYO) dec. No. 3 Jarrett Jacques (MIZZ) 3-2 (TB-1)
Semifinals: No. 2 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) dec. No. 6
Jacob Wright (WYO) 5-2 (TB-1)
165 – Cole Moody
First Round: No. 5 Gerrit Nijenhuis (OU) dec.
Cole Moody (WYO) 8-7
Cons. Round 2:
Cole Moody (WYO) dec. No. 6 Wyatt Sheets (OSU) 6-3
Cons. Round 3:
Cole Moody (WYO) major dec. No. 7 Tanner Cook (SDSU) 12-1
174 – Hayden Hastings
First Round: No. 8 Scott Joll (WVU) fall (1:26)
Hayden Hastings (WYO)
Cons. Round 1: Julien Broderson (ISU) major dec.
Hayden Hastings (WYO) 9-0
184 – Quayin Short
First Round: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (UNI) tech. fall
Quayin Short (WYO) 22-6
Cons. Round 1: Franklin Cruz (UNC) dec.
Quayin Short (WYO) 5-3
197 - Tyce Raddon
First Round: No. 3 Yonger Bastida (ISU) tech. fall
Tyce Raddon 24-9
Cons. Round 2: Owen Pentz (NDSU) fall (4:18)
Tyce Raddon (WYO)
285 – Terren Swartz
First Round: No. 6 Josh Heindselman (OU) tech. fall
Terren Swartz (WYO) 24-8
Cons. Round 2: Michael Wolfgram (WVU) major dec.
Terren Swartz (WYO) 17-3
