LARAMIE, Wyoming (10/27/24) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team finished last season in fine form. The Pokes outperformed expectation more than any other team at the Big 12 Tournament and built on that, claiming five upsets and an All-American at the NCAA Championships.
The task this season is to eliminate the shock factor. Head coach
Mark Branch wants his team to have an unbendable belief in themselves and the heights they can reach.
"Our challenge to the team this year has been to raise our expectations," Branch said. "Some of our guys were surprised at how we wrestled last March, but that needs to be an expectation. We have to set our sights higher. As a coaching staff, we believe in this team, but they can't make the mistake of selling themselves short."
Experience is one thing helping in that belief factor. Nine of 10 starters return and sprinkled among them are a few transfers and freshmen that will push the returners.
"We need to put that experience to use and strive for bigger and better things," Branch said. "We talked about doing what has not been done here, which is take all 10 guys to the NCAA tournament. That's the starting place for each guy on this team, but there's no reason we can't have multiple All-Americans and be a top-15 team."
Jore Volk (125) headlines the roster. A couple preseason rankings have him in the top five at his weight. He finished seventh at the NCAA Championships, battling back from a first-round upset to win four in a row, the last of which was over the No. 1 seed to secure his All-American status.
Fellow NCAA qualifiers,
Joey Novak (197) and
Gabe Willochell (149), are also back after going a combined 4-4 on the sport's biggest stage. All four victories were upsets.
In addition to those three, a pair of transfers arrived in Laramie this offseason after competing at the NCAA Championships for other teams.
Jared Hill (157) was a two-time NCAA qualifier at Oklahoma and
Sam Mitchell – who competed as a 197-pounder in 2023-24 but is bumping up ahead of 2024-25 – advanced to his first-career NCAA Championships this past season while at Buffalo.
Other Cowboys that are aiming to vie for starting spots will do so following a podium finish at the 2024 Big 12 Tournament.
Cole Brooks (141),
Sloan Swan (157),
Cooper Voorhees (165) and
Ethan Ducca (184) all took eighth at the conference tourney in 2024.
Riley Davis (174) is back this season after a breakout freshmen campaign that had him starting until a season-ending injury in December.
Kevin Zimmer (HWT) started the majority of matches but battled a knee injury in the middle part of the season that cost him some time.
A couple other transfers and freshmen will throw their name in the hat of potential starter. In all, Branch has many options and depth up and down the roster for what looks to be a promising 2024-25 season.
