LARAMIE, Wyoming (11/20/24) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team takes to the road this week for its first true away matches of the 2024-25 season. No. 24 Wyoming travels to No. 3 Oklahoma State on Friday for a 6 p.m. dual inside Gallagher-Iba Arena before a dual at No. 22 Oklahoma on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. inside McCasland Field House.
"Our goal is for our guys to wrestle with confidence against both these teams," head coach
Mark Branch said. "This is a good opportunity for our guys to notch a couple highly-ranked wins. We can really create a lot of positive energy early in the year, but we are going to have to wrestle our best to be competitive."
The projected starting lineup for Oklahoma State features a ranked wrestler at every weight, six of which reside in the top 10. Oklahoma boasts nine ranked guys, one of which resides in the top 10.
Wyoming lays claim to seven ranked grapplers. No. 2
Jore Volk (125) headlines that list, and he's fresh off his second top-15 victory of the season, defeating South Dakota State's No. 5 Tanner Jordan at the All-Star Classic.
No. 10
Joey Novak (197) is a perfect 2-0 with two pins. No. 27
Cole Brooks (141) is 2-0 with a ranked win and a pin. No. 22
Jared Hill (157), No. 33
Cooper Voorhees (165) and
Eddie Neitenbach (184) round out Wyoming's unbeaten guys that are likely starting this week.
No. 18
Gabe Willochell (149) and
Kevin Zimmer (HWT) are both 1-1.
Quayin Short (174) or
Brett McIntosh (174) will likely get the nod to start. Short has yet to wrestle this season due to injury and McIntosh is 1-1.
Wyoming is off to a fast start this season. The Pokes possess a 2-0 record and have shown marked improvement from last year.
They opened the season by defeating a Campbell team, 28-12, which evened the series between the two after the Fighting Camels took 2023's meeting by a score of 23-12. Wyoming dominated Western Wyoming, 46-0, a couple weekends ago a year after that dual was a 31-10 victory for the Cowboys.
The challenge now is to showcase the improvement on the road against teams in which the Cowboys haven't historically experienced a whole bunch of success. Oklahoma State is 25-0-1 all-time against Wyoming, while Oklahoma holds a 17-4-2 edge in the all-time series.
Friday's match marks the first home dual of the David Taylor era. John Smith retired this past offseason after 30-plus years as the head coach of Oklahoma State, and Taylor takes over following a distinguished college career at Penn State and an impressive international resume.
The dual starting at 125, in all likelihood, will also add to the energy in Gallagher-Iba Arena. That bout features a Big 12 Championship rematch between Volk and No. 6 Troy Spratley.
The dual Saturday doesn't lack intrigue, either, seeing as the two squads tied for seventh at last season's conference tournament. It's also Oklahoma's home opener.
Following the duals in the Sooner State, Wyoming takes the holiday weekend off before going to its biggest regular-season invitational of the season. The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite is Dec. 6-7 inside the Las Vegas Convention Center.
