LARAMIE – Bryce Meredith is one of the most accomplished Wyoming athletes of all time.
 
During his three seasons wrestling for the Cowboys after transferring from North Carolina State, the Cheyenne native won a Big 12 title, was a two-time NCAA championships finalist and a three-time All-American.
 
UW head coach Mark Branch said his current star – Jore Volk – brings some similar qualities to the program.
 
"I would say the same thing about Bryce Meredith when people would ask about him," Branch said. "He literally is consistently one of the hardest workers every single day. Jore has brought that since day one. He's a great leader by example in how he approaches practice every day and his attitude that he brings and the work ethic that he brings.  
 
"He doesn't really have off days. And so, it's earned."
 
Vore earned All-American status the hard way at last year's NCAA championships and is ranked No. 2 in the 125-pound weight class after defeating No. 5 Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State at last weekend's All-Star Classic in State College, Penn.
 
The junior from Lakeville, Minn., will lead No. 24 UW in Big 12 road duals against No. 3 Oklahoma State on Friday and No. 22 Oklahoma on Saturday.
 
The Cowboys (2-0) opened the season with a 28-12 win over Campbell at Frontier Park in Cheyenne and defeated Western Wyoming 46-0 in the home opener.
 
"It's a really fun time to be a part of the program," Volk said. "There's a lot of momentum and we get to go wrestle one of the best teams in the country on Friday. That will be a good one to test our guys and see where we're at against some of the best kids and one of the best teams in the country."
 
After getting upset in the opening round of the NCAA championships in March, Volk won four consecutive matches against ranked opponents, including No. 1 seed Braeden Davis of Penn State, to finish seventh in the loaded bracket and earn All-American status.
 
"It was an awesome tournament and a great experience," Volk said. "The tournament didn't start how I would have liked it to, but I just had to keep my head up and believe I could come all the way back. I had to win four matches straight. It was exciting.
 
"It shows I can wrestle with anybody. Even last year at the end of the season I was a little banged up and kind of dealing with that. Knowing I can push, it's mental, your mind is powerful and if you believe you can get it done you can do it."
 
Volk was a four-time state finalist and a three-time state champion in high school. He was also a top 50 national recruit.
 
But Branch didn't feel great about UW's chances to land the hard-to-read prospect when Volk finally visited Laramie in the summer when on campus visits were finally allowed again following the pandemic.
 
"He was very shy and quiet. It was hard to get a read on him and I really thought it was a long shot," Branch said. "We didn't have a feel of how much he liked it here and that's just his personality, but we knew how good of a wrestler he was. Then after he committed and signed here, he really broke out to another level, which was really exciting for us."
 
As a true freshman, Volk qualified for nationals and pulled off an upset of Michigan's Michael DeAugustino to help Branch get the Cowboys back in the national spotlight.
 
Volk posted a 27-8 overall record last season, including 15-8 against ranked foes. Even though he didn't call Branch and commit until a week after his visit, Volk knew he was going to be a Poke.
 
"This was my first visit, and I came out here and absolutely fell in love with it," Volk said. "Coach Branch has been through it. He's a two-time national champ and four-time finalist. He knows what it takes, and he wants us to be the best. Sometimes there's things he does where I'm like, 'Shoot, why are we doing this?'
 
"At the end of the day, I never doubt it because he's been through it, and he has done it and he has accomplished pretty much everything at the highest level. To be able to wrestle for someone like that, I'm super grateful for it."
 
Branch, a member of Oklahoma State's 1994 national championship team, will face his alma mater with a talented you UW team that has reenergized him.
 
All 10 starters for the Cowboys of Stillwater are ranked, but seven starters for the Cowboys of Laramie are ranked, including 2024 NCAA participants Gabe Willochell (No. 18 at 149) and Joey Novak (No. 10 at 197).
 
Volk is 3-0 with two wins over top 15 opponents already.
 
Branch, who will become the winningest coach in UW history with his next dual victory, said Volk's Big 12 title rematch against Oklahoma State's Troy Spatley, who is 2-0 and ranked No. 6, will be a "tone setter" for the weekend.
 
"We have a special group of guys right now," Volk said. "We have a lot of young guys and I'm one of the older guys on the team and this is only my third year, and I only have two seasons under my belt.
 
"We've got a lot of young guys that are hungry and want to be at the top. When you have a good group of guys surrounding each other it's easy to do the right things and push each other to a new level."
 
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