LARAMIE – As he enters the Wyoming wrestling room for practice Cooper Voorhees walks past a photo of his father on the All-American wall.
 
Voorhees said he never felt any pressure from his dad, Brent, who finished seventh in the 1996 NCAA championships, to choose the Cowboys after winning back-to-back South Dakota state high school championships with a combined record of 95-2 during his junior and senior seasons.
 
UW head coach Mark Branch said the senior from Rapid City, S.D., has handled the pressure that comes with being a legacy recruit magnificently throughout his career.
 
Voorhees and his UW teammates will feel the stress of an intense spotlight when they dual No. 1 Penn State at 11 a.m. on Sunday in University Park, Pa.
 
"It's an awesome opportunity," Voorhees said. "I need to believe in myself and go into that match knowing I can compete. I'm just going to focus on wrestling to win and performing my best and not focusing on trying not to lose or keeping it close or anything like that."
 
Voorhees will face Mitchell Mesenbrink, the nation's top-ranked grappler at 165 pounds.
 
The Nittany Lions also have the No. 1 wrestlers at 157 (Tyler Kasak) 174 (Levi Haines) and 184 (Carter Starocci). UW will be without standouts Jore Volk (125), Eddie Neitenbach (184) and Joey Novak (197) due to injuries.
 
"We're obviously not taking the same lineup we felt like we would be taking a month ago so that does change it a little bit," Branch said. "My message to the team is the only thing that matters to me is our fight. If we go down there and we don't show fight and heart and pride then we have a problem. I think we have some guys capable of making some special things happen if they do that."
 
Voorhees was admittedly struggling at 157 pounds a year ago before moving up a weight class and fighting back to post a 9-6 record at 165 down the stretch. He lost a close match to Oklahoma State's Kael Carlson at the Big 12 championships that was likely the difference in not making the NCAA championships field.
 
Entering this road trip to face the two-time reigning national champions, Voorhees is 3-4 overall and 2-2 in dual meets, but three of his losses were to ranked opponents.
 
"I just need to perfect some smaller details of my wrestling," Voorhees said of getting over the hump against elite competition. "There's this tiny little part, I don't know what it is yet, we're going to figure it out, that is separating me from being one of the best in the division. I've had super close matches with top ranked guys."
 
Voorhees joined the program during the pandemic and wrestled five matches during the 2020-21 season, which did not count towards his eligibility. He posted a 51-35 overall record over the past three seasons.
 
"I looked at a couple other places, but I always knew in the back of my mind I wanted to come here. My dad never pressured me to come here or anything, but I knew I wanted to do this," Voorhees said. "It has been an awesome experience. I've had highs and lows, and I think we're at a high right now and our team is looking good and solid. Sharing that experience I know he had too has been unique and special."
 
Competing against Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center (15,261 capacity) will prepare the Pokes for the Big 12 and NCAA championships at the end of the campaign.
 
Voorhees, whose dad earned his All-American status as a senior, is also looking forward to making his last ride with the Cowboys a memorable one.
 
"Brent and wife have been great supporters, and I think there's a lot of joy that Brent's son is wrestling at his alma mater and a lot of emotional feelings," Branch said. "Same with Cooper. He probably feels more pressure on himself and that's not a bad thing. We always talk about pressure is a privilege. It's not a negative thing, but I do think it's probably there. He wants to make his dad and family proud."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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