RIVERSIDE, California (11/22/25) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team began Big XII Conference play Saturday at Cal Baptist. The Cowboys opened and closed strong en route to a 28-12 victory inside the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center.
Sefton Douglass (125) couldn't have given the Pokes a better start Saturday. He pinned Cooper Shore in just under a minute, staking his team to a 6-0 advantage.
"I'm super proud of Sefton with the way he reacted off the takedown," head coach
Mark Branch said. "That's just hard-nosed wrestling that you want to see. He didn't get taken down and drop his head. He wrestled through it and turned it into a big-time move. That was a great way to start the dual."
Luke Willochell (133) kept things rolling, racking up points against Remy Murillo before settling for a 19-13 decision. It was Willochell's first action as a collegiate wrestler and he logged three takedowns against the Cal Baptist redshirt-freshman who appeared in The Wrestling Report's top-33 poll.
"Luke really put on a great performance until he hit the wall in the third period," Branch said. "That's just a tweak he needs to make to realize what this level of wrestling is. You're going to have guys that are going to fight for the entire seven minutes. That was a wild match with crazy situations, and Luke wrestled extremely poised for most of that match."
It got a little bumpy in the middleweights for the road squad. The Lancers picked up four straight wins from 141-165 to vault ahead on the scoreboard, 12-9.
The Cowboys, however, closed even stronger than they started. They claimed each of the last four bouts and three of those were bonus-point wins.
No. 29
Riley Davis (174) kicked off the strong finish with a 7-3 decision over Mason Espinoza. It marked Davis' first bout as a ranked grappler, and he registered a takedown in both the first and third periods.
No. 11
Eddie Neitenbach (184) made it look easy against Adonis Bonar II. Neitenbach recorded three takedowns and a pair of near falls for a 17-2 technical fall.
No. 5
Joey Novak (197) bounced back from a loss at the National Duals Invitational and made even quicker work of Eli Sheeran. He pinned the familiar foe in just 1:43, which locked up the dual victory, 23-12.
No. 26
Christian Carroll (HWT) put a bow on the win with the third consecutive bonus-point victory. He won via technical fall over Tristan Kemp, 21-6, with the help of seven takedowns.
"Our three big guns stepped out and wrestled and made a statement, 'Don't get too excited because we are going to put an exclamation point on this,'" Branch said. "All three of those guys – Eddie, Joey and Christian – really came out and took care of business, which is what you want to see from those three guys."
Wyoming is off next weekend before traveling to its biggest invitational of the season. The Pokes are set to participate in the Cliff Keen Invite from Dec. 5-6 inside the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Wyoming 28 | Cal Baptist 12
125:
Sefton Douglass (Wyoming) fall Cooper Shore (Cal Baptist), 0:57
133:
Luke Willochell (Wyoming) decision Remy Murillo (Cal Baptist), 19-13
141: Jesse Vasquez (Cal Baptist) decision
John Alden (Wyoming), 6-1
149: Paul Kelly (Cal Baptist) decision No. 23
Gabe Willochell (Wyoming), 17-15
157: Drayden Morton (Cal Baptist) decision No. 16
Jared Hill (Wyoming), 5-4
165: Gabe Schumm (Cal Baptist) sudden victory
Sloan Swan (Wyoming), 7-4
174: No. 29
Riley Davis (Wyoming) decision Mason Espinoza (Cal Baptist), 7-3
184: No. 11
Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) technical fall Adonis Bonar II (Cal Baptist), 17-2 (1:35)
197: No. 5
Joey Novak (Wyoming) fall Eli Sheeran (Cal Baptist), 1:43
HWT: No. 26
Christian Carroll (Wyoming) technical fall Tristan Kemp (Cal Baptist), 21-6 (2:38)
