LARAMIE – There was a palpable buzz inside the Arena-Auditorium an hour before the first match and fans stuck around long after the historic dual concluded to let their kids play on the mat and stand in line for autographs.
 
Wyoming lost 40-7 to four-time NCAA champion Penn State on Saturday night in front of a record crowd of 4,686.
 
The 24^th-ranked Cowboys and No. 1 Nittany Lions soaked up the special atmosphere while competing on the biggest wrestling stage in state history.
 
"When I walked out and saw the crowd I had a lot of pride for us, for our fans, for our state, for this university," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "I think it impressed them. (Penn State head coach) Cael Sanderson was like, 'This is amazing.'
 
"They probably didn't know what they were going to get."
 
Branch was disappointed the Cowboys didn't pull off any upset wins, but Joey Novak (197 pounds) and Christian Carroll (heavyweight) gave the brown and gold faithful something to shout about by closing out the event with top 10 wins.
 
Novak, an All-American last season currently ranked No. 4 in his weight class, defeated No. 8 Connor Mirasola by major decision (10-2) to get UW on the scoreboard.
 
"As (the match) got closer, I was thinking I just have to go out have fun and wrestle," Novak said. "It was great knocking off a top 10 guy, ranked opponent who has beaten me in the past. I felt great, especially in front of all of these fans. That was the most I've ever seen here. It was great hearing them cheering me on and really helped me push through it."
 
No. 8 Carroll, who has found a home in Laramie after starting his career at powerhouses Oklahoma State and Iowa State, showed off his elite talent during a 10-4 decision over No. 9 Cole Mirasola.
 
The lightning-quick redshirt freshman said he has been inspired by the "live cowboy tough" sign hanging in the UW locker room and the support of the program around the state.
 
"I think that's just such a great motto to live by because you look at the atmosphere, all these old cowboys, all these people, all these fans are just electric," Carroll said. "To be in a school like this, there's only one Wyoming, we're the only college here, baby, and we're No. 1. Having that environment and community support, it might be small but it's a tight family."
 
It was Penn State's 75^th consecutive dual victory, one shy of the NCAA Division I record of 76, set by Oklahoma State between 1937 and 1951.
 
This was the second time in UW's 95-year wrestling history the No. 1 team in the country visited Laramie. The first time was when Iowa State competed here during the 1987-88 season.
 
"It just verifies we are a very good program," Branch said. "To be able to have an event like this and have the turnout that we had, it fits in with the direction that we're going. Most importantly, the guys that wrestled got to wrestle in that environment."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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