LARAMIE, Wyoming (2/11/26) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team closes the book on the dual portion of its 2025-26 schedule this week. The No. 24 Cowboys travel to Northern Colorado on Friday for a 6 p.m. dual inside Bank of Colorado Arena before hosting No. 16 Oklahoma on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside the UniWyo Sports Complex. Friday's competition can be seen on Flo and Sunday's will be on the Mountain West Network.
"We have some momentum from this past weekend, and it was nice to see the guys' energy, enthusiasm and confidence," head coach
Mark Branch said. "At this point in the year you're thinking about a lot of things. You're thinking about down the stretch and the next month. It will be really important to focus on our guys' health and getting them to peak at the right time. You have to factor that in along with trying to finish out strong in the dual season."
Wyoming sits at 6-5 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 action. Northern Colorado is in a bit of transition year between head coaches and has struggled en route to a 2-8 overall mark and a 1-4 record in league.
The Bears have only one ranked guy in No. 11 Dominic Serrano (133). The reigning Big 12 champion is slated to go against No. 25
Luke Willochell on Friday in what will be the bout of the night.
Willochell is one of seven ranked Pokes from the latest batch of rankings. No. 4
Joey Novak (197) – who made his return to action against North Dakota State on Sunday – No. 8
Christian Carroll (HWT), No. 9
Eddie Neitenbach (184), No. 27
Gabe Willochell (149), No. 30
Jared Hill (157) and No. 31 Riley (174) round on the ranked Cowboys who are listed on the probables for this week.
Wyoming enjoys a decided advantage in the all-time series with Northern Colorado. The boys from Laramie have a 57-31-1 record against the Bears and claimed last season's matchup, 26-9, in the UniWyo.
Oklahoma is a different story. The No. 16 Sooners are 10-4 on the season and 3-3 in conference competitions. They own an 18-4-2 all-time record against Wyoming, having won last year's meeting, 27-6, in Norman.
Oklahoma could trot out seven ranked grapplers. No. 8 Carter Schubert (174) headlines that list followed by No. 10 Brian Soldano (184), No. 11 DJ Parker (197), No. 21 Juan Mora (HWT), No. 25 Tyler Wells (141), No. 30 Conrad Hendrickson (125) and No. 31 Peyten Kellar (165).
Sunday is Senior Day for Wyoming. Half a dozen Cowboys will be recognized before the dual in Hill,
Gabe Willochell,
David Saenz (141),
Dylan Catlin (125),
Jack Braman (125) and
Brett McIntosh (184).
"It's always special because these kids that make it to this point of their career will always be part of our family," Branch said. "You want them, when they look back at their time in Wyoming, to recognize that it wasn't just about wrestling. You want them to always see this as their home. It's going to be a special day for us because they're our kids and our family. We are going to miss them."
Following the dual with the Sooners, most, if not all, the starters will sit out the Cowboy Shootout on Feb. 22. The Big 12 Tournament lies ahead from March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
