CLEVELAND, Ohio (3/19/26) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team completed Day 1 at the NCAA Championships on Thursday inside Rocket Arena. Four of the six Pokes are still alive and half of those still going advance to Friday's quarterfinals. As a team, the Cowboys are tied for 13th with 12.5 points.  

"Bonus points are awesome, and we had three pins and a major decision today, and those are huge in a tournament like this," head coach Mark Branch said. "Eddie and Joey really looked sharp in the second round tonight. It feels good getting four through to tomorrow. We have guys that can still fight and do a lot of damage in this tournament."

No. 5 Joey Novak (197) and No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (184) are Wyoming's two quarterfinalists. Novak couldn't have been more impressive with two pins of No. 28 Kael Wisler (Michigan State) and No. 21 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia). Neitenbach scored a major decision over No. 27 Aidan Brenot (North Dakota State) and a decision over No. 22 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State).

"They did what they needed to do," Branch said. "I wasn't out there for Eddie because we had three guys going at once, but from what I saw, he wrestled really smart. Joey had a one-point match with (Lawrence) at Big 12s, and you could tell he didn't want it to be the same scenario. He came out very aggressive and then he just wrestled to score big points."

Novak squares off with No. 29 Colton Hawks (Arizona State) on Friday afternoon for spot in the semifinals. Neitenbach takes on No. 3 Max McEnelly (Minnesota).

No. 18 Christian Carroll (HWT) and No. 21 Gabe Willochell (149) are still alive on the consolation side. They each bounced back from a Thursday afternoon loss to keep their seasons alive. Willochell defeated No. 28 Kade Brown (Pitt), and Carroll pinned No. 31 Brenan Morgan (Virginia) in the first round of the consolation bracket.

Willochell faces No. 6 Caleb Tyus (SIU-Edwardsville) in the second round of the consolation bracket. Carroll goes up against No. 16 Jaden Mullen (Virginia Tech).

No. 29 Luke Willochell (133) and No. 30 Riley Davis (174) each saw their first-career trips to the NCAA Championships end on Thursday. Willochell dropped a pair of matches to higher seeded guys, while Davis logged a win over No. 32 Luke Condon (Wisconsin) in a consolation prelim before dropping a consolation match to No. 14 Moses Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State).

Penn State is running away in the team standings with 40.5 points. Nebraska and Iowa round out the top three with 27 and 25.5 points, respectively.

Day 2 of the NCAA Championships get underway at 10 a.m. (MST) with quarterfinals and consolation matches. The semifinals and more consolation matches are set for Friday evening starting at 5 p.m. (MST).

133: No. 29 Luke Willochell (0-2)
First Round: No. 4 Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech) technical fall Willochell, 17-2 (3:00)
Consolation Round 1: No. 13 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) sudden victory Willochell, 10-7

149: No. 21 Gabe Willochell (1-1)
First Round: No. 12 Carter Young (Maryland) decision Willochell, 16-12
Consolation Round 1: Willochell decision No. 28 Kade Brown (Pitt), 7-4

174: No. 30 Riley Davis (1-2)
First Round: No. 3 Christopher Minto (Nebraska) technical fall Davis, 20-4 (6:05)
Consolation Prelim: Davis decision No. 32 Luke Condon (Wisconsin), 4-1
Consolation Round 1: No. 14 Moses Espinoza-Owens decision Davis, 7-3

184: No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (2-0)
First Round: Neitenbach major decision No. 27 Aidan Brenot (North Dakota State), 14-1
Second Round: Neitenbach decision No. 22 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State), 7-2

197: No. 5 Joey Novak (2-0)
First Round: Novak fall No. 28 Kael Wisler (Michigan State), 4:43
Second Round: Novak fall No. 21 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia), 4:56

HWT: No. 18 Christian Carroll (1-1)
First Round: No. 15 Brady Colbert (Army) decision Carroll, 5-1
Consolation Round 1: Carroll fall No. 31 Brenan Morgan (Virginia), 1:13