TULSA, Oklahoma (3/7/26) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team wrapped up competition at the Big 12 Championships on Saturday inside the BOK Center. The Pokes took eighth with 67.5 points and had two advance to their title match.  

Oklahoma State ran away with the team title, tallying points 176 points. Iowa State placed runner-up with 144 points, and Arizona State rounded out the top three at 94 points.

No. 3-seeded Eddie Neitenbach (184) and No. 2 Joey Novak (197) were Wyoming's finalists on Saturday. Neitenbach fell to No. 1 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri) via decision, 8-1, while Novak dropped a 5-4 decision to No. 1 Rocky Elam (Iowa State).

"In those finals matches, those guys wrestled really hard, but we exposed our legs," head coach Mark Branch said. "You have to have better head and hand defense to not let those guys touch your legs. Those are adjustments we have to make. Like anything else, this is a learning experience. It gives us a lot of information, and that's the most important thing."

It wasn't all doom and gloom in the results category Saturday. No. 8 Gabe Willochell (149) punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place finish. He upset No. 4 Max Petersen (North Dakota State) in the fifth-place match by major decision, 14-5. In a weight class that only had five allocations, the scenario was pressure packed and Willochell stood tall.

No. 7 Sloan Swan (165) gave himself an outside shot at an NCAA bid. He took fifth, as well, downing No. 8 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State) via decision, 8-1. The weight class only has four allocations, so Swan will have to wait and see if an at-large comes his way.

"We had some guys that were really gritty," Branch said. "Gabe did what he had to do, and that was an impressive win for him today. For Sloan, after coming out and not wrestling the way I wanted to see him wrestle, for him to flip that switch and get a big win was huge."

Riley Davis (174) dinged up his knee Friday and medically defaulted out of both matches Saturday. Davis took sixth and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships on Friday. No. 8 Jared Hill (157) placed eighth Saturday in a weight that only had five allocations.  

No. 3 Christian Carroll (HWT) and No. 7 Luke Willochell (133) both didn't place. Each of them have strong cases for an at-large bid at their respective weight.

The NCAA Championships field is released Tuesday, and the bracket is seeded Wednesday. The tournament itself runs from March 19-21 in Cleveland, Ohio.

125: Sefton Douglass (0-2)
First Round: No. 5 Brady Roark (South Dakota State), ranked No. 21, decision Douglass, 5-0
Consolation Round 2: No. 3 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia), ranked No. 16, technical fall Douglass, 18-3

133: No. 7 Luke Willochell (ranked No. 22) (1-2)
First Round: Willochell major decision Geronimo Rivera (Utah Valley), 9-0
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Kyler Larkin (Arizona State), ranked No. 7, decision Willochell, 8-1
Consolation Round 2: Garrett Grice (Iowa State) major decision Willochell, 11-2

141: David Saenz (0-2)
First Round: No. 2 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), ranked No. 3, technical fall Saenz, 22-6
Consolation Round 1: Max Brady (Northern Iowa) decision Saenz, 9-6

149: No. 8 Gabe Willochell (ranked No. 29) (3-2) – 5th
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), ranked No. 7, decision Willochell, 7-2
Consolation Round 2: Willochell major decision KJ Evans (Northern Colorado), 9-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: Willochell tiebreaker-1 No. 5 Josh Edmond (Missouri), ranked No. 20, 5-2
Consolation Semifinals: No. 2 Jacob Frost (Iowa State), ranked No. 10, major decision Willochell, 12-4
Fifth-Place Match: Willochell major decision No. 4 Max Petersen (North Dakota State), ranked No. 17, 14-5

157: No. 8 Jared Hill (1-3) – 8th
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State), ranked No. 4, technical fall Hill, 20-3
Consolation Round 2: Hill sudden victory Cael Rahnavardi (Northern Iowa), 5-2
Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 5 Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State), ranked No. 30, decision Hill, 19-12
Seventh-Place Match: Drayden Morton (Cal Baptist) decision Hill, 4-2

165: No. 7 Sloan Swan (3-2) – 5th
First Round: Swan sudden victory Boeden Greenley (North Dakota State, 2-1
Quarterfinals: No. 2 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa), ranked No. 6, decision Swan, 5-1
Consolation Round 2: Swan decision Zyon Trujillo (Utah Valley), 4-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: Swan decision No. 6 Gabriel Schumm (Cal Baptist), 4-3
Consolation Semifinals: No. 5 Connor Euton (Iowa State), ranked No. 16, major decision Swan, 12-2
Fifth-Place Match: Swan decision No. 8 Marcus Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State), ranked No. 29, 8-1

174: Riley Davis (3-3) – 6th
First Round: Davis sudden victory No. 8 Cael Valencia (Arizona State), 12-9
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State), ranked No. 6, major decision Davis, 17-4
Consolation Round 2: Davis decision Mason Espinoza (Cal Baptist), 5-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: Davis sudden victory Hudson Rogers (Utah Valley), 4-1
Consolation Semifinals: No. 2 Carter Schubert (Oklahoma), ranked No. 8, medical forfeit Davis
Fifth-Place Match: No. 6 Moses Espinoza-Owens (South Dakota State), ranked No. 14, medical forfeit

184: No. 3 Eddie Neitenbach (ranked No. 8) (3-1) – 2nd
First Round: Neitenbach fall Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley), :46
Quarterfinals: Neitenbach decision No. 6 Brian Soldano (Oklahoma), ranked No. 9, 8-5
Semifinals: Neitenbach decision No. 7 Isaac Dean (Iowa State), ranked No. 11, 5-1
Championship: No. 1 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri), ranked No. 2, major decision Neitenbach, 9-1

197: No. 2 Joey Novak (ranked No. 3) (3-1) – 2nd
First Round: Novak technical fall Eli Sheeran (Cal Baptist), 17-0
Quarterfinals: Novak decision No. 7 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia), ranked No. 14, 7-6
Semifinals: Novak sudden victory No. 3 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State), ranked No. 7, 5-2
Championship: No. 1 Rocky Elam (Iowa State), ranked No. 2, decision Novak, 5-4

HWT: No. 3 Christian Carroll (ranked No. 7) (1-2)
First Round: Shilo Jones (North Dakota State) sudden victory Carroll, 4-1
Consolation Round 1: Carroll major decision No. 6 Jack Forbes (Utah Valley), ranked No. 25, 17-6
Consolation Round 2: No. 5 Juan Mora (Oklahoma), ranked No. 19, decision Carroll, 4-2