Wyoming tied for 21st place and was 3rd among B12 teams (OSU finished 3rd, SDSU finished 16th). Good performance overall and they demonstrated they are a capable tourney team (interesting how much better they finished than UNC, Army, NDSU, and OU…teams that beat UW in dual matches this year).
Link to team scores: http://intermatwrestle.com/Files/pdf/2017ncaad1championships.pdf
The good- Cowboys competed in exactly half of the weight classes…..sending five to the NCAAs is nothing to sneeze at. All of them won at least one match. Meredith garnered All American honors for the second consecutive year, beat a couple of wrestlers ranked ahead of him to include the #2, and finished fourth overall. Colgan also wrestled deep into the tourney and went 3-2 overall.
The bad- There really wasn’t any bad, per se. However, I was optimistic the Pokes would walk away with two All Americans and that they would beat their 18th place finish from a year ago. Colgan was upset in his first match and narrowly missed AA honors. Meredith, in his last match that decided 3rd and 4th place, was leading 5-2 with twenty seconds left when Jack shot for a take-down, Meredith tied him up and tried to kill time…..and ended up getting pinned. Crazy finish as he was well on his way to a 3rd place finish. Finally, I think Ashworth may have been a little wide-eyed in his first NCAA appearance. He went 1-2 in the tourney with both losses coming to unranked wrestlers (Ashworth entered ranked #14).
Other Notes- Bo Nickal (Torrington, now wrestles for Penn State) upset two time national champion Gabe Dean (Cornell) to claim the 184# National Championship. PSU crowned five national champions total.
Outlook- I really think the future is bright. UW returns three of their best wrestlers in two-time All American Meredith (141#), NCAA qualifier Colgan (157#) and NCAA qualifier Ashworth (165#). Lucas Lovvorn will return as a RS So (184#) while Luke Pain (174#) and Ronnie Stevens (133#) return for their senior season. Additionally, it appears they have some talent waiting in the wings at 125# and 133#, there is potential for good competition at 149#, and there is also potential for some incoming freshman to have immediate impact at the heavier weights.
125 and 133 possibles- Need to replace NCAA qualifier Templeman at 125# and up performance in the 133# whether it is Stevens improving or a new gun taking the mantle.
1. Montorie Bridges (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Won the National Collegiate Open wrestling tournament this year (LanderPoke on WyoNation-very knowledgeable concerning wrestling and equated this to the de facto national championship for red-shirting wrestlers).
2. Trent Olson (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Wyoming 4A State Champion as a freshman (Gillette), two time Pennsylvania Prep State Champion, and Prep National Runner Up in both 2014 and 2015.
3. Drake Foster (So)- Currently listed at 125#. 22-5 his first year (2015-2016). Three time Idaho State Champion.
4. Mark McConnell (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Two time Wyoming 3A State Champion from Lander (won 106# as a sophomore, 113# as a junior, and placed 3rd at 126# as a senior).
149 possibles- Need to replace NCAA qualifier Mendenhall (149#) :
1. Sam Turner (Fr)- Currently listed at 141#. Three time Colorado State Champion, was ranked 16th nationally at 138# (high school).
2. Jason Jenson (Fr)- Currently listed at 141#. Utah State Champion, multiple year All American honoree by a variety of organizations (high school).
3. Duey Krueger (RS Fr)- Currently listed at 157#. 25-4 record last year (2015-2016). Two time Wisconsin State Champion with a perfect senior season.
Big guy possibles- I am less sure about the heavier weights (184, 197, HVYWT) though currently on the roster is (bio information current to 2015-2016 season):
1. Cody Vigoren (RS Fr)- Listed at 197#. Went 14-4 his first year and was a Washington 4A state champion in high school.
2. Hunter Mullins (Fr)- Listed as a heavy weight. From Washington; bio states he finished as the national runner up in free-style and was a Fargo Cadet All American in Greco.
3. Danny Gordon (RS Fr)- Listed as a HVYWT. 9-8 in his first season and a New Mexico State Champion in high school.
4. Sam Egan (RS So)- Listed as a HVYWT. 7-4 in his first season. New York State qualifier and Greco Roman State Champion.
Incoming- Now, this is where it gets interesting. Incoming Pokes (note the heavier weights):
1. Hayden Hastings- Three time Wyoming 4A State Champion (32-0 this year) from Sheridan. Ranked 15th nationally at 170#.
2. Casey Randles- Cour d’alene, ID- Ranked 18th nationally at 182#.
3. Cal Davidson- Goddard, KS- Ranked 13th nationally at 195#.
4. Carless Looney- Two time Wyoming 4A State Champion (170# his junior year, 195# this year) from Laramie. Originally recruited by and (from what I gather) planned to attend the Naval Academy, though committed to UW when Branch and company came calling.
Again, next year has the potential be a really good year for Cowboy wrestling.
Links:
Wyoming release on the NCAA tourney: http://www.gowyo.com/news/meredith-captures-fourth-place-at-ncaa-championships-03-18-2017
College and High School wrestling ranking information and stories: http://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/high_school/170
Link to team scores: http://intermatwrestle.com/Files/pdf/2017ncaad1championships.pdf
The good- Cowboys competed in exactly half of the weight classes…..sending five to the NCAAs is nothing to sneeze at. All of them won at least one match. Meredith garnered All American honors for the second consecutive year, beat a couple of wrestlers ranked ahead of him to include the #2, and finished fourth overall. Colgan also wrestled deep into the tourney and went 3-2 overall.
The bad- There really wasn’t any bad, per se. However, I was optimistic the Pokes would walk away with two All Americans and that they would beat their 18th place finish from a year ago. Colgan was upset in his first match and narrowly missed AA honors. Meredith, in his last match that decided 3rd and 4th place, was leading 5-2 with twenty seconds left when Jack shot for a take-down, Meredith tied him up and tried to kill time…..and ended up getting pinned. Crazy finish as he was well on his way to a 3rd place finish. Finally, I think Ashworth may have been a little wide-eyed in his first NCAA appearance. He went 1-2 in the tourney with both losses coming to unranked wrestlers (Ashworth entered ranked #14).
Other Notes- Bo Nickal (Torrington, now wrestles for Penn State) upset two time national champion Gabe Dean (Cornell) to claim the 184# National Championship. PSU crowned five national champions total.
Outlook- I really think the future is bright. UW returns three of their best wrestlers in two-time All American Meredith (141#), NCAA qualifier Colgan (157#) and NCAA qualifier Ashworth (165#). Lucas Lovvorn will return as a RS So (184#) while Luke Pain (174#) and Ronnie Stevens (133#) return for their senior season. Additionally, it appears they have some talent waiting in the wings at 125# and 133#, there is potential for good competition at 149#, and there is also potential for some incoming freshman to have immediate impact at the heavier weights.
125 and 133 possibles- Need to replace NCAA qualifier Templeman at 125# and up performance in the 133# whether it is Stevens improving or a new gun taking the mantle.
1. Montorie Bridges (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Won the National Collegiate Open wrestling tournament this year (LanderPoke on WyoNation-very knowledgeable concerning wrestling and equated this to the de facto national championship for red-shirting wrestlers).
2. Trent Olson (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Wyoming 4A State Champion as a freshman (Gillette), two time Pennsylvania Prep State Champion, and Prep National Runner Up in both 2014 and 2015.
3. Drake Foster (So)- Currently listed at 125#. 22-5 his first year (2015-2016). Three time Idaho State Champion.
4. Mark McConnell (Fr)- Currently listed at 125#. Two time Wyoming 3A State Champion from Lander (won 106# as a sophomore, 113# as a junior, and placed 3rd at 126# as a senior).
149 possibles- Need to replace NCAA qualifier Mendenhall (149#) :
1. Sam Turner (Fr)- Currently listed at 141#. Three time Colorado State Champion, was ranked 16th nationally at 138# (high school).
2. Jason Jenson (Fr)- Currently listed at 141#. Utah State Champion, multiple year All American honoree by a variety of organizations (high school).
3. Duey Krueger (RS Fr)- Currently listed at 157#. 25-4 record last year (2015-2016). Two time Wisconsin State Champion with a perfect senior season.
Big guy possibles- I am less sure about the heavier weights (184, 197, HVYWT) though currently on the roster is (bio information current to 2015-2016 season):
1. Cody Vigoren (RS Fr)- Listed at 197#. Went 14-4 his first year and was a Washington 4A state champion in high school.
2. Hunter Mullins (Fr)- Listed as a heavy weight. From Washington; bio states he finished as the national runner up in free-style and was a Fargo Cadet All American in Greco.
3. Danny Gordon (RS Fr)- Listed as a HVYWT. 9-8 in his first season and a New Mexico State Champion in high school.
4. Sam Egan (RS So)- Listed as a HVYWT. 7-4 in his first season. New York State qualifier and Greco Roman State Champion.
Incoming- Now, this is where it gets interesting. Incoming Pokes (note the heavier weights):
1. Hayden Hastings- Three time Wyoming 4A State Champion (32-0 this year) from Sheridan. Ranked 15th nationally at 170#.
2. Casey Randles- Cour d’alene, ID- Ranked 18th nationally at 182#.
3. Cal Davidson- Goddard, KS- Ranked 13th nationally at 195#.
4. Carless Looney- Two time Wyoming 4A State Champion (170# his junior year, 195# this year) from Laramie. Originally recruited by and (from what I gather) planned to attend the Naval Academy, though committed to UW when Branch and company came calling.
Again, next year has the potential be a really good year for Cowboy wrestling.
Links:
Wyoming release on the NCAA tourney: http://www.gowyo.com/news/meredith-captures-fourth-place-at-ncaa-championships-03-18-2017
College and High School wrestling ranking information and stories: http://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/high_school/170
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