The Cowboys are in the midst of a challenging front-half of their 2025-26 schedule. They competed at the National Duals Invitational in addition to a couple other competitions, but this week will be the first multi-day event that’ll feature many of the top teams in the country.
“We better come out and be ready to fight hard for seven minutes,” head coach Mark Branch said. “We better be ready to win the tough positions and wrestle in all positions and be very physical and be moving forward and staying in the middle of the mat and be ready to throw. It’s going to be a great opportunity to see how our kids react in that environment.”
It’s a loaded field that features three teams ranked in the top 10 of the NWCA Coaches’ Poll and seven of the top 20. Speaking of rankings, well over 100 ranked grapplers will be present, providing each and every Wyoming wrestler the opportunity to register impactful wins to bolster their early-season resumes.
“To do it in this field, you’re going to have to come ready to scrap hard,” Branch said. “It’s an elite tournament, and it’s the level of tournament that is close to a Big 12 or NCAA Tournament. You’re going to see some of the top guys in the country. It will be a great test for every one of our guys.”
No. 4 Joey Novak (197) headlines the travel roster of 10 for Wyoming. He’s 2-1 on the season with one ranked win and will be looking to improve upon his fourth-place finish at the 2024 Cliff Keen Invite.
No. 11 Eddie Neitenbach (184) is off to a strong start this season. He’s 3-1 with a ranked win and two technical falls and his only loss is to No. 5 Dylan Fishback (Ohio State) by three points, 10-7.
No. 24 Chrisitan Carroll (HWT) is 2-2 on the year and searching for his first ranked win. He won a pair of ranked matches at the 2024 Cliff Keen en route to an eighth-place finish while competing at 197 for Iowa State.
No. 24 Gabe Willochell (149) holds a 1-1 record. He’ll be eying a bounce back after being upset at Cal Baptist. He won a pair of bouts at last year’s Cliff Keen.
No. 29 Riley Davis (174) broke into the rankings for the first time in his career following an upset at National Duals. Sefton Douglass (125), Luke Willochell (133), John Alden (141), Antonio Avila (157) and Sloan Swan (165) round out the Pokes competing in Las Vegas.
The Cowboys finished 12th at last year’s Cliff Keen. They accumulated 38.5 points and had two placers in Novak and fifth-place Jared Hill (157).
Following the Cliff Keen, Wyoming returns to Laramie to open its home dual slate. The Cowboys host four-time defending national champion, No. 1 Penn State, on Dec. 13 at 6 p.m. inside the Arena-Auditorium.
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