There must be something about the number 19. Specifically when it precedes the name of the school the Cowboys are wrestling against. Wyoming achieved a narrow victory over the No. 19 North Dakota State Bison Friday night, marking the second time this season the Cowboys have defeated the No. 19 team.
To begin the season the Cowboys defeated then No. 19 Boise State Broncos, so it’s only fitting that the season concluded in a similar fashion.
Wyoming ended their regular season with their fifth-consecutive dual victory, upsetting the Bison 17-16 in their first conference loss. The one-point triumph was the result of five bout wins.
Two of the bout wins were by major decisions from juniors Andrew McCulley, achieving his fourth-straight win after his 15-2 win Friday, and Shane Woods, defeating NDSU’s 27th ranked Tyler Lehmann 14-5 to mark his 20th win this season.
“I told the guys it was probably the best of both worlds – we walked out with a win but we left a lot out there on the mat and feel like we’re better than that,” head coach Mark Branch told gowyo.com. “We had some guys who wrestled for the team. Richardson gets caught in a funky position and he has to wrestle for the team and not give up bonus points in the last match. Even the guys who lost by decision, their effort and fight out there was just as important as everything else.”
Redshirt freshmen Benjamin Stroh and Cole Mendenhall played large parts in Wyoming’s win. Stroh secured his 25th win this season, winning by decision over 23rd ranked Kurtis Julson. Julson was the fourth, ranked opponent Stroh defeated this season. Mendenhall earned his 20th win against his 141-pound opponent Clay Cathey.
“It’s a great way to finish the year, beating a top-20 team,” said Branch.
Following their fifth-consecutive win, Wyoming added another big accomplishment to the season. For the fourth time in the last six seasons, the Cowboys claimed the Western Wrestling Conference dual title after finishing 6-6 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
“I am extremely proud of these guys. We set a goal to turn this thing around after losing our first conference dual and that is exactly what they did,” said Branch. “We do things for a reason and I demanded a lot out of a young squad at the beginning of the year, but those demands and challenges are paying off and it’s nice to see us accomplish one of our goals.”
Accomplishing goals seems to be second nature to Branch. In the six seasons he has been Wyoming’s head coach, the Cowboys have won at least four conference duals per season, a regular season title, a conference tournament championship and all while recording a league record of 30-3.
“Our next goal is to win the conference championship and we are going to fine tune things over the next two weeks so that we can perform at our best. After going on the road and beating a top-20 team to win the regular-season title, we have a great amount of momentum to lead us to our next goal,” Branch said. “These guys have continued to mature throughout a season filled with adversity but I feel very good about the next step.”
The Cowboys’ next step will be competing in the post-season. The NCAA West Regional/WWC Championship begins on March 8, in Orem, Utah. Wyoming will be contending for their fifth-consecutive title.
