Wyoming wrestlers finish season strong at national tournament

Three Wyoming wrestlers, Jore Volk, Gabe Willochell, and Joey Novak competed at the NCAA national championships this past weekend. Jore Volk turned in the most impressive performance and earned All-American honors, taking 7th place in the nation at the 125-lb. weight class. 

Volk’s championship weekend got off to a rocky start, getting upset by Harvard’s Diego Sotelo in the very first round. This sent Volk to the consolation bracket early, but gave him the opportunity to go on an incredible run.

Volk went on a 4 match win streak which included an upset of his own over the #1 ranked wrestler heading into the championships, Penn State’s Braeden Davis. Volk would drop one more, but would avenge his loss earlier this season against Tanner Jordan of South Dakota to end in 7th place and become an All-American. 

Meanwhile, Gabe Willochell started off his campaign in the 149 weight class with a win, before dropping into the consolation bracket. From there, he would win one more and end his weekend with a respectable 2-2 record. Freshman Joey Novak took a similar route, winning his first and ending his weekend at 2-2 in the 197-lbs bracket. 

For all three wrestlers, they still have a couple years each to keep building on their strong performances and look to make a return next season.