LARAMIE – University of Wyoming wrestling coach Mark Branch was not mincing words Sunday following the Cowboys’ 24-16 loss to North Dakota State in the regular-season dual finale for the Cowboys.
“I’m glad dual season is over,” Branch said. “We need to turn our focus to tournaments.”
UW finishes the regular season 4-4 in Big 12 duals and 7-8 overall. Sunday marked the fourth dual in five days for the Cowboys, who went 1-3 in during the home stretch.
For Branch, the loss wasn’t as much about the outcome as about the effort his team gave.
North Dakota State (14-4 overall, 4-2 Big 12) won six of the 10 matches, including four bonus-point victories.
“What we talked about was having respect for yourself, forget about your opponent,” Branch said. “There’s a lot of guys who I don’t think can respect their performance tonight. It’s embarrassing from a personal standpoint.”
The dual started well for the Cowboys as junior Kyle Pope grinded out a 10-5 win at 174 pounds for his 20th dual win of the season.
The Bison then won the next five matches – including a pin, a major decision and a technical fall – for a 21-3 lead.
“It’s sickening how much bonus points we give up,” UW junior 141 pounder Bryce Meredith said. “These guys come in and train so hard every day and go out and get majored and giving up bonus points. If you take their bonus points away, it’s a completely different dual. It’s not fun to sit there and watch this, but I’ve got to take care of myself.”
Meredith put six points on the board for the Cowboys with a pin over Taylor Nein in 1 minute, 52 seconds of the first period. The former Cheyenne Central standout finished the regular season at 26-7 and 8-2 in Big 12 duals.
“I knew I was a better wrestler than my opponent and I always think that,” Meredith said. “I try to end it in the first period and that’s how it’s going to be.”
UW’s lone win from its seven seniors in the lineup for Senior Day came from Cole Mendenhall at 149. Mendenhall dominated Mitch Friedman 13-4 to pull UW within 21-13 with two matches left.
“That’s what I wanted to do, just go out and put on a good show,” Mendenhall said. “Last time in front of the home crowd, it was awesome. I felt like I did a pretty good job of wrestling him hard for seven minutes.”
One of the best matchups of the day came next at 157, with UW junior Archie Colgan (ranked 19th) taking on North Dakota State junior Clay Ream (ranked 7th). Ream controlled the match from the start for an 8-3 win, clinching the dual for the Bison.
UW’s final win came from redshirt sophomore Branson Ashworth at 165. The 16th-ranked Cowboy overcame an early takedown to beat Andrew Fogerty, 6-2, for win No. 33 this season.
The Cowboys and the rest of the Big 12 now have three weeks to prepare for the Big 12 Championships on March 4-5 at BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Branch said some of his decisions in certain weights became clearer after Sunday.
“I think I made some guys make decisions for me tonight,” he said. “I just don’t feel good about it. I don’t feel like we have 10 guys who go out there and fight.”
NORTH DAKOTA STATE 24, WYOMING 16
174: Kyle Pope (UW) def. Dylan Urbach, 10-5; 184: Tyler McNutt (NDSU) def. Chaz Polson, 10-5; 197: Cordell Easton (NDSU) pinned Nate Shaw, 3:06; 285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) def. Brandon Tribble, 2-1; 125: Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) def. Drew Templeman (major decision), 14-5; 133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) def. Gunnar Woodburn (technical decision), 16-0; 141: Bryce Meredith (UW) pinned Taylor Nein, 1:52; 149: Cole Mendenhall (UW) def. Mitch Friedman (major decision), 13-4; 157: Clay Ream (NDSU) def. Archie Colgan, 8-3; 165: Branson Ashworth (UW) def. Andrew Fogerty, 6-2
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