WYOMING COWBOYS' RALLY FALLS SHORT IN BIG 12 OPENER — LARAMIE, Wyo. - The Wyoming Cowboys fell short in their wrestling opener against Big 12 foe Northern Colorado on Sunday.
The Cowboys won five matches in a row to end the dual but fell to the Bears 24-19.
"I was proud of our bigger guys coming back and taking care of their individual matches." Said Head Coach Mark Branch "Moody stepping out there after the way the meet started was really big."
The Cowboy comeback started with Cole Moody at 165 pounds. Moody faced off against Billy Higgins in a match that was tied 2-2 heading into the third period. After an escape from Higgins, Moody would put the match away by taking Higgins down and pinning him with 45 second left in the match to put the Cowboys on the board. At 174 pounds No. 17 Hayden Hastings put on a solid performance against Northern Colorado's Damen Pape. Hastings scored a takedown early in the match and jumped out to a 2-0 lead. He would then add a point for an escape along with a stalling point and riding time point for a 5-0 shutout victory. Up next was a thrilling match at 184 pounds and the first top 25 match of the dual. No. 21 Tate Samuelson took on No. 19 Alan Clothier and after trading escapes in the second and third period the match went to overtime. Samuelson got in on attack late in the overtime period and was awarded the takedown with one second reaming in overtime to secure the 3-1 victory over his ranked opponent. No. 18 Stephen Buchanan faced No. 19 Jacob Seely in the 197 pound match. After scoring a takedown in the first period and giving up an escape in the second period Buchanan took control of the bout. He escaped to start the third period and then quickly took Seely down for a 5-1 advantage. From there Buchanan would add one more takedown for the 7-2 victory.The final dual of the afternoon was a battle of top ranked heavyweights as returning Big 12 Champion No. 9 Brian Andrews Squared off against No. 11 Dalton Robertson. Andrews would start the season on a high note by controlling the match from whistle to whistle. Andrews took Robertson down early in the first and tacked on near fall points to take a 6-0 advantage. From there Andrews never looked back and picked up the 10-2 major decision victory.
The Pokes will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 8 when they travel to Columbia, M.O. for a tri-dual against Missouri and Central Michigan.
WYO 19, NORTHERN COLO 24Laramie, Wyo. | UniWyo Sports Complex | 125: Jace Koelzer (UNC) Fall (5:59) over Brendon Garcia (WYO) 133: #10 Mosha Schwartz (UNC) Dec. (6-5) over Job Greenwood (WYO) 141: Chris Sandoval (UNC) Dec. (3-1) over Chase Zollman (WYO)149: #17 Andrew Alirez (UNC) Fall (4:40) over #31 Jaron Jensen (WYO) 157: Nick Knutson (UNC) Fall (2:59) over Logan Jensen (WYO)165: Cole Moody Fall (WYO) (6:15) over Billy Higgins (UNC)174: J #15 Hayden Hastings (WYO) Dec. (5-0) over Damen Pape (UNC)184: #21 Tate Samuelson (WYO) Dec. (3-1 SV) over #19 Alan Clothier (UNC)197: #18 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) Dec. (7-2) over #19 Jacob Seely (UNC)HWT: #9 Brian Andrews (WYO) Maj. Dec. (10-2) over #11 Dalton Robertson (UNC)
