The Wyoming wrestling team lost six of 10 matches on their way to a loss at the hands of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 18-17, in their first conference dual on Sunday in Gillette. The one-point loss brings the Cowboys’ record to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in Western Wrestling Conference play.
The Pokes entered the dual ranked 23rd in the nation.
The Cowboys earned victories from the likes of junior Dakota Friesth, redshirt freshman Benjamin Stroh and juniors Tyler Cox and Shane Woods.
“We had opportunities to take momentum back in the dual, and didn’t,” Wyoming head coach Mark Branch said. “There are some issues there and we weren’t on the same page and I’ve got to figure out why.”
Cox—in a return to his hometown—incited the biggest cheers of the day with a dominating 24-9 technical fall to give his team five points. Cox entered the match ranked eighth nationally in his weight class.
“He came out fired up and wrestled with a lot of energy and opened up his offense, which was good to see,” Branch said. “He set the tone early with a takedown right off the whistle. It was a good display of wrestling in all areas.”
A pin from Stroh followed by a win from Woods gave the Pokes a comeback opportunity midway through the dual with the score 12-9 in favor of the Pokes. After that SDSU’s J.J. Everard tied things up at 12 apiece before Cox’s victory, which regained the lead for the home-state squad. Unfortunately for Pokes fans, SDSU finalized their victory with wins at 133 and 141.
The duel took place in Gillette as part of the Wyoming Athletic Department’s outreach program which offers Pokes fans from around the state the chance to see Wyoming athletics a little closer to home. For many wrestlers, this meant Sunday’s competition was a chance to compete in front of familiar faces.
Cox said prior to the match that the notion of a dual in his hometown in front of fans that cheered for him in high school is energizing.
“The biggest reason that we do it is to reach as far as we can,” said Branch. “We want to show our program to the fans of this state.”
The Cowboys will be back on the mats on Friday at home against Cal Poly. The dual is set to start at 7 p.m.
