No. 19 Wyoming took on No. 17 Oregon State on Wyoming’s senior night in Laramie, and secured the comeback victory from 14-3, to a dual victory of 21-17.
“It was an exciting way to end a dual, and if you were here and you aren’t a wrestling fan now something is wrong with you” head coach Mark Branch said to a Wyoming Athletics press release.
Oregon State was coming off of a seven match win streak which started after the Aloha Open in Honolulu. Wyoming’s last match was a loss to Oklahoma State, 19-12, in Stillwater, Okla.
“Things were not going weak early, I knew we could get ourselves back in it, but you don’t foresee getting two pins. It can be a crazy sport,” Branch said.
Wyoming’s Tyler Cox, No. 15 in the nation, started senior night for the Cowboys with an early victory of 9-3, over No. 10 Ronnie Bresser. The Pokes struggled losing the next 4 matches at 133, 141, 149 and 157 to give the Beavers a 14-3 lead at intermission. Wyoming’s No. 18 Dakota Friesth ended the drought and recorded an 8-5 victory over Oregon State’s Seth Thomas. No. 14 Andy McCulley made quick work of Oregon State’s Joe Latham pinning him in the first 35 seconds of the first period to record his 99th victory as a cowboy.
Cowboy No. 19 Benjamin Stroh fell to No. 7 Taylor Meeks 8-2. As Wyoming’s No. 14 Shane Woods recorded his team best 27th win of the season and brought the pokes back to a 15-17 deficit.
As the weight of the match fell on junior Tanner Harms to defeat Oregon State’s Nate Keeve, Harms pinned Keeve and propelled the Cowboys to a 21-17 victory. Seven seniors were honored prior to their final home match and, of the four seniors that wrestled; all recorded individual victories on their way to a team win.
The Cowboys are 10-4 overall and 3-1 in conference. The Cowboys will face Northern Colorado Sunday, Feb. 22 in Greeley, Colo. at 2 p.m.
