Wrestling Topples Northern Colorado, 25-10

GREELEY, Colorado (2/13/26) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team methodically pieced together a victory Friday inside Bank of Colorado Arena. The No. 24 Cowboys weren’t at full strength but still walked away with a 25-10 win that pushed them to 7-5 on the season and 6-1 in Big 12 action.

“We have to wrestle better,” head coach Mark Branch said. “There was some good. David definitely had that energy we were looking for. I don’t know if it was a lack of focus or we were thinking about Sunday, but we didn’t treat this with the respect we should have. We need to wrestle better.”

Sefton Douglass (125) started off the dual with a suffocating 3-0 win over Bryson Valdez that put the Pokes ahead, 3-0. David Saenz (141) recaptured the lead with the most impressive victory of the night. He boasted a 19-3 technical fall over Ramon Salazar that gave Wyoming an 8-4 lead it would never relinquish.

No. 28 Gabe Willochell (149) logged a 13-8 decision over KJ Evans, and No. 32 Sloan Swan (165) scored a 5-4 decision over Kilian Schultz. Those results built the Cowboys’ lead to 14-7.

It was a bonus-victory one-two punch with No. 9 Eddie Neitenbach (184) and No. 4 Joey Novak (197). Neitenbach disposed of Mahonri Rushton via major decision, 15-6, while Novak downed Tyler Perry by major decision, 10-1.

That put the dual to bed, but Winston McBirde (HWT) provided Wyoming with one more thing to celebrate. The Colorado native defeated Enzo Cappabianca via decision, 1-0, to give the dual its final tally.

“It was a great experience,” Branch said. “He trains hard. He works hard. He’s been there ready to go all year when Christian wasn’t 100 percent. We’ve brought him along everywhere, and he has never gotten the opportunity to do it. So, coming down here, finding a way to win and get his hand raised was pretty cool.”

Wyoming caps its dual season Sunday. The Cowboys host No. 16 Oklahoma at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.  

No. 24 Wyoming 25 | Northern Colorado 10

125: Sefton Douglass (Wyoming) decision Bryson Valdez (Northern Colorado), 3-0

133: No. 10 Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) major decision No. 23 Luke Willochell (Wyoming), 15-3

141: David Saenz (Wyoming) technical fall Ramon Salazar (Northern Colorado), 19-3

149: No. 28 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) decision KJ Evans (Northern Colorado), 13-8

157: Daishun Powe (Northern Colorado) decision Antonio Avila (Wyoming), 11-4

165: No. 32 Sloan Swan (Wyoming) decision Kilian Schultz (Northern Colorado), 5-4

174: Murphy Menke (Northern Colorado) tiebreaker-2 No. 28 Riley Davis (Wyoming), 2-2

184: No. 9 Eddie Neitenbach (Wyoming) major decision Mahonri Rushton (Northern Colorado), 15-6

197: No. 4 Joey Novak (Wyoming) major decision Tyler Perry (Northern Colorado), 10-1

HWT: Winston McBride (Wyoming) decision Enzo Cappabianca (Northern Colorado), 1-0