From: Lincoln Joseph Mansch lmansch@uwyo.eduSubject: Cowboy Wrestling to Begin New Year in Chapel Hill

Date: January 4, 2018 at 8:40 AMTo: Lincoln Joseph Mansch lmansch@uwyo.edu

Cowboy Wrestling to Begin New Year in Chapel Hill

Notes | Live Video | Live ResultsLARAMIE, Wyo. (Jan. 4, 2018) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team will beginthe new year at the North Carolina Duals on Friday. UW will take on host UNC, ArmyWest Point, Duke and American. The Brown and Gold will begin with No. 19 North Carolina at 7 a.m. MT on Fridaymorning, before competing against Duke at 9 a.m. UW will then follow up with Army at 3p.m., before closing the day against American at 5 p.m. Wyoming’s dual against UNCwill have live video (ACC Network Extra/ESPN) and live results, which can be foundusing the links above. Check GoWyo.com for further updates on live results regardingUW’s other duals on Friday (if available). Last year, Wyoming met American, Army West Point and North Carolina at theAmerican Duals in the nation’s capital. It was UW’s farthest trip from Laramie and alsoits only trip to the east coast during the 2016-17 season. In Washington, D.C., Branson Ashworth led the Brown and Gold winning all three of hismatchups. Two of his three victories came via bonus-points. Additionally, DrewTempleman and Bryce Meredith each went 2-1 at the American Duals a year ago. Viewed as one of UW’s most consistent wrestlers, Ashworth hit stride during theAmerican Duals and didn’t look back. After his three victories, the Spanish Fork, Utah,native won eight of his last ten matches to help give him the No. 3 seed heading into theBig 12 Championships. Interestingly enough, after dropping all three duals at American, Wyoming would go onto win six of its next seven duals. The stretch was the longest winning streak for theBrown and Gold since the Pokes won seven-consecutive duals in 2014-15. Not since 2009 has Wyoming faced Duke. The Cowboys won their first-ever contestagainst Duke in Raleigh, N.C., 36-6 on Jan. 17, 2009. UW lost only one match againstthe Blue Devils to win handily. The Pokes used five bonus-point victories on way to thewin.

Last Time OutUW won five matches, including four upsets on Dec. 19, but dropped a Big 12 dual toNo. 3 Oklahoma State. Inside Storey Gym in Cheyenne, the Cowboys picked up threeearly wins from redshirt freshman Sam Turner (149 pounds), senior Archie Colgan (157pounds) and junior Ashworth (165 pounds), as redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges (133pounds) and senior Meredith (141 pounds) closed out the dual with a couple victoriesfor the Brown and Gold. Bridges defeated No. 3 Kaid Brock, while Meredith upset No. 1 Dean Heil to send thecrowd of 2,580 home on a good note, but the defending Big 12 champions picked upthree bonus-point wins during the contest to help take the victory. The loss was UW's(1-2, 1-1 Big 12) first in league action this season. Meredith picked up his second-career Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honor on Dec. 20.Not only was he the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, but also the NCAA Wrestler of theWeek and TheMat.com Athlete of the Week by USA Wrestling. Know the Competition – UNC DualsNorth Carolina: To close out 2017, UNC earned its first top-10 win under head coachColeman Scott when the Tar Heels knocked off No. 8 Minnesota 25-16 as part of the2017 South Beach Duals on Dec. 29. No. 19 Carolina had pins from A.C. Headlee andDanny Chaid among six match wins to score the upset. On Dec. 30 to close out theweekend, the Tar Heels blanked SIUE 44-0 before dropping MSU 30-6. The Tar Heelsare 5-4 overall this season. Duke: Duke is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle where four BlueDevils placed. Jacob Kasper led the team with his second-consecutive heavyweightcrown. Before the Southern Scuffle, Duke took 25th at the Cliff Keen Invite whereKasper once again led the squad taking third-place in the heavyweight division. TheNorth Carolina Duals will be the first dual competition for Duke this season. Army West Point: The UNC Duals will be the first competition for Army since the CliffKeen Invite on Dec. 1-2. The Black Knights took 20th in Las Vegas to close out their2017. Army West Point is currently 0-1 in duals this season, with its loss coming to No.1 Penn State on Nov. 9. American: American wrestling ended 2017 at the 85th Annual Wilkes Open on Dec. 22where the Eagles had ten place-winners. Josh Terao and Jeric Kasunic each wonchampionship bouts to lead AU. In early Dec., American took 11th at the Cliff KeenInvite as three Eagles that made their way to the podium. American is currently 1-1 induals this season. Wyoming in the RankingsAfter a big time showing in Cheyenne against Oklahoma State, a number of Cowboyshave found themselves once again in the latest rankings. As a team, UW moved to 18thin the InterMat Tournament Rankings. Flowrestling also has UW sitting 13th as a team,with Wyoming sitting 15th in the Trackwrestling team polls and 19th according to TheOpen Mat. InterMat has four Pokes in the top-16 of their respective weight classes. Leading theway is Meredith, who has won six-straight against ranked opponents, is second at 141-

way is Meredith, who has won six-straight against ranked opponents, is second at 141-pounds. Bridges (133 pounds) and Ashworth (165 pounds) are each placed 12th at theirweights, while Colgan is sitting 16th at 157 pounds. In the Flowrestling rankings, Meredith now holds the top spot at 141 pounds after his bigwin in Cheyenne over two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil. Bridges is 12th at 133pounds, with Colgan 16th at 157 and Ashworth 14th at 165 pounds. Trackwrestling hasall four Cowboys within the top-15 of their weight classes. Meredith holds the top spot at141 pounds, as Bridges is 13th at 133 pounds and both Ashworth and Colgan sit 14thoverall. The Open Mat has Meredith second in his weight class, with Ashworth (14th), Bridges(16th) and Colgan (16th) all within the top-16. Up NextThe Pokes will venture back to Laramie for its first dual in the UniWyo Sports Complexnext week. UW is scheduled for a 7 p.m. MT dual against CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 12. Wyoming’s Projected Lineup for UNC Duals125: Drake Foster133: Montorie Bridges141: Bryce Meredith149: Sam Turner157: Archie Colgan/Dewey Krueger165: Branson Ashworth174: Kyle Pope184: Chaz Polson197: Cody VigorenHWT: Hunter Mullins/Sam Eagan

--LJM-- Lincoln ManschAssistant Director, Media and Public RelationsUniversity of Wyoming Athletics1000 E. University Avenue | Laramie, Wyoming 82071Office: (307) 766-2257 | Cell: (406) 396-7381