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Wrestling in Sixth Following Day 1 of the Big 12 Championships

Eddie Neitenbach and Joey Novak Both Advance to Title Bouts


Photo courtesy of UW Athletics
Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

TULSA, Oklahoma – The University of Wyoming wrestling team completed Day 1 of the Big 12 Championships on Friday inside the BOK Center. The Pokes are sixth as a team with 64.5 points and have six guys still alive, with two of those set to compete in the title bout of their respective weights on Saturday.


No. 3-seeded Eddie Neitenbach (184) and No. 2 Joey Novak (197) will both take aim at a Big 12 championship on Saturday night. Both secured three wins on Friday, two of which were over ranked guys.


Neitenbach pinned Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley), beat No. 6 Brian Soldano (Oklahoma) via decision, 8-5, and No. 7 Isaac Dean (Iowa State) by decision, 5-1. The win over Soldano avenged an earlier-season loss, and defeating Dean punched Neitenbach's ticket to the title bout.


"He wrestled smart. He wrestled hard," head coach Mark Branch said. "He did the things he needed to do to win. He couldn't be careless and wide-open Eddie like he likes to be sometimes. He needed to be more structured and controlled."

 


Novak boasted a tech fall over Eli Sheeran (Cal Baptist), a decision over No. 7 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia), and a sudden victory over No. 3 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State). Novak hung on for the 7-6 victory over Lawrence and needed to conjure up a comeback to beat Merrill, 5-2.


"Joey had the whole crowd against him (in that semifinal) and some calls didn't go his way," Branch said. "I'm super proud of the maturity he showed to keep his composure through the challenges and through the scrambles. He kept his head focused on where he needed to be to get the job done.
"I'm super excited for both Eddie and Joey to represent us on that stage tomorrow night."

Both Neitenbach and Novak will each face No. 1 seeds. Neitenbach gets No. 1 Aeoden Sinclair (Missouri), and Novak gets No. 1 Rocky Elam (Iowa State).


No. 8 Gabe Willochell (149), No. 7 Sloan Swan (165), and Riley Davis (174) are all still alive and in the consolation semifinals, while Jared Hill (157) will compete for seventh. They all dropped quarterfinals bouts, but Willochell, Swan, and Davis rallied for a pair of wins Friday evening on the backside of their respective brackets to keep them in the running for third. Davis' final win Saturday punched his first-career ticket to the NCAA Championships.


"Gabe showed in his last match, and Riley in his last match, the guts to get the job done," Branch said. "Riley punching his NCAA ticket is huge. And Gabe had the right mindset all day. He was determined and had a no-quit mentality."

Sefton Douglass (125), No. 7 Luke Willochell (133), David Saenz (141), No. 8 Jared Hill (157), and No. 3 Christian Carroll (HWT) all had their Big 12 Championships come to an end on Friday. Willochell, Hill, and Carroll each recorded a win, while Douglass and Saenz went 0-2.


Oklahoma State leads in the team standings with 154.5 points. Iowa State is second at 122.5, and Arizona State rounds out the top three, having scored 78.5 points.


Session 3 gets underway tomorrow at 10 a.m. (MST). The Championship Session commences at 6 p.m. (MST). All the bouts can be streamed on ESPN-Plus.


125: Sefton Douglass (0-2)

First Round: No. 5 Brady Roark (South Dakota State), ranked No. 21, decision Douglass, 5-0

Consolation Round 2: No. 3 Jett Strickenberger (West Virginia), ranked No. 16, technical fall Douglass, 18-3


133: No. 7 Luke Willochell (ranked No. 22) (1-2)

First Round: Willochell major decision Geronimo Rivera (Utah Valley), 9-0

Quarterfinals: No. 2 Kyler Larkin (Arizona State), ranked No. 7, decision Willochell, 8-1

Consolation Round 2: Garrett Grice (Iowa State) major decision Willochell, 11-2


141: David Saenz (0-2)

First Round: No. 2 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), ranked No. 3, technical fall Saenz, 22-6

Consolation Round 1: Max Brady (Northern Iowa) decision Saenz, 9-6


149: No. 8 Gabe Willochell (ranked No. 29) (2-1)

Quarterfinals: No. 1 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), ranked No. 7, decision Willochell, 7-2

Consolation Round 2: Willochell major decision KJ Evans (Northern Colorado), 9-0

Consolation Quarterfinals: Willochell tiebreaker-1 No. 5 Josh Edmond (Missouri), ranked No. 20, 5-2


157: No. 8 Jared Hill (1-2)

Quarterfinals: No. 1 Kaleb Larkin (Arizona State), ranked No. 4, technical fall Hill, 20-3

Consolation Round 2: Hill sudden victory Cael Rahnavardi (Northern Iowa), 5-2

Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 5 Gavin Drexler (North Dakota State), ranked No. 30, decision Hill, 19-12


165: No. 7 Sloan Swan (3-1)

First Round: Swan sudden victory Boeden Greenley (North Dakota State, 2-1

Quarterfinals: No. 2 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa), ranked No. 6, decision Swan, 5-1

Consolation Round 2: Swan decision Zyon Trujillo (Utah Valley), 4-1

Consolation Quarterfinals: Swan decision No. 6 Gabriel Schumm (Cal Baptist), 4-3


174: Riley Davis (3-1)

First Round: Davis, sudden victory No. 8 Cael Valencia (Arizona State), 12-9

Quarterfinals: No. 1 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State), ranked No. 6, major decision Davis, 17-4

Consolation Round 2: Davis decision Mason Espinoza (Cal Baptist), 5-1

Consolation Quarterfinals: Davis sudden victory Hudson Rogers (Utah Valley), 4-1


184: No. 3 Eddie Neitenbach (ranked No. 8) (3-0)

First Round: Neitenbach fall Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley), :46

Quarterfinals: Neitenbach decision No. 6 Brian Soldano (Oklahoma), ranked No. 9, 8-5

Semifinals: Neitenbach decision No. 7 Isaac Dean (Iowa State), ranked No. 11, 5-1


197: No. 2 Joey Novak (ranked No. 3) (3-0)

First Round: Novak technical fall Eli Sheeran (Cal Baptist), 17-0

Quarterfinals: Novak decision No. 7 Rune Lawrence (West Virginia), ranked No. 14, 7-6

Semifinals: Novak, sudden victory No. 3 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State), ranked No. 7, 5-2


HWT: No. 3 Christian Carroll (ranked No. 7) (1-2)

First Round: Shilo Jones (North Dakota State) sudden victory Carroll, 4-1

Consolation Round 1: Carroll major decision No. 6 Jack Forbes (Utah Valley), ranked No. 25, 17-6 Consolation Round 2: No. 5 Juan Mora (Oklahoma), ranked No. 19, decision Carroll, 4-2

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