Sloan Swan hasn’t wrestled a whole bunch this season for the University of Wyoming. The 157-pound freshman has competed in a couple tournaments and a couple duals but hasn’t been a consistent fixture in the lineup.
Swan made another start Saturday at Utah Valley. And his impressive come-from-behind performance solidified a strong start and catapulted a strong finish for the Cowboys.
Wyoming ended up topping the Wolverines, 22-12, inside Lockhart Arena. The victory improves the Pokes to 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in Big 12 action, while the loss drops Utah Valley to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
“Sloan was down 5-0 going into the third period and then scored 17 points,” head coach Mark Branch said. “That’s inspiration, and that really lifted the team up. Those things play a factor in a dual setting.”
Swan logged a 17-7 major decision over Alex Emmer after, as Branch said, he was down 5-0 with just two minutes of the match remaining. The sizable rally improved Swan to 9-4 on the year.
Swan’s victory cemented a strong start for Wyoming, which won four of the first five matches. No. 4 Jore Volk (125) began the match by moving to a team-best 18-4 record after a 15-0 technical fall of Yusief Lillie.
Garrett Ricks (133) took a similar approach to Swan. He carded a flurry of third-period points en route to a 16-5 major decision of Kase Mauger that moved Ricks to 8-6.
“Garrett came from behind and ended up dominating his opponent and scoring bonus points for himself,” Branch said. “Those things really inspire and create momentum. Those things lifted our team up, and our team was engaged the entire dual.
“I think several of our guys benefited from each other tonight.”
No. 21 Gabe Willochell (149), like Volk, boasted a shutout. He registered a 6-0 decision win over Isaiah Delgado to push his record to 14-6.
Cooper Voorhees got off the snide in duals – moving him to 7-13 on the year – with a 12-10 decision victory over Jaxon Garoutte. Quayin Short rounded out the victorious Cowboys, as he won a 3-2 decision over Caleb Uhlenhopp, to improve to 8-9 on the year.
“I felt like we dominated the dual in some ways, but at the same time, there’s several key matches we could have dropped our head and quit wrestling, and it would have went the other way,” Branch said. “I’m super proud of the team for the way they responded.”
Wyoming remains on the road next week. The Cowboys travel to Northern Colorado on Friday for a 6 p.m. dual inside Bank of Colorado Arena.
Wyoming 22 | Utah Valley 12
125: No. 4 Jore Volk (Wyoming) tech. fall Yusief Lillie (Utah Valley), 15-0
133: Garrett Ricks (Wyoming) major dec. Kase Mauger (Utah Valley), 16-5
141: Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) dec. No. 31 Cole Brooks (Wyoming), 1-0
149: No. 21 Gabe Willochell (Wyoming) dec. Isaiah Delgado (Utah Valley), 6-0
157: Sloan Swan (Wyoming) major dec. Alex Emmer (Utah Valley), 17-7
165: Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming) dec. Jaxon Garoutte (Utah Valley), 12-10
174: Quayin Short (Wyoming) dec. Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley), 3-2
184: Mahonri Rushton (Utah Valley) dec. Tyce Raddon (Wyoming), 10-4
197: No. 20 Evan Brockman (Utah Valley) sudden victory No. 19 Joey Novak (Wyoming), 4-1
HWT: Chase Trussell (Utah Valley) Mason Ding (Wyoming), 8-3
