Branson Ashworth works to finisgh a takedown (Photo/UNC Athletics)CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of Wyoming wrestling team recorded wins over North Carolina, Duke, Army West Point and American on Friday to finish the UNC Duals with a perfect 4-0 record. UW (5-2, 1-1 Big 12), who as a team is currently No. 13 by Flowrestling and No. 15 by Trackwrestling, held true to their national rankings with a 21-17 win over No. 19 Tar Heels and then followed with a 34-7 drubbing of Duke on Friday morning. They added two more victories in the afternoon session with a 38-3 defeat of Army, before closing out the duals with a 28-10 win against American.
"It was a great day today going 4-0 and upsetting a top-20 team," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "We came out in the first match and set the tone and then we got better as the day went on. We were looking for bonus-points throughout the day, and we were able to get a lot of them. All in all, I'm very pleased with the effort."
Senior Bryce Meredith, as well as junior Branson Ashworth and redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges each went 4-0 on Friday. Senior Archie Colgan wrestled in the first three duals, going 3-0 and earning his 100th career victory. Sophomore Dewey Krueger went 2-0 winning by forfeit against Duke and adding a decision in the final dual. Ashworth and Meredith each recorded four bonus-point victories for the Brown and Gold. Ashworth tallied three tech. falls and a major, while Meredith posted three pins and a tech. fall. Bridges added two majors for the Pokes. Of Wyoming's 29 wins on Friday, 17 of them came via bonus-points.
"I'm proud of Archie (Colgan) getting his 100th career win," Branch added. "That's a great accomplishment. Bryce (Meredith) was dominant as always, and then we also had a few guys step up and get a couple come from behind victories."
Starting at 149 pounds against the host Tar Heels, redshirt freshman Sam Turner, who debuted at No. 20 in the Flowrestling individuals rankings this week, fell to No. 4 Troy Heilmann. Shortly after No. 16 Colgan (157 pounds), No. 14 Ashworth (165 pounds) and Pope (174 pounds) put together three-straight victories to give UW a 12-3 lead after four bouts. Colgan scored an escape and takedown in the second period against No. 19 Kennedy Monday to bolster his win. Ashworth used a 15-0 tech over Clay Lautt as an early highlight for Wyoming. It was his 12th bonus-point victory of the season. Pope pulled through with his fifth major decision of the year with a 14-6 mark over Adis Radoncic.
It wasn't until No. 12 Bridges at 133 pounds that UW picked up another victory. Bridges earned a 5-1 decision over Zach Sherman, who is ranked No. 19 by InterMat. It was his second win against a ranked opponent this season. The dual came down to the final bout at 141 pounds. No. 1 Meredith took care of business with a first-period pin of Dalton Macri to seal the comeback victory for the Pokes. The fall was Meredith's sixth of his senior season.
Turner came away with a victory in his second match of the day against Duke's Brandon Leynaud. A takedown in the opening period was all he needed, but Turner added an escape and another takedown in the third for the 5-0 win. Colgan followed with the biggest win of his season as he upset No. 10 Mitch Finesilver. Colgan came away with a 3-2 tiebreaker decision to give the Pokes to a 6-0 lead. It was also his first win against a ranked opponent this season and also the 99th of his career.
Ashworth continued his winning ways by adding another solid victory over Zach Finesilver of Duke. His 13th bonus-point win came via three takedowns during the bout. After Duke forfeited at 174 pounds to give Krueger the win, Pope followed with a dominating 18-2 tech. fall of Kaden Russell at 184 pounds. He used three separate takedowns and four-point nearfalls for the win.
Sophomore Drake Foster was down in the third period but managed a late takedown and four-point nearfall for his 8-3 decision over Thayer Atkins. His first dual win of his sophomore season moved UW's lead up to 24-7. Bridges had no issue with Josh Finesilver at 133 pounds. He picked up a 19-9 major before Meredith once again proved why he holds the top spot at 141 pounds. He earned his second pin of the day over Jeremiah Reitz to close out the dual.
Turner got the ball rolling in UW's third dual of the day. He pinned Taylor Brown in the first period to give Wyoming a 6-0 lead. Colgan used a lit third period, which included three takedowns to run away with a 9-7 decision over Luke Weiland. It was his 100th win at Wyoming, which moved him into a tie for 18th all-time. Ashworth had no problem with Beau Guffey at 165 pounds. The junior picked up his third bonus-point win of the day with a 17-2 tech. fall.
Senior Chaz Polson earned his first victory of the day against Noah Stewart. Tied at one, Polson used a nifty takedown and four-point nearfall to secure the win. Sophomore Cody Vigoren was able to get back to his winning ways with a 12-1 major over Alex Hopkins on Friday afternoon. Vigoren scored in the second period and followed with a takedown and four-point nearfall in the third for the win.
Junior Sam Eagan excelled in his match against Robert Heald at heavyweight. Eagan scored late in the first period with a takedown and four-point nearfall, which set the tone. He added to his lead with two takedowns and four-point nearfall in the second for his 17-2 tech. fall.
After a takedown in the first period against Trey Chalifoux, Foster held on for a 3-2 decision. Four takedown for Bridges against Lane Peters proved to be the clear difference at 133 pounds. Bridges picked up a 10-4 decision to give UW an astounding 33-3 lead. Meredith once again held his own at 141 pounds. He pinned Austin Harry for what was his third of the day and eighth of the season. With the pin, Wyoming claimed the dual, 38-3.
Krueger was the first to earn a win against American in the fourth and final dual of the day. Krueger won a 9-2 decision at 157 pounds, as Ashworth followed in style. Ashworth earned his fourth bonus-point win with an 18-3 tech. fall over Anthony Kowasch at 165 pounds.
Pope then went on the attack in the second period of his bout against Mike Eckhart and ultimately closed out with a 12-8 decision. Polson finished his day with his second victory. He earned a 16-0 tech. fall over Connor Allshouse.
Foster picked up what was his third win of the day. He earned a 7-4 decision over Gage Curry just before Bridges picked up his fourth win over NCAA qualifier and No. 4 Josh Terao. Bridges' fourth win, and second major decision in Chapel Hill came via 10-2 major of Terao. It was also his second upset over a top-five opponent this season.
Like the first three matches, Meredith closed out a victory once more on Friday evening. The senior earned a 19-3 tech. fall over Jack Mutchnik to seal the 28-10 win for the Pokes. After his 4-0 day, Meredith now has ten bonus-point victories this year.
Wyoming will be back home in the UniWyo Sports Complex next Friday. The Pokes will welcome CSU Bakersfield for a 7 p.m. MT dual.
No. 19 UNC vs. No. 13 Wyoming
149: No. 4 Troy Heilmann dec. No. 20 Sam Turner, 5-2 | UNC 3, UW 0
157: No. 16 Archie Colgan dec. No. 19 Kennedy Monday, 4-1 | UW 3, UNC 3
165: No. 14 Branson Ashworth tech. fall Clay Lautt, 15-0 | UW 8, UNC 3
174: Kyle Pope major Adis Radoncic, 14-6 | UW 12, UNC 3
184: No. 16 Chip Ness major. Chaz Polson, 11-3 | UW 12, UNC 7
197: No. 19 Danny Chaid major Cody Vigoren, 8-0 | UW 12, UNC 11
285: Cory Daniel dec. Sam Eagan, 3-1 | UNC 14, UW 12
125: James Szymanski dec. Drake Foster, 11-4 | UNC 17, UW 12
133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges dec. Zach Sherman, 5-1 | UNC 17, UW 15
141: No. 1 Bryce Meredith fall Dalton Macri (1:54) | UW 21, UNC 17
Duke vs. No. 13 Wyoming
149: No. 20 Sam Turner dec. Brandon Leynaud, 6-0 | UW 3, DUKE 0
157: No. 16 Archie Colgan dec. No. 10 Mitch Finesilver, TB-1 3-2 | UW 6, Duke 0
165: No. 14 Branson Ashworth major Zach Finesilver, 12-1 | UW 10, Duke 0
174: Dewey Krueger forfeit Duke | UW 16, DUKE 0
184: Kyle Pope tech. fall Kaden Russell, 18-2 | UW 21, DUKE 0
197: Alex Schenk dec. Cody Vigoren, 9-5 | UW 21, Duke 3
285: No. 5 Jacob Kasper major Hunter Mullins, 12-3 | UW 21, Duke 7
125: Drake Foster dec. Thayer Atkins, 8-3 | UW 24, Duke 7
133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges major Josh Finesilver, 19-9 | UW 28, Duke 7
141: No. 1 Bryce Meredith fall Jeremiah Reitz (1:47)| UW 34, Duke 7
Army vs. No. 13 Wyoming
149: No. 20 Sam Turner fall Taylor Brown (2:25) | UW 6, Army 0
157: No. 16 Archie Colgan dec. Luke Weiland, 9-7 | UW 9, Army 0
165: No. 14 Branson Ashworth tech. fall Beau Guffey, 17-2 | UW 14, Army 0
174: Ben Harvey dec. Kyle Pope, 9-6 | UW 14, Army 3
184: Chaz Polson dec. Noah Stewart, 7-1 | UW 17, Army 3
197: Cody Vigoren major Alex Hopkins, 12-1 | UW 21, Army 3
285: Sam Eagan tech. Robert Heald, 17-2 | UW 26, Army 3
125: Drake Foster dec. Trey Chalifoux, 3-2 | UW 29, Army 3
133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges dec. Lane Peters, 10-4 | UW 33, Army 3
141: No. 1 Bryce Meredith fall Austin Harry (1:07) | UW 38, Army 3
American vs. No. 13 Wyoming
149: No. 19 Michael Sprague dec. No. 20 Sam Turner, 5-2 | AU 3, UW 0
157: Dewey Krueger dec. Eric Hong, 9-2 | UW 3, AU 3
165: No. 14 Branson Ashworth tech. fall Anthony Kowasch, 18-3 | UW 8, AU 3
174: Kyle Pope dec. Mike Eckhart, 12-8 UW 11, AU 3
184: Chaz Polson tech. fall Connor Allhouse, 16-0 | UW 16, AU 3
197: No. 10 Jeric Kasunic dec. Cody Vigoren, 6-0 | UW 16, AU 6
285: No. 23 Brett Dempsey major Sam Eagan, 10-2 | UW 16, AU 10
125: Drake Foster dec. Gage Curry, 7-4 | UW 19, AU 10
133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges major No. 4 Josh Terao, 10-2 | UW 23, AU 10
141: No. 1 Bryce Meredith tech. fall Jack Mutchnik, 19-3 | UW 28, AU 10
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