“It’s another big challenge for us,” head coach Mark Branch said. “It’s a team that’s right up there skill wise with Nebraska. So, this is another opportunity to gain a lot of experience, and it’s a dual that’ll really put us in helpful situations that will benefit us this season.”
As Branch mentioned, the Pokes are fresh off a 28-9 loss at No. 3 Nebraska. No. 8 Luke Willochell (133), No. 6 Eddie Neitenbach (184) and No. 4 Joey Novak (197) all logged wins for Wyoming. Willochell’s was an upset of then-No. 7 Jacob Van Dee and Novak’s was a victory over No. 5 Camden McDanel.
And even though the middle part of the Cowboys’ lineup struggled, there are plenty of positives that Branch and his coaching staff can point to.
“Typically, when you have a lopsided loss, there are a lot of glaring things that really jump out at you,” Branch said. “That wasn’t the case with Nebraska. It was some of the things we’ve already emphasized and talked about. We just need to go reinforce those things and make improvements.”
Wyoming will trot out a similar lineup to that of which it used in its first two duals. Willochell, Neitenbach and Novak will be joined by Isaiah Harrison (125), Derek Barrows (141), Austin Collins (149), Antonio Avila (157), Manny Rojas (165), No. 32 Riley Davis (174) and either Winston McBride (HWT) or No. 3 Christian Carroll (HWT).
The Cardinal’s lineup could feature as many as eight ranked guys. No. 3 Nico Provo (125), No. 4 Tyler Knox (133) or Siraj Sidhu (133), No. 8 Jack Consiglio (141), No. 3 Aden Valencia (149), No. 7 Daniel Cardenas (157), No. 18 Grigor Cholakyan (165), No. 11 Hunter Garvin (174), Slava Shahbzayan (184), No. 6 Angelo Posada (197) and Brokton Borelli (HWT) make up Stanford’s starting 10.
Stanford opens its dual slate at CSU Bakersfield on Friday night. Some of the Cardinal got some live reps at the Princeton Open a couple of weeks ago.
Wyoming is 4-0 all-time against Stanford, however, the two squads haven’t met since the 2009-10 season. In fact, Branch’s first-ever dual as head man in Laramie in 2008 was a 34-10 win inside the UniWyo Sports Complex.
Following the trip to Palo Alto, the Pokes remain on the road and close out their 2026 dual slate at Oregon State. That one is set for Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. inside Gill Coliseum.
Source: gowyo.com
