It was not intentional. The OU wrestler had a cross-face and kept putting his hand in Zollman's mouth. (Moore did the same thing in the 3rd place match.) We had seven recruits last year and five are still in the program. (Two Tennesse kids left at the same time we lost the asst. coach and two kids to OU) I think next year we will have some growing pains, as we will be very young, but in two years these kids will have a chance to be very good. This year's class is by far the best class ever at UW in my opinion. Just got back from Tulsa, what a great time if you enjoy wrestling. Going back in two weeks for the NCAA Championships.
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Wyoming Wrestling
- Thread starter OrediggerPoke
- Start date
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
wyosports said:
The two highest ranked recruits are the ones that departed. Not saying that those rankings necessarily translate who will shine in college but high recruiting classes don't mean much if you can't develop the talent and keep them in the program.
LanderPoke
Well-known member
I guess the OU wrestler intentionally worked his hand inside zollman's mouth. Sounds like BS. F Oklahoma and their coaches and wrestlersOrediggerPoke said:
I would be surprised if at the end of the year either of those kids where rated higher than Volk or Ours. Volk was 42 on Flo p4p.
You are right about keeping them and developing them, not any different than the other sports. Only time will tell, but I have more faith in Branch than any other coach at UW.
You are right about keeping them and developing them, not any different than the other sports. Only time will tell, but I have more faith in Branch than any other coach at UW.
LanderPoke
Well-known member
If Stephen Buchanan stuck around this year and wrestled for Wyoming (he's not wrestling this year) I bet he would have been the NCAA champion and become a Wyoming legend. Just our damn luck this NIL shit hits at this time. I don't wish him any future success whatsoever. Hope he never sees the mat for OU
https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college/197
https://intermatwrestle.com/rankings/college/197
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
LanderPoke said:
Probably would have been a champion this year. He beat both of the current top 2 ranked wrestlers.
LanderPoke
Well-known member
McPeachy said:
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
McPeachy said:
#bringwomen's wrestling...the fastest growing women's high school sport. Find another women's program to cut to save money.
wyosports said:
I wish I had the same faith in Branch. I think we started to see the beginning of the end when we started to see all the recruits leaving in bunches. I can't remember the year (maybe 2019) but there were some Kemmerer kids and others. When I was watching my Nephew wrestle in high school I heard multiple times that the word in the Wyo high school circles was that Branch is really really really hard to get along with for any kid. To prove the point they would say some of the local kids stayed at Wyoming but just quit wrestling because of it. This is my opinion but I think even Bryce Meredith didn't get along with Branch. You could tell after each match and press conference. Bryce got along with Coach Kyle it seemed.
I don't think Branch has coached well since 2019. :twocents: Hopefully he can recover but it is looking worse every year, with this year being probably the worst since he was hired IMO. I think if the program was in the spotlight like Basketball and Football he would be on the hotseat for his performance and not being able to retain and develop his wrestlers. Programs like NDSU, SDSU and Northern Iowa have surpassed us. I think the departure of coach Kyle and coach Ware who went to Oklahoma really hurt our program. It might take a while to replace those 2 so maybe eventually Branch can recover. Hopefully.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
McPeachy said:
Come on man - I know its joking but that's a pretty ridiculous thing to say. There are women out there working their butts off to be successful in this traditional grueling men's sport. The level of Women's wrestling (and having watched a few women's tournaments this past year) is really growing by leaps and bounds. These women deserve respect. If you didn't know, Wyoming just hosted its first girls high school state wrestling tournament just 2 weeks ago.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
I think you might be spot on. We've really struggled keeping wrestlers in the program over the past 4-5 years. At some point, a reset is healthy for any program. However, what is giving me hope is the way the team competed at the Big 12s compared to the rest of the year. Several matches where Wyoming wrestlers prevailed in the Big 12s after having lost to the same wrestlers earlier in the year.rich22 said:
McPeachy
Well-known member
OrediggerPoke said:
Ya, I am an insensitive prick, and don't give a shit. I am just not the type to enjoy women's boxing, mma, and now - wrasslin. In fact, I - like almost the entire rest of the USA could give two fucks about women's sports (track and field excluded). So I guess I am chauvinist as well. Meh.
I find it funny when people voice their opinion and then throughout names to try and back up it up. I never talk with high school coaches, so I will not speak to that, but the former wrestler from Cheyenne that you say didn't like Branch made me laugh my ass off. (I just texted his dad your comments and will be happy to share his response.) I guess depending on the high school program you would get different thoughts on Branch. However, Gillette seems more than happy to send kids to wrestle for him, and unless things have changed Hastings seems to have a good relationship with him, just based on what I saw last week in Tulsa. It is tuff to compare wrestling with the other sports at UW when the Big 12 has 3 to 4 top 10 programs, and 3 to 4 more in the top 20. The MWC in football and basketball might have two legitimate top 20 teams in a year and both would be at the bottom on list. As someone pointed out in a different thread, UW admin had better start thinking outside the box or it will not matter what sport it is UW will have trouble keeping the top end players. The schools that have contracts with NIL companies use them mainly to help with their star players. (Football-Neyor, Basketball - IKE, Wrestling Buchanan) They find national companies to sponsor these types of players and pay their NIL contracts, and then help the University find local businesses and companies to help with your average starter. There are more and more schools that we compete against using these NIL companies to gain any advantage possible. Since we can't seem to beat them, then maybe we should join them!
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
wyosports said:
I'm not making any comments on Branch's relationship with wrestlers, I have no knowledge. But the turnover rate and inability to keep wrestlers in the program (for whatever reason that may be) is concerning and ultimately falls on the head coach.
But the MWC in basketball to wrestling in the Big 12 comparison for top 20 programs is a bit silly...there are 78 division 1 wrestling programs...there are 351 D1 basketball programs. Based on those numbers 2 top 20 teams in basketball is much more impressive than 4 top 20 teams in wrestling for a given conference. Yes, the Big 12 is a good wrestling conference but it is still way behind the Big 10.
I guess if you think the MWC in football and basketball is on par with the big 12 in wrestling, then we will have to agree to disagree. You said you were concerned about all turnover in the program, so I was thinking about anyone who left the program with eligibility left and was a starter and the only two I can come up with is the 184 from last year who competed for 4 years, and the 197 this year. Is there anyone I have missed. I know there has been turnover, but if you are 2nd or 3rd string you are probably never getting in the lineup. I believe there was 3 125 pounders to leave this year because of Volk. They were never going to beat him.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
wyosports said:
You missed a lot… here are just some starters with eligibility that I recall leaving off the top of my head from the last several years: Cale Davidson, Sam Turner, Montorie Bridges, Trent Olsen, Carless Looney, Gage Hockett, Casey Randles, Analu Benabise
I’m sure there are more.
But the list of freshmen who have come in and redshirted and then left the next year is even bigger.
Your list is very interesting and makes my point. Of all the people you listed only Bridges was a starter who could have returned for his fourth year, (went to law school and never wrestled again, not like he transferred.) Davidson lost his job to Buchanan who was a freshman at the time and new there was not a spot for him to wrestle at UW, transferred to Nebraska and finally broke the lineup this year as a HWT. Turner was removed from the team for repeated violations, and the others you listed never were starters. I have to laugh that you listed Hockett who transferred to OU, he now sits behind the best freshman 174 pounder in the country. (He got bad advise) Like I said before there have been kids who have left the program, but most of them new they would never have beat out the wrestlers in front of them. Most kids that wrestle do not want to train year-round to be part of the program for four years and never get the chance to compete. There is an old joke in wrestling that if you are not first, then you are last.
OrediggerPoke
Well-known member
wyosports said:
All of them were starters at various points. All of them had potential to be good wrestlers for Wyoming. You're just making excuses for the revolving door of wrestlers we've seen at Wyoming over the past several years.
If the answer is "they sucked or couldn't hack it," (as you seem to indicate) then that means we don't know how to recruit and that also falls on the head coach.. Either way, the head coach should be accountable.