Wyoming

Novak Nearing Return As Wyoming Chases Strong Finish To Big 12 Dual Season – FloWrestling

Published

1 month ago

February 6, 2026

Novak Nearing Return As Wyoming Chases Strong Finish To Big 12 Dual Season – FloWrestling

A Wednesday afternoon conversation with Mark Branch begins somewhat introspectively, with Wyoming’s head coach detailing the injury — an ACL reconstruction in 2021 — that finally pushed him to be more selective as to how often he rolls around with his athletes, most of whom are now 30-plus years his junior.

“I still work out pretty much daily, but I don’t get on the mat as much anymore,” Branch said.

The injury, just the latest to his knees after a career in the sport, happened on the practice mat. And its effects are still being felt by the man who once reached four NCAA finals as a competitor.

“That slowed me down in everything for sure,” he said. “Heck, I went snowboarding the other day and I’m like, I used to just rip it. And now I’m pretty conscious with everything.”

So as not to start off on too much of a down note, the next question for the 18th-year head coach is whether there have been any silver linings to his scaling back.

“It’s been good because you look at coaching a little differently, I think,” Branch said. “It’s not that important that I’m out there wrestling with those guys every day.”

It also helps as a valid excuse for an aging hammer to hold over a younger generation that’s always eager to take shots at the old guard.

“Oh, I can still talk big, that’s for sure,” Branch said.

And the best part is, these days he doesn’t have to give those youngsters a chance to prove him wrong.

Novak Nears Return

Speaking of those Wyoming pupils — and dealing with injury — one of the Cowboys’ brightest stars is expected back on the mat after a month-long absence.

That Cowboy, returning All-American Joey Novak, has been out of competition since the Jan. 4 Soldier Salute.

There, the nation’s sixth-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds suffered a nerve injury during a finals match in which he pinned Missouri’s #9 Evan Bates.

“It’s not like a lot of injuries that I’m familiar with,” Branch said. “It’s one of those things that you just have to get it to kind of calm down, to relax and get the inflammation out of the area.

“You’ve just got to listen to your body and go at the pace that everything starts feeling better — and that’s what we’ve had over the last couple weeks (when) he’s made some big jumps.”

Novak was sidelined briefly by a high ankle sprain last season, but this particular injury marks his most substantial period of missed time as a collegian.

“I feel pretty good about this weekend,” said Branch, regarding his 197-pounder’s return.

“We want to do what’s best for him and our team, so we’ll look at those two duals that we have Friday and Sunday and maybe only use him in one…but we’d like to get him back on the mat, get him out there competing.”

In Novak’s absence, #18 Wyoming has gone 1-2 in duals — all against opponents ranked 21stt or higher in Flo’s latest NCAA rankings.

But a 7-1 Big 12 dual record is still within reach if the Cowboys can win a pair of Friday/Sunday doubleheaders these next two weeks — the first of which will stream live on FloWrestling against Air Force (Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET) and North Dakota State (Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET) respectively.

Unleashing The ‘Wild Man’

Among a trio of highly ranked Wyoming upper weights, Eddie Neitenbach might go a bit underappreciated by general wrestling fans compared to the likes of Novak and former prep star Christian Carroll (ranked seventh at 285 pounds).

But make no mistake, the Valley City, Ohio native is worth your attention.

“Even in the wrestling room, he’s just a wild man,” Branch said.

“He’s consistently one of the hardest workers in the room…Sometimes we can be drilling, and he’ll probably loses 5-6 pounds in a drill just because of the pace that he goes at.

“(And) we want him to go at that high pace because that’s what separates him from a lot of guys at the weight class. But at the same time, be in control, and make sure that we’re utilizing good positions and good technique.”

Neitenbach (#9 at 184) has just three contested losses this season — all against top 10 opponents, and all of them within the margins.

The sophomore fell to #8 Dylan Fishback of Ohio State, 10-7, at the National Duals Invitational. At the Cliff Keen Invite he was pinned from a seemingly advantageous position by Oklahoma kitchen-sink-thrower #10 Brian Soldano. And back in December, he lost a 4-1 bout against #1 Rocco Welsh when Penn State visited Laramie.

“I think he knows and he’s shown that he can go with the best guys in the country,” Branch said. “There’s no doubt. I think he can get on the podium this year (and) I think he’s going to give everybody a fit.”

Talking Through The Pressure

“I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wish I would have,” said Branch of the final month-and-change of his final collegiate season.

Then a Cowboy of a different sort (at Oklahoma State), Branch was desperate to cap his career with a second national title sandwiched around two runner-up finishes.

“Everything in my heart wanted to win a national championship my last year,” he said.

“It meant so much to me that I did put a lot of pressure on myself…and then going undefeated — I don’t know if that was the best thing. I started tightening up towards the end and stressing out a lot because I’d had this perfect season and I’m like, ‘Well, what’s the perfect season matter if I don’t win when it matters at the end?’”

Fortunately for Branch, he had a pretty great resource at his disposal in Pat Smith, the first four-time champion in NCAA history.

Smith overlapped with Branch on Oklahoma State’s 1994 national championship team — the former topping the podium as a senior while the latter did the same as a freshman. Several years later, Smith relayed that he’d felt some of the same pressures Branch was dealing with as a senior in addition to Smith’s uniquely heightened stress of becoming a historic four-timer.

“He (Smith) really helped me calm down when I really started stressing out and feeling that anxiety,” Branch said. “He let me know that everything was fine and I’m right where I need to be. He gave me that confidence of ‘You’re going to win the national championship’ and I believed in it.

“Without that, I don’t know how I would have handled it.”

Almost 30 years later, Branch still carries those lessons with him as he leads an entire team of strong, motivated, but very much ‘human’ individuals.

“There are guys in our lineup that I can see they’re letting the anxiety build and they’re not happy with their performance — and they’re maybe being too critical,” he said. “So, sitting down and just talking — maybe evening sharing your own stories — I think those things can all be helpful.

“And I do that because it helped me, and I’m not sure if the story would have played out the same if I wouldn’t have had somebody to talk to.”

Watch Wyoming home duals this season live on Flowrestling.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

6 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

18 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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