Volk Finishes Memorable NCAA Championships with Seventh-Place Honor

Bud Denega, Communications Coordinator for Soccer, Wrestling and Swim&Dive, University of Wyoming

LARAMIE, Wyo. (3/23/24) – Only four wrestlers, at each weight, at the NCAA Championships finish their season with a win. Jore Volk is one of them.

The University of Wyoming sophomore won five of his last six bouts, the final one occurring Saturday morning, inside the T-Mobile Center to rally for a seventh-place finish. The strong conclusion includes the 125-pounder’s first All-American award.

“I’m proud of my performance and what I was able to do on the back side (of the bracket),” Volk said. “It’s big for me knowing I can compete with anybody. It helps my mindset, going into every match believing I can get the job done.”

A 4-0 decision victory over South Dakota State’s Tanner Jordan was the bow on Volk’s tough run back from losing in the Round of 32. He scored an early takedown and piled up enough riding time for a little extra breathing room.

Volk finished the NCAA Championships with a 5-2 record and an upset of Penn State’s No. 1 seed Braeden Davis. That’s a sizable step forward after going 1-2 at last year’s tournament, but head coach Mark Branch knows there’s plenty of room for growth.

“He’s got so much more,” Branch said. “We know it. He’s got to untap and open up his offense. He just built upon what he did at the Big 12 Tournament. There’s a lot of room for improvements, but he’s walking away with that momentum. That’s a big thing.”

No. 22 Gabe Willochell (149) and No. 17 Joey Novak (197) are also walking away with some momentum. They both went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships with each scoring a pair of upsets – one Thursday and one Friday – in what was a strong tournament for the two of them.

125 | No. 5 Jore Volk (5-2)

Round of 32: No. 28 Diego Sotelo (Harvard) dec. No. 5 Volk, 5-3

Consolation Round 1: No. 5 Volk dec. No. 21 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), 2-0

Consolation Round 2: No. 5 Volk dec. No. 11 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech), 5-1

Consolation Round 3: No. 5 Volk dec. No. 14 Nico Prove (Stanford), 5-4

Blood Round: No. 5 Volk sudden victory No 1 Braeden Davis (Penn State), 4-1

Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 2 Luke Stanich (Lehigh) major dec. No. 5 Volk, 9-0

Seventh-Place Match: No. 5 Volk dec. No. 23 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State), 4-0

149 | No. 22 Gabe Willochell (2-2)

Round of 32: No. 22 Willochell major dec. No. 11 Quinn Kinner (Rider), 8-0

Round of 16: No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan) fall, No. 22 Willochell, 4:57

Consolation Round 2: No. 22 Willochell dec. No. 12 Ethen Miller (Maryland), 10-8