Wrestling Advances Two to Day 2 of the NCAA Championships

Eddie Neitenbach and Joey Novak Remain Alive in their Consolation Brackets

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (3/20/25) – The University of Wyoming wrestling team completed Day 1 at the NCAA Championships on Thursday inside the Wells Fargo Center. Two Cowboys are still alive for Friday’s action while three Pokes’ seasons came to close Thursday.

No. 19 Eddie Neitenbach (184) and No. 15 Joey Novak (197) are the pair that extended their season. Both will begin in Round 2 of the consolation bracket Friday at 10 a.m. Neitenbach will take on No. 20 Nick Fine (Columbia) and Novak squares off with No. 17 Nikolas Stemmet (Stanford).

Neitenbach remained alive with an emphatic pin in Round 1 of the consolation bracket. He needed just over a minute to dispose of PAC-12 Champion, No. 33 TJ McDonnell (Oregon State). Neitenbach’s day began with a 10-0 major decision loss to No. 14 DJ Parker (Oklahoma).

Novak started Thursday with a win, defeating No. 18 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell) via decision, 8-1, to advance to Round 2. It was there where he fell to No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) by technical fall, 16-1.

“Right now, the focus and energy is on Eddie and Joey to get those guys ready and keep pushing as hard as they can,” head coach Mark Branch said. “I like that these guys can compete with anybody in their bracket. They just need to believe in it and go out and fight hard.”

No. 30 Gabe Willochell (149), No. 13 Jared Hill (157) and No. 30 Sam Mitchell (HWT) all fell twice on Thursday, which ended their season. Mitchell did score a win in the consolation pigtail match, defeating No. 33 Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State) via decision, 5-0.

Wyoming is tied for 36 with four points. Penn State leads the team race at 39.5, while Nebraska and Oklahoma State round out the top three at 28 and 27 points, respectively.

As stated, Session 3 starts Friday at 10 a.m. Session 4 will begin at 6 p.m.

Below is a list of all the Wyoming results from Day 1.

149: No. 30 Gabe Willochell (0-2)

First Round: No. 3 Shayne Van Ness (Penn State) fall Willochell, 4:12

Consolation Pigtail: Wynton Denkins (Campbell) sudden victory Willochell, 17-14

157: No. 13 Jared Hill (0-2)

First Round: No. 20 Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern) decision Hill, 2-0

Consolation First Round: No. 29 James Harrington (Harvard) fall Hill, 5:46

184: No. 19 Eddie Neitenbach (1-1)

First Round: No. 19 DJ Parker (Oklahoma) major decision Neitenbach, 10-0

Consolation First Round: Neitenbach fall No. 33 TJ McDonnell (Oregon State), 1:08

197: No. 15 Joey Novak (1-1)

First Round: Novak decision No. 18 Dillon Bechtold (Bucknell), 8-1

Second Round: No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) technical fall Novak, 16-1

HWT: No. 30 Sam Mitchell (1-2)

First Round: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) technical fall Mitchell, 15-0

Consolation Pigtail: Mitchell decision No. 33 Stephan Monchery (Appalachian State), 5-0

Consolation First Round: No. 19 Cory Day (Binghamton) fall Mitchell, 5:58