March 21, 2024 — Wyo4News Staff
Three Wyoming Cowboy wrestlers will take aim at NCAA national wrestling championships starting today in Kansas City. Jore Volk (125 pounds), Gabe Willochell (149 pounds), and Joey Novak (197 pounds) will compete against the nation’s best DI wrestlers.
Jore Volk is coming off winning the Big 12 wrestling championship a couple of weeks ago. In doing so, he defeated three wrestlers who came into the tournament with high seedings. He hopes for the same success this week. Volk brings an overall 22-6 record into the national championship tournament, where he is the #5 seed. His opening match will be against Diego Sotelo of Harvard, the #28 seed. Volk was 1-2 at the 2023 national championships.
Gabe Willochell, at 149 pounds, is 18-10 on the season and earned the #22 seed after finishing in fourth place at the Big 12 Championships. He will open against the #11 seed, Quinn Kinner of Rider College. Winochell competed at the national tournament last season, going 0-2 at 141 pounds.
Jay Novak went 22-12 during the season and is seeded #17 at 197 pounds. This will be his first NCAA Championship appearance. In his opening-round match, Novak will face #16 seed Luke Scott of Princeton.
First-round matches are scheduled to start today at 9 a.m. MDT.
