Mark Branch was nervous all day leading into his team’s home dual a week ago Saturday.

And no, it wasn’t because the 18th-year Wyoming head coach was about to lead his team against the juggernaut Penn State Nittany Lions.

Instead, Branch was concerned about how many people were going to be there in Laramie to see it — win or lose.

“The last thing I had seen was about 2,800 in ticket sales — that’s the last I saw,” Branch said.

“I’m like, if it’s 2,800, that’s not good enough. We’ve got to do better than that.

“We did everything we could to promote it. I pumped out emails, we pumped out social media stuff, but the last I heard was 2,800.

“I was like, ‘If that’s all that comes, I’m not going to be happy.’”

Fortunately for Branch and the Cowboys program, both his mood and the attendance would far exceed those incoming expectations.

“When I walked into that arena and looked around, I felt good about it,” he said. “I was like, ‘Wow, people showed up — this is way more than 2,800.’”

In fact, the program-record crowd of 4,686 blew that number out of the water, exceeding Wyoming’s total attendance from last season (3,911) in the process.

And even though the Cowboys fell to the four-time defending national champs, 40-7, the dual still provided the program something invaluable toward its future development.

A Picture Of Things To Come

You’ll find mostly bare wells inside of Wyoming’s four-month-old wrestling offices — part of a brand-new facility overhaul set to be completed in the next 7-8 months.

Upon moving into the new digs, one of Branch’s early remarks was that he wanted a “really cool wrestling picture” to hang in the lounge for everyone to see.

“Well, I found that picture,” Branch said, following the electric environment at the Arena-Auditorium — also dubbed the ‘Dome of Doom.’

“When we have recruits in here, and they see that they’re going to go ‘Holy cow, that’s awesome.’

“It has so much value to say, ‘This is a big-time thing that we made happen.' It raised the bar. 

“Now, what’s next? What are we going to do next to outdo this? But it certainly legitimizes where our program’s headed and the direction that we have.”

Combine the facilities with a raucous home environment and add both to the winningest coach in program history — someone who’s produced two NCAA finalists, 18 All-Americans, 85 NCAA qualifiers and eight top-25 NCAA team finishes under his leadership. Slowly but surely, the vision for Wyoming wrestling’s future comes into clearer focus.

“You add all these things together and they’re going to see the whole picture,” Branch said.

“They’re going to go, ‘Man, there are good kids coming here. There are kids getting on the podium.’ They’re going to see that picture. They’re going to see this new facility, and I think it’s going to take us to a different level that we’ve never been to.”

Carroll-ing Into The Holiday Season

Among the great early stories of the 2025-26 season has been the re-emergence of Christian Carroll.

Once the bluest of blue-chip recruits, the Elkhart, Indiana native had a rocky start to his college career, bouncing from Oklahoma State to Iowa State before arriving at Wyoming this offseason.

But after injury and inconsistency defined his previous stops, Carroll has begun to thrive while growing accustomed to his new home (and new weight class).

“That seems to be it, according to him,” said Branch of his 12th-ranked heavyweight.

“I think he does feel really comfortable, and I think he’s happy. I think he really gets along well with the coaching staff, and I think that’s been a big part of him feeling good about wrestling and him building his personal confidence.”

That confidence could’ve wavered when Carroll lost a pair of matches at the National Duals Invitational — an event he was determined to compete in, despite spending the week prior in a walking boot.

Instead, the redshirt freshman’s attitude through it all proved equal parts revealing and confidence-inspiring to his head coach.

“He got the boot off I think the day before we left,” says Branch. “And I brought an extra heavyweight (just in case). But he goes, ‘I’m wrestling. I don’t care. I’ll find a way.’”

“And I’m like, ‘OK, this kid is actually really tough and strong-minded.’”

Carroll’s toughness (and talent) has continued to shine ever since.

Post-National Duals, the redshirt freshman is 6-1 with the lone defeat coming in the CKLV finals to #1 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) via 5-3 decision.

Among Carroll’s wins are three top-15 foes, highlighted by an 11-2 major decision over #6 Taye Ghadiali (Michigan) – a 2024 All-American.

Novak Dealing With The Pressures Of Newfound Expectations

When Joey Novak went from fifth-place finisher at Big 12s to fifth place at NCAA’s last March, his attention quickly turned to what was next.

“He stayed very grounded, recognizing he still needs to get better and wants to get better,” says Branch of his junior 197-pounder.

“His goals have shifted to…I don’t want to just be an All-American. I want to win a national championship.”

“And that’s an awesome thing, but at the same time that puts a lot of pressure on yourself.”

Perhaps that pressure affected Novak (currently ranked #6 nationally) in the early going, as he lost twice in November, albeit only one of which counts toward his official record.

At the NWCA All-Star Classic, Novak suffered the rare defeat via illegal headlock – falling 2-1 in sudden victory to #2 Stephen Little (Little Rock).

Two weeks later, an even more surprising outcome may’ve been his 12-2 major decision loss to 18th-ranked Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech).

“I know he’s obviously been disappointed in a couple of his matches, but he’s also learning every week,” says Branch. “He’s absorbing. He’s taking our direction very well.”

Be it a suggestion here or a minor adjustment there, Novak is “eating all that up,” according to his head coach.

“When you get in your head to go, ‘There’s no reason I can’t win a national championship,’ there’s a lot that comes with that, right?”

“But it’s also very motivating if you’re taking it seriously. And that’s exactly where he’s at.”

Like Carroll, Novak has started to get it rolling since National Duals – with an identical 6-1 record featuring a (nearly) identical lone defeat, 6-3 to #1 ranked Cyclone Rocky Elam in the CKLV final.

As his coach sees it, the key to the rest of this season will be Novak’s ability to distinguish ‘expectations’ from ‘goals.’

“You can set a goal of being a national champion, but you’re not going to be a national champion,” says Branch – himself a two-time NCAA champ and four-time finalist for Oklahoma State.

“If you set it as an expectation, then you’re going to live by a different standard every single day of the year.”

“That’s been a big part of his development since last year, is what he tells himself every day. This is what I expect – because I’m not just trying to win a national championship, I expect myself to be on that stage Saturday night.”

Looking Ahead

The 23rd-ranked Cowboys have not one, but two open tournaments left between now and the heart of the conference dual season beginning in mid-January.

This Saturday (Dec. 21), Wyoming will send several athletes to the Reno Tournament of Champions – where Coach Branch & Co. hope to gain additional data points on both their redshirting freshmen as well some of the guys fighting to potentially earn a spot in the lineup this season.

“It’s kind of nice to have a tournament like Reno this weekend, right before the semester ends. Send some of our guys out and see how they perform in the same weight class at a tournament. That, I think, will help us a lot,” says Branch.

And after a break for the holidays, expect a strong contingent of Cowboys to journey eastward for the Soldier Salute (Jan. 3-4) in Coralville, Iowa.

“It’s kind of our last hurrah before it turns into just duals, right?”

“We don’t have many opportunities to mimic a Big 12 or NCAA Tournament…(and) this gives us the opportunity to have a two-day weigh-in to wrestle back-to-back days.”

“That puts a toll on your guys, but at the same time It provides an experience you don’t get very often. Once we wrestle the Soldier Salute everything else is going to be duals until March, so we really do need it.”

“And so, our plan is to take our best guys there.”