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On Friday, I witnessed the greatest display of wrestling I have seen to date.

No. 4 Oklahoma State came to Laramie to duel the Cowboys (who are ranked in the national top 25 in some polls) and shellacked them 31-3.

After tonight I doubt the Cowboys gained any ground in moving up in the polls.

Though it seems like a blowout looking at the final team scores, it was actually pretty close. Six of the 10 matches were decided by 4 points or less and one match that ended by a 5-point margin was actually a fluke win for OSU’s Clayton Foster.

In front of more than 2,500 fans (the largest UW wrestling crowd ever) OSU coach and wrestling legend John Smith took his former pupil and current UW head coach Mark Branch’s version of Cowboys wrestling to task.

The ferocity of the 4-6, 111-pound Smith was intimidating. Though his tie was longer than his torso, legs and ankles, he commanded a great deal of respect. And I assume if someone doesn’t offer respect, he will put his hand down their throat and take it.

As for Branch, he is young and has a pretty good road ahead.

It was a blast to see a dual of this magnitude for Wyoming. In just his second year, Branch has a group of young wrestlers squarely in position to continue their upward movement in the national rankings in the years to come. And any ranked UW sport is pretty cool just ask… well, none come to mind, but trust me, it is probably cool.

Even if the great display of wrestling on Friday was by the Stillwater-based Cowboys, it is a pretty safe bet to say that sooner rather than later, there will be a great display put on by the Laramie-based Cowboys.

Thanks for looking.

People outside the Thomas & Mack Center (the building in the background).

so this is it, the big time? i’m on the road with fellow wte bad boy robert gagliardi blogging from within the confines of a very nice media room at the thomas & mack center in las vegas, nev.

ah, the allure of bright lights, sunny days, and an abundance of poolside aesthetics… who can complain? certainly not this photog.

last night we met some interesting people who were also taken in by sin city. one young lovely i met brought a tear to my eye. a working gal who hails from cheyenne. we talked for hours about the virtue of the taco john’s taco bravo in comparison to its taco bell counterpart, the double decker. truly, i was enlightened.

(continue reading…)