LARAMIE — A program-record crowd of 4,686 filled the Arena-Auditorium on Saturday night as the University of Wyoming wrestling team hosted top-ranked Penn State, falling 40-7 but closing the dual with two wins that gave the home fans plenty to cheer about.

“That whole dual, no matter the score in any match, the fans were screaming, and they showed out,” Wyoming junior Joey Novak said. “That might be the biggest dual I ever wrestle in, and I definitely will not forget that. It was an absolute experience.”

Penn State, which entered the night ranked No. 1, won the first eight bouts to secure the team victory. The Nittany Lions featured the top-ranked wrestler at half of the weight classes, with four additional starters ranked in the top 10.

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Wyoming finished strong behind Novak and Christian Carroll in the final two matches. Novak, ranked No. 4 at 197 pounds, defeated No. 8 Connor Mirasola by major decision, 10-2. At heavyweight, No. 8 Carroll capped the night with a 10-4 decision over No. 9 Cole Mirasola.

Novak improved to 7-2 on the season and recorded his fourth ranked win. Carroll moved to 7-3 and also picked up his fourth ranked victory, three of which have come against top-10 opponents.

Earlier in the dual, brothers Luke Willochell and Gabe Willochell provided early sparks. Luke Willochell scored a first-period takedown at 133 pounds before falling to No. 5 Marcus Blaze, while Gabe Willochell also struck first at 149 pounds but was pinned by No. 1 Shayne Van Ness.

At 141 pounds, John Alden energized the crowd with a second-period takedown to close the gap against Nate Desmond, but Alden ultimately dropped an 11-4 decision.

Wyoming will return to action next weekend at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 21 at the Reno Events Center.

Match results

• 125: Luke Lilledahl, Penn State, def. Sefton Douglass, Wyoming (technical fall 18-3, 4:27)
• 133: Marcus Blaze, Penn State, def. Luke Willochell, Wyoming (fall, 3:39)
• 141: Nate Desmond, Penn State, def. John Alden, Wyoming (decision 11-4)
• 149: Shayne Van Ness, Penn State, def. Gabe Willochell, Wyoming (fall, 2:54)
• 157: PJ Duke, Penn State, def. Jared Hill, Wyoming (fall, 4:08)
• 165: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State, def. Sloan Swan, Wyoming (fall, 2:00)
• 174: Levi Haines, Penn State, def. Riley Davis, Wyoming (technical fall 18-1, 4:53)
• 184: Rocco Welsh, Penn State, def. Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming (decision 4-1)
• 197: Joey Novak, Wyoming, def. Connor Mirasola, Penn State (major decision 10-2)
• 285: Christian Carroll, Wyoming, def. Cole Mirasola, Penn State (decision 10-4)