LARAMIE — Wyoming recorded its first win over a top-10 opponent in eight years Sunday, upsetting No. 10 South Dakota State 24-18 at the UniWyo Sports Complex.

The Cowboys entered the weekend outside the NWCA Coaches’ Poll despite facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules, with losses only to top-10 teams and a performance against No. 1 Penn State that produced more points than any opponent this season. That status is likely to change after Sunday’s result.

“That’s a really good team,” Wyoming head coach Mark Branch said. “To be able to pull off that win says a lot about our guys and our team. We had a lot of big moments in that dual. And to beat a team like that, you have to have big moments.”

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One of the biggest moments came at 157 pounds, where No. 32 Jared Hill pinned No. 17 Cael Swensen in overtime. The fall gave Wyoming a 14-9 lead, one the Cowboys did not surrender.

“That was super gutsy,” Branch said. “It was kill or be killed. If Jared doesn’t do what he did, he goes to his back. Jared went for it, and that was a huge momentum swing. It got the crowd on their feet and was huge heading into halftime.”

Wyoming carried that momentum into the second half. At 165 pounds, Sloan Swan delivered one of the biggest wins of his career, using a late takedown to defeat No. 27 Marcus Espinoza-Owens by decision, 4-1.

“Having Jared go out there against a really tough guy and get a win, that was huge,” Swan said. “You can feel the energy rise, and it pumped me up.”

Without No. 4 Joey Novak at 197 pounds, Wyoming relied on strong performances from No. 12 Eddie Neitenbach and No. 9 Christian Carroll to secure the dual. Neitenbach earned a 4-1 decision over Brock Fettig at 184 pounds, and Carroll closed the match with a 16-4 major decision over No. 19 Luke Rasmussen at heavyweight.

The Willochell brothers also contributed to the scoring. Luke Willochell recorded a technical fall over Cale Seaton at 133 pounds, winning 15-0 in 2 minutes, 31 seconds, while Gabe Willochell earned a 9-2 decision over Colin Dupill at 149.

South Dakota State’s wins came from No. 19 Brady Roark at 125 pounds, No. 16 Julian Tagg at 141, No. 18 Moses Espinoza-Owens at 174 and No. 6 Bennett Berge at 197.

With the victory, Wyoming improved to 4-3 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 action. South Dakota State fell to 9-2 and 2-1 in conference play.

Wyoming returns to the road next weekend to face No. 24 West Virginia at 4 p.m. Saturday inside Hope Coliseum.

Results

• 125: Brady Roark, South Dakota State, def. Sefton Douglass, Wyoming (decision 4-0)
• 133: Luke Willochell, Wyoming, def. Cale Seaton, South Dakota State (technical fall 15-0, 2:31)
• 141: Julian Tagg, South Dakota State, def. John Alden, Wyoming (fall, 6:48)
• 149: Gabe Willochell, Wyoming, def. Colin Dupill, South Dakota State (decision 9-2)
• 157: Jared Hill, Wyoming, def. Cael Swensen, South Dakota State (fall, 7:01)
• 165: Sloan Swan, Wyoming, def. Marcus Espinoza-Owens, South Dakota State (decision 4-1)
• 174: Moses Espinoza-Owens, South Dakota State, def. Riley Davis, Wyoming (decision 8-2)
• 184: Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming, def. Brock Fettig, South Dakota State (decision 4-1)
• 197: Bennett Berge, South Dakota State, def. Gunner Henry, Wyoming (fall, 5:34)
• HWT: Christian Carroll, Wyoming, def. Luke Rasmussen, South Dakota State (major decision 16-4)