Hanson To Wrestle for Pokes

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Nov. 18, 2011) The Wyoming wrestling program already has built a solid program over the last three seasons, and announced Friday that it had added more talented pieces to that foundation.

Wyoming coach Mark Branch and his staff announced the signing of five student-athletes for the fall of 2012.

The signees include Dylan Schumacher, Brent Havlik, Ben Stroh, Jordan Hanson and Drew Templeman. The five were recruited because of their skill on the wrestling mat and their dedication to academics.

"All these guys are strong academically. That's what we were looking for when we were recruiting them - kids who can come here and succeed in the classroom," Branch said. "But the things they've done on the mat (are exceptional.) ... I think with what we add in the spring, we're going to be looking at the best recruiting class we've ever had here."

Jordan Hanson - Lander, Wyo. (Lander HS) 285 pounds

Hanson was a Wyoming state champion at heavyweight in 2011, cruising through the state tournament, winning all four matches at state by fall. He also was fourth at the state tournament in 2010 as a sophomore. Hanson didn't start wrestling until he was in high school, and stands at 6-foot-3 and weighs in at 275 pounds. "He's a big heavyweight, which is what we're looking for," Branch said. "He's a Wyoming kid who got a late start and just dominated his junior year. He went across the county and wrestled at (four-time Olympic medalist's) Bruce Baumgartner's heavyweight camp, which is the best heavyweight camp in the world, so his commitment is to wrestling.

The fact he's got just a few years under his belt and he's already having so much success made him really attractive to go out and make sure he stayed in state."

"When it's all said and done, I think we're looking at the future of Wyoming. These kids are really going to get us to that next level. We've had to go head-to-head against some of these bigger schools (in recruiting) and win, which is a positive thing. We're getting these kids away from a Big 12 or Big Ten school. It's a good class for us, and we're looking for big things. What we sold them on is we've come a long way in three years, but they're the next step to get us into the top five. That's where the future of this program is headed. They've got some big shoes to fill with our outgoing seniors."