Latrobe grad Gabe Willochell tapping into wrestling potential after transfer to Wyoming

When Wyoming wrestling coach Mark Branch needed to fill holes in his 2023-24 roster, he did what most college coaches do nowadays: He went looking in the transfer portal.

Among the names he found was Gabe Willochell, a Latrobe grad who had spent two seasons competing at Edinboro, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in 2022 as a 141-pounder. Willochell, meanwhile, had taken to the portal looking for a bigger challenge.

Branch said Willochell was not familiar to him. Edinboro was not a program Wyoming had competed against, and Willochell had not been on the Cowboys’ recruiting radar in high school.

But Branch started watching video of Willochell’s matches, and something struck him immediately: He reminded Branch of himself, particularly in stature.

During his competitive days at Oklahoma State, Branch wrestled at 167 pounds, but, like Willochell, he was longer (6-foot-2) than most of his opponents. Branch parlayed his length and his skill into two national championships and four All-American honors.

“I think he has a lot of advantages because of his length and his frame,” Branch said. “He wrestles a little unorthodox, which I think can help you be really successful. That’s something we really liked.”

Willochell has done nothing to make Branch second-guess his observations. Heading into Wyoming’s Jan. 20 match against Utah Valley, Willochell was 13-6 and ranked No. 23 at 149 pounds by Intermat.

The Cowboys were 4-5 overall in dual matches and 2-3 in the Big 12, where they compete with regular conference members Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia and affiliate members Air Force, California Baptist, Missouri, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Utah Valley.

In his most recent match, Willochell earned a pin in 2 minutes, 25 seconds in the Cowboys’ win over Air Force. Before that, he was one of only two Wyoming wrestlers to earn wins against Northern Iowa, a 7-2 decision.

Willochell also tested himself against the nation’s top-ranked 149-pounder, Nebraska junior Ridge Lovett, that same weekend. Willochell was on the wrong end of a fall in that meeting, but he didn’t come away discouraged. Facing that kind of competition is why he made the move out west.

“I wanted to be in the Big 12 and wrestle the top-notch guys,” said Willochell, who has two more years of eligibility. “I don’t get those matches wrestling Clarion or schools like that.”

Something else Branch said he recognized about Willochell when he was watching him on video: There’s a lot of untapped potential to be mined. While Willochell has shown flashes, Branch pointed to matches such as the loss to Lovett to illustrate how far he still has to go.

“He does get a little out of control sometimes, so that’s one thing,” Branch said. “It’s like, be aggressive but put yourself in a position that you don’t get yourself in trouble.

“He went up against (Lovett) and allowed that opponent to dictate where the match was wrestled. It was not where he was strong, so he ended up in some positions that you have to stay out of. I definitely felt like he could compete with that guy, but he totally wrestled where his opponent wanted to be.”

Willochell admitted he still is getting used to all of the changes. First, there was the move to Laramie. Unlike Edinboro, which was just a couple of hours from home, he now was almost 1,500 miles away from his support system.

“Whenever I first got here, and my parents left, I was like, ‘Oh, crap. I’m kind of stuck out here now,’ ” he said. “But it’s good. I got used to it. It took a little bit.”

Then there was the wrestling itself.

Forget the Big 12. Willochell already was facing higher quality opponents in his own wrestling room. Branch said it took some time for Willochell to buy into the more intense preparation and the level of fight he would have to show to earn his spot in the lineup.

But that works to his advantage as well, Willochell said. By being tested in practice, it sets the tone for squaring off with someone in a different colored singlet.

“I have guys in the practice room who can push me and beat me,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing is practice. Every day is just getting by.”

Branch said he sees All-American potential in Willochell. And as he and his assistants work to bring out Willochell’s best, they are careful not to mess with the qualities that have made him successful.

Mainly, Branch wants to teach Willochell how to use his length as an asset.

“I don’t know that (height) needs to work against you,” the coach said. “Your opponents are going to be more dense, more muscular, and there’s a different kind of strength with the length. You have leverage, and he has incredibly large hands, so his grip strength is amazing. And his reach is going to be an advantage.

“Being a taller guy, if you don’t have a pretty low stance, it’s easy for guys to get into your legs and take you down. So there’s certain things that can be a disadvantage if you allow them to be, but there’s nothing that needs to be a disadvantage for him.”

Even though Willochell might have a ways to go in fine-tuning his skill set and reaching the potential Branch sees, he isn’t lowering the bar.

He said he wants to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and become an All-American this year. Tempering his expectations because of his new surroundings, he said, never crossed his mind.

“I think there’s always a chance,” he said. “And I think another thing is, in the Big 12, they take a lot more people (to the NCAA). In the MAC, I had to get top three to make it, so I had to put together a lot better tournament, more wins.

“I don’t know how many (the Big 12) will take this year, but it will be more than three, and I think I can place top six in any tournament.”