RENO, Nev. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team was led by a trio of redshirt freshmen on Thursday at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Cowboy Joe LeBlanc confirmed his recent, high national ranking by advancing to the finals of the 184-pound weight class and placing second. Shane Onufer overcame a semifinal loss to win third place at 174 pounds, while Michael Martinez placed fifth at 125 pounds.
The field in Reno included wrestlers from the likes of No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 14 Boise State, No. 17 Edinboro, Arizona State, Navy, North Carolina, Oregon State and Stanford. As a team the Cowboys placed seventh out of 30 schools.
“This was a good experience that will benefit us down the road, but right now I think the guys are worn out,” said first-year Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “There were a couple of little things here and there that could have made a big difference. Overall, it was almost a somber mood from the team, not much emotion. We have wrestled more matches so far this season than almost anyone else and I think that has the guys worn down. This break is coming at a good time. We need to get refocused and reenergized.”
LeBlanc, ranked 10th in the country, earned the tournament’s one-seed and enjoyed a first round bye. He faced Ryan Smith from Cal Poly in his initial match and won by major decision 14-3. In the quarterfinals, LeBlanc would get another major decision win, this time 17-3 over Ernesto Ancona from Cal State Bakersfield. He bested Chris McNeil of Oklahoma State by a mark of 6-3 in the semifinals. LeBlanc then lost 4-1 in the finals to the two-seed and No. 9 ranked Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro. His final tournament record was 3-1 and his season mark is now 24-4.
Onufer was seeded third entering the event and ranked No. 18 nationally. He earned a 13-5 major decision over North Carolina’s Ben Fiacco to start things off, then beat Oregon State’s Brandon Perkins 8-2 and had a medical forfeit win over Brendon DeCock of Great Falls. Onufer then narrowly lost by a score of 5-2 to the two-seed from Navy, Luke Rebertus in the semifinals. He would go on to win two more matches, including a 12-10 decision over Jesse Feinsod from New Mexico Highlands in the third place match. Onufer was 5-1 on Thursday and is now 26-5 for the season.
The event’s four-seed, Martinez had two big wins to start the tournament, a 14-4 major decision over Stanford’s Matt Sencenbaugh and an 18-3 technical fall over Logan Creamer of Clackamas CC, before losing to Edinboro’s Kyle Fluke in the quarterfinals. He then advanced through the back-draw with two more wins, one by major decision, until the two seed and No. 12 ranked Marcos Orozco of UC Davis handed him a 6-3 loss. That put Martinez in a match for fifth and sixth place with Jake Gonzales of Oregon State, which Martinez would win in double overtime, 5-4. He finished the tournament 5-2 and now has a season record of 20-6.
Two Cowboy juniors had noteworthy tournaments, but did not place. Cory VomBaur went 4-2 at 133 pounds, while Alex Rieder was 4-2, three wins coming by fall, in the 174 pound weight class. Both of VomBaur’s losses came by the same opponent, North Carolina’s Mike Rappo, once in the opening round and once in the consolation bracket.
UW redshirt freshman Chase Smith (149) was 3-2, as was senior Eric Coxbill (165). Smith’s matches were extreme in both directions, winning by technical fall, pin and major decision, while his losses were by major decision and by fall.
The Cowboys will now take a break from competition until after the first of the year. They will begin the dual meet portion of their schedule on Jan. 4 when they travel to Fullerton, Calif., to face Cal State Fullerton and Columbia.
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Wyoming Results
125 lbs - Michael Martinez (RFr), 5-2, Fifth place
133 lbs - Cory VomBaur (Jr), 4-2
141 lbs - Cole Dallaserra (So), 1-2
149 lbs - Chase Smith (RFr), 3-2
149 lbs - *Cody Chipperfield (Sr), 0-2
157 lbs - Brock Smith (RFr), 0-2
157 lbs - *Tyler Davis (RFr), 2-2
165 lbs - Eric Coxbill (Sr), 3-2
174 lbs - Shane Onufer (RFr), 5-1, Third place
174 lbs - *Alex Rieder (Jr), 4-2
184 lbs - Joe LeBlanc (RFr), 3-1, Second place
197 lbs - Alfonso Hernandez (Fr), 1-2
Heavyweight - Jacob Scharbrough (Fr), 2-2
* denotes UW wrestler competing unattached
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
UW swimmers stop Denver
The UW swimming and diving team stayed perfect on the season, as it swept Denver University Saturday afternoon. The Cowboys defeated the Pioneers 178-117, while the Cowgirls beat the DU women 186-112.
The Cowboys improved their record to 9-0 overall , while the Cowgirls are now 8-0 overall.
"I am happy with today’s win over a good team in Denver," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "Our relay teams swam well and our divers were amazing as usual. Our freshman really stepped up today and helped with this victory."
The UW divers continued to be dominant as Stephanie Ortiz won both the one-meter (276.82 points) and three-meter (284.93) diving events. A pair of sophomores led the way on the diving boards for the Cowboys. Kyle Bogner had a score of 329.10 at one-meter dives, and Mark Murdock won the three-meter event with his score of 318.83.
The Cowgirl swimmers were paced by Aimee Stinson, Kelsey Conci, and Lesley Young who one multiple events. Stinson was victorious in the 1000 freestyle (10 minutes, 36.36 seconds) and the 500 freestyle (5:10.12) while freshman Kelsey Conci won the 100 backstroke (58.31) and 100 freestyle (54.21). Lesley Young continued her dominance in the breaststroke events by winning both the 100 (1:05.29) and 200 (2:25.30) events.
Other Cowgirls winning events were Caroline Wells (200 freestyle in 1:57.14), Cassie Stelow (50 freestyle in 24.41), and Kenzie Hewson (200 backstroke in 2:07.89).The Cowgirl relay teams won both the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay as well.
For the Cowboys, two freshman won multiple individual events. Marshall Dilworth won both the 100 (50.87) and 200 (1:54.47) backstrokes while Brandon Fischer was victorious in the 100 (57.71) and 200 (2:07.51) breaststroke. Matt Urich also won two events by winning the 100 (51.13) and 200 (1:55.25) butterfly. Tommy Gregory (50 freestyle in 21.59), and Eli Bell (100 freestyle in 47.02) also added victories.
"The women’s team is continuing to get better and are becoming a tough team to beat," Johnson continued. "The men swam well today even though some didn’t have as good of times as they are used to. We will get back to work after the break and continue to work hard so we can get better the second half of the season."
The UW swimming team will travel to Irvine, Calif., on Dec. 29 for Christmas training. The divers will also be training over the break in Minneapolis, Minn., starting Dec. 31.
The Cowboys improved their record to 9-0 overall , while the Cowgirls are now 8-0 overall.
"I am happy with today’s win over a good team in Denver," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "Our relay teams swam well and our divers were amazing as usual. Our freshman really stepped up today and helped with this victory."
The UW divers continued to be dominant as Stephanie Ortiz won both the one-meter (276.82 points) and three-meter (284.93) diving events. A pair of sophomores led the way on the diving boards for the Cowboys. Kyle Bogner had a score of 329.10 at one-meter dives, and Mark Murdock won the three-meter event with his score of 318.83.
The Cowgirl swimmers were paced by Aimee Stinson, Kelsey Conci, and Lesley Young who one multiple events. Stinson was victorious in the 1000 freestyle (10 minutes, 36.36 seconds) and the 500 freestyle (5:10.12) while freshman Kelsey Conci won the 100 backstroke (58.31) and 100 freestyle (54.21). Lesley Young continued her dominance in the breaststroke events by winning both the 100 (1:05.29) and 200 (2:25.30) events.
Other Cowgirls winning events were Caroline Wells (200 freestyle in 1:57.14), Cassie Stelow (50 freestyle in 24.41), and Kenzie Hewson (200 backstroke in 2:07.89).The Cowgirl relay teams won both the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay as well.
For the Cowboys, two freshman won multiple individual events. Marshall Dilworth won both the 100 (50.87) and 200 (1:54.47) backstrokes while Brandon Fischer was victorious in the 100 (57.71) and 200 (2:07.51) breaststroke. Matt Urich also won two events by winning the 100 (51.13) and 200 (1:55.25) butterfly. Tommy Gregory (50 freestyle in 21.59), and Eli Bell (100 freestyle in 47.02) also added victories.
"The women’s team is continuing to get better and are becoming a tough team to beat," Johnson continued. "The men swam well today even though some didn’t have as good of times as they are used to. We will get back to work after the break and continue to work hard so we can get better the second half of the season."
The UW swimming team will travel to Irvine, Calif., on Dec. 29 for Christmas training. The divers will also be training over the break in Minneapolis, Minn., starting Dec. 31.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
UW soccer earns academic honor
The University of Wyoming Cowgirl soccer team was honored for its academic success by The National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the 2008 season.
Wyoming was one of 363 teams that had at least a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Along with Wyoming, New Mexico and TCU were the only teams in the Mountain West Conference to be honored by the NSCAA.
"We are very proud of the academic success of our players here at the University of Wyoming," said head coach Danny Sanchez. "Our coaching staff and academic coordinators take great pride in our student-athletes excelling in the classroom."
This is the first time the UW soccer team has been honored for academic success by the NSCAA.
Wyoming was one of 363 teams that had at least a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Along with Wyoming, New Mexico and TCU were the only teams in the Mountain West Conference to be honored by the NSCAA.
"We are very proud of the academic success of our players here at the University of Wyoming," said head coach Danny Sanchez. "Our coaching staff and academic coordinators take great pride in our student-athletes excelling in the classroom."
This is the first time the UW soccer team has been honored for academic success by the NSCAA.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
UW's LeBlanc earns WWC honors
University of Wyoming redshirt freshman 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc (Meeker, Colo./Meeker HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials.In arguably the top preseason tournament in the country, Wyoming's Joe LeBlanc beat two top-20 wrestlers and placed third at the Las Vegas Invitational with a 6-1 record, two of his wins by major decision.
Unseeded heading into the event at 184 pounds, LeBlanc opened the tournament on Friday by beating the number three-seed and nationally ranked No. 6/7 (W.I.N./InterMat) Vince Jones of Nebraska in overtime. After an apparent 7-6 victory by LeBlanc in regulation time, the two wrestlers were called back to the mat to wrestle an overtime period when a scoring error revealed that the match should have ended in a 7-7 tie. Despite the difficult circumstance, LeBlanc prevailed and took down his favored opponent in overtime to win 9-7. LeBlanc ended his sterling event performance on Saturday night with an 8-7 victory over No. 18 (W.I.N.) Anthony Biondo of Michigan to earn third place honors in a difficult field.
His other wins included a 4-2 decision over Jake Meredith of Arizona State, a 14-2 major decision over Jon Clark of Cal Davis, a 6-5 quarterfinal win over the 11-seed Zac Thomusseit of Pitt and a 10-1 major decision over Tim Hawkins of Cal State Fullerton. LeBlanc's only loss came in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion, No. 4/5 ranked Kirk Smith of Boise State.
Largely due to his success in Las Vegas, LeBlanc entered the USAToday/InterMat/NWCA Individual Rankings this week at No. 11. He is ranked as high as No. 9 in other national rankings. The Cowboy redshirt freshman now has a season record of 21-3. LeBlanc led the Cowboys to a 19th-place team finish, the best of any otherW estern Wrestling Conference teams in attendance: Utah Valley (25th), North Dakota State (31st) and Air Force (37th).
The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools includingthe Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
UW wrestlers place two in Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Joe LeBlanc and Shane Onufer both came away with top seven places on Saturday at the 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational.
One of the shockers of the tournament, LeBlanc advanced to the 184-pound semifinals and placed third overall with a 6-1 event record. Onufer ended the tournament in seventh place with a 5-2 record at 174 pounds. Cory VomBaur made it to the quarterfinals in the 133-pound weight class and was 2-2 in Las Vegas.
As a team, the Cowboys placed 19th of 44 teams, an 18-spot improvement from their 37th place finish at the same event last season. It was the best finish for Wyoming at the Las Vegas Invitational since it placed 16th in 2003. UW also bested the other three Western Wrestling Conference teams in attendance -- Utah Valley (25th), North Dakota State (31st) and Air Force (37th).
“Obviously, we did not have anyone favored to place prior to this tournament, so for us to have two guys place is good,” said first-year Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “I am pleased with some things that I saw from my team over the last two days, but overall I think we have a lot to work on and I know that the guys feel that they didn’t perform as well as they could have."
LeBlanc ended his sterling event performance on Saturday night with an 8-7 victory over Anthony Biondo of Michigan to earn third place honors in a difficult field. His tournament record was 6-1 with three wins by major decision and an opening round triumph on Friday over the No. 7 wrestler in the country, Vince Jones of Nebraska. LeBlanc’s only loss came in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion, No. 5 ranked Kirk Smith of Boise State. The Cowboy redshirt freshman now has a season record of 21-3.
“I talked to the team last night about why Joe is in the position he has put himself in," Branch said. "He has been adapting his approach and is adding to both his offense and defense. He has been correcting his mistakes, has been open-minded with his workouts and is applying new skills, not just learning them."
Onufer, the tournament’s 12-seed, had three matches on Saturday in the back draw. He defeated Wisconsin’s Travis Rutt by a score of 7-3, then was narrowly defeated by Steve Bosak of Cornell, 5-4 due to a stalling point. That put the second-year Cowboy into a 7/8 matchup with Shane Riccio of Bucknell. Onufer would cruise in the match and pin Riccio at the 6:45 mark to secure seventh place. He now has a season record of 21-4 with 10 pins.
“Shane is disappointed with his performance," Branch said. "This tournament exposed some things he needs to work on, but to his credit, after a tough loss to the Cornell wrestler, Shane came back and dominated to take seventh."
After losing in the quarterfinals late on Friday, VomBaur began Saturday with a consolation bracket match-up against Matt Vacanti of Nebraska. VomBaur went the distance with Vacanti tied at 2-2 and additional time was needed to decide a winner. The match went to double-overtime and Vacanti prevailed 4-2, ending VomBaur’s tournament.
The Cowboy wrestlers will take next week off from competition in order to focus on their fall finals at UW. Wyoming’s next tournament will be the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 18.
“We are going to go back to our wrestling room and emphasize being physical on our feet," Branch said. "This team needs more of a fighter’s mentality and I want to see more fight in the dog in our future workouts and matches.”
One of the shockers of the tournament, LeBlanc advanced to the 184-pound semifinals and placed third overall with a 6-1 event record. Onufer ended the tournament in seventh place with a 5-2 record at 174 pounds. Cory VomBaur made it to the quarterfinals in the 133-pound weight class and was 2-2 in Las Vegas.
As a team, the Cowboys placed 19th of 44 teams, an 18-spot improvement from their 37th place finish at the same event last season. It was the best finish for Wyoming at the Las Vegas Invitational since it placed 16th in 2003. UW also bested the other three Western Wrestling Conference teams in attendance -- Utah Valley (25th), North Dakota State (31st) and Air Force (37th).
“Obviously, we did not have anyone favored to place prior to this tournament, so for us to have two guys place is good,” said first-year Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “I am pleased with some things that I saw from my team over the last two days, but overall I think we have a lot to work on and I know that the guys feel that they didn’t perform as well as they could have."
LeBlanc ended his sterling event performance on Saturday night with an 8-7 victory over Anthony Biondo of Michigan to earn third place honors in a difficult field. His tournament record was 6-1 with three wins by major decision and an opening round triumph on Friday over the No. 7 wrestler in the country, Vince Jones of Nebraska. LeBlanc’s only loss came in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion, No. 5 ranked Kirk Smith of Boise State. The Cowboy redshirt freshman now has a season record of 21-3.
“I talked to the team last night about why Joe is in the position he has put himself in," Branch said. "He has been adapting his approach and is adding to both his offense and defense. He has been correcting his mistakes, has been open-minded with his workouts and is applying new skills, not just learning them."
Onufer, the tournament’s 12-seed, had three matches on Saturday in the back draw. He defeated Wisconsin’s Travis Rutt by a score of 7-3, then was narrowly defeated by Steve Bosak of Cornell, 5-4 due to a stalling point. That put the second-year Cowboy into a 7/8 matchup with Shane Riccio of Bucknell. Onufer would cruise in the match and pin Riccio at the 6:45 mark to secure seventh place. He now has a season record of 21-4 with 10 pins.
“Shane is disappointed with his performance," Branch said. "This tournament exposed some things he needs to work on, but to his credit, after a tough loss to the Cornell wrestler, Shane came back and dominated to take seventh."
After losing in the quarterfinals late on Friday, VomBaur began Saturday with a consolation bracket match-up against Matt Vacanti of Nebraska. VomBaur went the distance with Vacanti tied at 2-2 and additional time was needed to decide a winner. The match went to double-overtime and Vacanti prevailed 4-2, ending VomBaur’s tournament.
The Cowboy wrestlers will take next week off from competition in order to focus on their fall finals at UW. Wyoming’s next tournament will be the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 18.
“We are going to go back to our wrestling room and emphasize being physical on our feet," Branch said. "This team needs more of a fighter’s mentality and I want to see more fight in the dog in our future workouts and matches.”
UW indoor thinclads open season
The University of Wyoming track and field team opened the indoor season with 13 titles at Wyoming Open Power Meet on Saturday in the War Memorial Fieldhouse.
Senior Jake Shanklin highlighted the very impressive first day, as he picked up just where he left off from a year ago. Shanklin finished the 2007 indoor season at the NCAA Championships, where he earned All-America honors with his 11th-place finish in the 35lb-weight throw. On Saturday, he provisionally qualified for the NCAAs again with his 69-foot 11-inch toss in the weight throw.
His counterpart, sophomore Amanda Aimone, also won the 20lb-weight throw for the Cowgirls and entered the Top 10 all-time in Wyoming history with her throw of 60-1/2.
“This was huge for Jake to get right back on the horse and qualify for the NCAA’s in the first meet of the year,” said head coach Don Yentes. “Overall, I was very happy with the way we competed today, if we can continue to progress with our young talent we will be very good.”
Along with Aimone, leading the talent was Laramie freshman Stephen Michel, who took the title in the triple jump (49-6 1/2 and in the 55-meter dash (6.37 seconds). Michel also finished second in the long jump behind sophomore Jeremiah James, who moved into fifth all-time in UW history with his long jump of 24-7. Michel wrote his name in the record books as well with the 10th best long jump (24-3/4) and his triple jump on Saturday.
For the Cowgirls, junior Johnna Jeffries (high jump), freshman Alisha Reaser (pole vault), junior Jennifer Schmitz (55-meter hurdles), freshman Chantel Bernabo (200-meter) and junior Andrea Frary (400-meter) all walked away with the titles in their respective events.
“This was a great experience for our young kids to see what a college meet is like and learn how to prepare themselves for their events,” said Yentes.
Up next for the Cowboys and Cowgirls will be the Big 12/MWC Challenge in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 24.
Senior Jake Shanklin highlighted the very impressive first day, as he picked up just where he left off from a year ago. Shanklin finished the 2007 indoor season at the NCAA Championships, where he earned All-America honors with his 11th-place finish in the 35lb-weight throw. On Saturday, he provisionally qualified for the NCAAs again with his 69-foot 11-inch toss in the weight throw.
His counterpart, sophomore Amanda Aimone, also won the 20lb-weight throw for the Cowgirls and entered the Top 10 all-time in Wyoming history with her throw of 60-1/2.
“This was huge for Jake to get right back on the horse and qualify for the NCAA’s in the first meet of the year,” said head coach Don Yentes. “Overall, I was very happy with the way we competed today, if we can continue to progress with our young talent we will be very good.”
Along with Aimone, leading the talent was Laramie freshman Stephen Michel, who took the title in the triple jump (49-6 1/2 and in the 55-meter dash (6.37 seconds). Michel also finished second in the long jump behind sophomore Jeremiah James, who moved into fifth all-time in UW history with his long jump of 24-7. Michel wrote his name in the record books as well with the 10th best long jump (24-3/4) and his triple jump on Saturday.
For the Cowgirls, junior Johnna Jeffries (high jump), freshman Alisha Reaser (pole vault), junior Jennifer Schmitz (55-meter hurdles), freshman Chantel Bernabo (200-meter) and junior Andrea Frary (400-meter) all walked away with the titles in their respective events.
“This was a great experience for our young kids to see what a college meet is like and learn how to prepare themselves for their events,” said Yentes.
Up next for the Cowboys and Cowgirls will be the Big 12/MWC Challenge in Lincoln, Neb., on Jan. 24.
UW diving wraps up Texas Invite
AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Wyoming diving team performed well against top caliber opponents at the Texas Invitational, which began on Thursday and concluded on Saturday.
"The weekend as a whole was a great experience for our divers," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "It was highly competitive and on the first day we were a little jittery, but once we got our bearings together we performed a lot better."
The highlight on day one for the Cowboys came from sophomore Kyle Bogner, who made the final round on the one-meter board and finished eighth with a total of 310.7 points.
"For Kyle to score 300 in the preliminaries and the finals at a meet like this speaks well for him and his chances to defend his Mountain West championship," Herdt said.
The Cowgirls were up against tough competition on the three-meter board by facing numerous all-Americans and three divers that have won an NCAA championship in their careers. Stephanie Ortiz finished highest for UW in 17th place.
Day two resulted in senior Tyler Miller finishing seventh in men’s three-meter competition (303.9). For the women, Ortiz also finished seventh on the one-meter dives for the Cowgirls. Junior Emily Huth placed 12th out of a total of 31 divers.
Saturday, the Texas Invite ended with platform dives and two personal bests for UW divers. Miller led the way for the Cowboys and placed sixth with a total score of 263.35. Bogner had a personal best with a score of 257.70, while freshman Valentin Schwarz scored 203.05 at his first college platform event.
Huth led the way for the Cowgirls on the platform with a personal best score of 189.85 and finished 11th. Close behind was Ortiz in 12th place (180.70) and freshman Hillary Bohler was 13th (174.80).
"It is always hard for us on platform dives since we don’t have a tower to train from, but I am pleased with how we did today," Herdt said. "Overall It was a highly competitive weekend and it allowed our divers to have great experience to build off of ."
The UW swimming and diving team will be back in action Saturday as they host Denver University in Corbett Pool at 1 p.m.
"The weekend as a whole was a great experience for our divers," said UW diving coach Ben Herdt. "It was highly competitive and on the first day we were a little jittery, but once we got our bearings together we performed a lot better."
The highlight on day one for the Cowboys came from sophomore Kyle Bogner, who made the final round on the one-meter board and finished eighth with a total of 310.7 points.
"For Kyle to score 300 in the preliminaries and the finals at a meet like this speaks well for him and his chances to defend his Mountain West championship," Herdt said.
The Cowgirls were up against tough competition on the three-meter board by facing numerous all-Americans and three divers that have won an NCAA championship in their careers. Stephanie Ortiz finished highest for UW in 17th place.
Day two resulted in senior Tyler Miller finishing seventh in men’s three-meter competition (303.9). For the women, Ortiz also finished seventh on the one-meter dives for the Cowgirls. Junior Emily Huth placed 12th out of a total of 31 divers.
Saturday, the Texas Invite ended with platform dives and two personal bests for UW divers. Miller led the way for the Cowboys and placed sixth with a total score of 263.35. Bogner had a personal best with a score of 257.70, while freshman Valentin Schwarz scored 203.05 at his first college platform event.
Huth led the way for the Cowgirls on the platform with a personal best score of 189.85 and finished 11th. Close behind was Ortiz in 12th place (180.70) and freshman Hillary Bohler was 13th (174.80).
"It is always hard for us on platform dives since we don’t have a tower to train from, but I am pleased with how we did today," Herdt said. "Overall It was a highly competitive weekend and it allowed our divers to have great experience to build off of ."
The UW swimming and diving team will be back in action Saturday as they host Denver University in Corbett Pool at 1 p.m.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Three Cowboys still alive at Las Vegas
The University of Wyoming wrestling team asserted themselves on the national scene Friday in Las Vegas and earned some quality wins in what is considered the top pre-season tournament in the country. The event features 10 of the Top 25 teams in the country.
Nine wrestlers began the day representing UW at the 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center. At day’s end, three Cowboys had put themselves in position to continue into the second day, including redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc, who is in the semifinals at 184 pounds. Fellow second-year ‘Poke Shane Onufer has only lost once and is still wrestling in the consolation bracket at 174 pounds, as is junior Cory VomBaur at 133 pounds.
“This is a tough tournament and as a team I would like to have more than three guys still wrestling,” said first-year Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “Our youth showed through in some spots, however, individually we got some wins that we needed and that will help us down the road. Since we are not in a power conference and with the way the NCAA Tournament qualification system works now, you have to think long-term and have to have some quality wins. That’s what it is about right now and I’m happy that we got some of those quality wins.”
LeBlanc got the ‘Pokes started on the right foot when he beat the number three-seed and nationally ranked No. 7 Vince Jones of Nebraska, 9-7 in overtime in the first round. After an apparent 7-6 victory by LeBlanc in regulation time, the two wrestlers were called back to the mat to wrestle an overtime period when a scoring error revealed that the match should have ended in a 7-7 tie. Despite the dificult circumstance, LeBlanc prevailed and took down his favored opponent in overtime to win 9-7. He then reeled off a 4-2 decision over Jake Meredith of Arizona State, a 14-2 major decision over Jon Clark of Cal Davis and a quarterfinal win over the 11-seed Zac Thomusseit of Pitt.
After a tough second round, 6-3 loss to the five-seed Trevor Perry of Indiana, Onufer bounced back to record three stright wins in the back-draw and gave himself a good chance of placing on Saturday.
VomBaur beat Utah Valley’s Flint Ray by a 7-3 score in the first round and then earned a gritty double-overtime, 5-4 victory over the eight-seed Matt Ortega of Indiana to advance to the quarterfinal round. There he lost to the top-seed from Illinois, Jimmy Kennedy.
Four Cowboys posted 2-2 records on Friday including senior Eric Coxbill at 165 pounds, redshirt freshmen Michael Martinez (125) and Chase Smith (149), as well as true freshman Jacob Scharbrough at heavyweight.
Smith provided one of the tournament highlights for the Cowboys in the first round when he pinned the No. 5 ranked wrestler in the country, David Jauregui of West Virginia, 27 seconds into the third period.
Coxbill lost an overtime heartbreaker in his opening round match, falling 3-1 in overtime to the event’s three-seed and nationally ranked No. 6 Luke Manuel of Purdue. The Cowboy senior then won his next two matches by major decision before losing his third bout in the consolation bracket.
UW sophomore Cole Dallaserra (141) and redshirt freshman Tyler Davis (157) each had 1-2 records.
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Wyoming Results
125 pounds - Redshirt freshman Michael Martinez, 2-2
133 pounds - Junior Cory VomBaur, 2-1
141 pounds - Sophomore Cole Dallaserra, 1-2
149 pounds - Redshirt freshman Chase Smith, 2-2
157 pounds - Redshirt freshman Tyler Davis, 1-2
165 pounds - Senior Eric Coxbill, 2-2
174 pounds - Redshirt freshman Shane Onufer, 4-1
184 pounds - Redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc, 4-0
197 pounds - Open
Heavyweight - Freshman Jacob Scharbrough, 2-2
Nine wrestlers began the day representing UW at the 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center. At day’s end, three Cowboys had put themselves in position to continue into the second day, including redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc, who is in the semifinals at 184 pounds. Fellow second-year ‘Poke Shane Onufer has only lost once and is still wrestling in the consolation bracket at 174 pounds, as is junior Cory VomBaur at 133 pounds.
“This is a tough tournament and as a team I would like to have more than three guys still wrestling,” said first-year Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “Our youth showed through in some spots, however, individually we got some wins that we needed and that will help us down the road. Since we are not in a power conference and with the way the NCAA Tournament qualification system works now, you have to think long-term and have to have some quality wins. That’s what it is about right now and I’m happy that we got some of those quality wins.”
LeBlanc got the ‘Pokes started on the right foot when he beat the number three-seed and nationally ranked No. 7 Vince Jones of Nebraska, 9-7 in overtime in the first round. After an apparent 7-6 victory by LeBlanc in regulation time, the two wrestlers were called back to the mat to wrestle an overtime period when a scoring error revealed that the match should have ended in a 7-7 tie. Despite the dificult circumstance, LeBlanc prevailed and took down his favored opponent in overtime to win 9-7. He then reeled off a 4-2 decision over Jake Meredith of Arizona State, a 14-2 major decision over Jon Clark of Cal Davis and a quarterfinal win over the 11-seed Zac Thomusseit of Pitt.
After a tough second round, 6-3 loss to the five-seed Trevor Perry of Indiana, Onufer bounced back to record three stright wins in the back-draw and gave himself a good chance of placing on Saturday.
VomBaur beat Utah Valley’s Flint Ray by a 7-3 score in the first round and then earned a gritty double-overtime, 5-4 victory over the eight-seed Matt Ortega of Indiana to advance to the quarterfinal round. There he lost to the top-seed from Illinois, Jimmy Kennedy.
Four Cowboys posted 2-2 records on Friday including senior Eric Coxbill at 165 pounds, redshirt freshmen Michael Martinez (125) and Chase Smith (149), as well as true freshman Jacob Scharbrough at heavyweight.
Smith provided one of the tournament highlights for the Cowboys in the first round when he pinned the No. 5 ranked wrestler in the country, David Jauregui of West Virginia, 27 seconds into the third period.
Coxbill lost an overtime heartbreaker in his opening round match, falling 3-1 in overtime to the event’s three-seed and nationally ranked No. 6 Luke Manuel of Purdue. The Cowboy senior then won his next two matches by major decision before losing his third bout in the consolation bracket.
UW sophomore Cole Dallaserra (141) and redshirt freshman Tyler Davis (157) each had 1-2 records.
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Wyoming Results
125 pounds - Redshirt freshman Michael Martinez, 2-2
133 pounds - Junior Cory VomBaur, 2-1
141 pounds - Sophomore Cole Dallaserra, 1-2
149 pounds - Redshirt freshman Chase Smith, 2-2
157 pounds - Redshirt freshman Tyler Davis, 1-2
165 pounds - Senior Eric Coxbill, 2-2
174 pounds - Redshirt freshman Shane Onufer, 4-1
184 pounds - Redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc, 4-0
197 pounds - Open
Heavyweight - Freshman Jacob Scharbrough, 2-2
Cowgirls camping for fun and a cause
Richard Anderson photo
Cowgirl volleyball players, from left, Lauren Curtis, Jenna Arneson and JennaRae Jester huddle up with some young players during the Christmas Holiday Volleyball Clinic Thursday night at the UniWyo Sports Complex. At bottom left, Sekota Romero passes the ball during a drill, while at right, Lexi Pulley tries for a kill.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Wyoming Sports.org
The season is officially over for the Wyoming volleyball team. The commitment to their young fans and the community, though, is ongoing for the Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls have been hosting about 40 young campers in a three-day Christmas Holiday Volleyball Clinic at the UniWyo Sports Complex that began Wednesday night and will conclude Friday night. The event helps introduce the sport of volleyball to some eager youngsters, as well as continue to teach the game to some more veteran youth players.
Yet, there’s more than just fun and games in the gym. All of the proceeds of the clinic are going to help a needy local family for the holidays.
“The volleyball team wanted to adopt a family for Christmas and they wanted to find a way to pay for it and make a Christmas nice for somebody else,” Wyoming head coach Carrie Yerty said. “It’s a really neat thing. We’ve had a good time running it.”
The clinic is primarily focused on a lot of the younger kids, although they do have a handful of high school players who have come out to improve their game as of well.
Olivia Crum, 14, and a ninth grader at Laramie Junior High School, said the clinic has been a lot of fun.
“It’s been really great to see all of the college girls helping us out,” Crum said.
Yerty, along with assistant coach Jill Stucky and several of the Cowgirls, work with the youngsters in drills before dividing the players up and actually scrimmaging with the team.
“It’s really cool because you really can challenge yourself to be better and work hard when they are serving at you or hitting at you,” Crum said. “You have to work really hard.”
Cowgirl sophomore middle blocker JennaRae Jester said it is important for college athletes to get out in the community, because “nobody is ever too big for everything.”
And not only that, she said the clinic takes her back a few years when she was just learning the game of volleyball.
“We all started at this age, too, and we all looked up to the college athletes. We loved being there and we want to do the same for them,” Jester said. “It’s really fun to play with the younger kids. It’s awesome to be able to teach them the fundamentals of volleyball, but it is also kind of fun right before Christmas getting together. It’s also great to help the family that we have adopted with this volunteer project.”
Community service is nothing new to the Wyoming athletic department and the Cowgirl volleyball program is right up there pitching in.
“Part of my responsibility as a coach is to help provide an avenue for these young ladies to develop for the rest of their life,” Yerty said. “Part of being a good citizen is giving back to the community. We talk to the girls about what kinds of community service projects they were interested in. Believe it or not, they have done so many already. They’ve done highway pickup, they’ve done reading in the classroom and they’re planning on doing a Valentine’s Day thing with an elderly group.”
There’s also the Saddle Championship, which is presented to the UW athletic group that does the most community service. A saddle is presented to the team at either a home football game or men’s basketball contest.
“That is a big deal to them because they are pretty competitive,” Yerty said. “It’s pretty exciting.”
The clinic is not only for girls, as there are three young boys who are enjoying the game of volleyball. One of them is 9-year-old Wes Yerty, the son of the Cowgirl head coach.
“It’s really fun and I like it a lot,” Wes Yerty said. “I like the events, I like doing the drills. Volleyball is really fun for me.”
Young Wes can be seen at all of his mother’s home matches, although much of his time is playing football in the hallway with his brother Jace and their friends.
“I don’t always pay attention, but I like to play instead of watching,” Wes Yerty said.
Of course, participating in this tournament also has a few extra perks -- three boys and about 37 girls.
Wes, however, adamantly says he is not there for the girls.
“No, no, no,” he said with a bit of panic in his eyes.
For the young campers, though, it’s a chance to have fun, learn and become Cowgirl volleyball fans, if they weren’t already.
“It’s really fun to meet them and become friends with them,” Crum said. “I’m a big fan.”
For Carrie Yerty and her Cowgirls, it’s an opportunity to get out in the community, embrace some youngsters and keep building the fan base.
“Hopefully, we’re building to the future and you never know, one of these girls might grow up to be a Cowgirl,” Yerty said. “That’s our hope.”
Monday, December 1, 2008
Cowgirls sign JC setter
University of Wyoming head volleyball coach Carrie Yerty announced on Monday the signing of setter Barbara Lasic to attend UW in the fall of 2009. Lasic, who is from Livno, Bosnia, is transferring in from the New Mexico Military Institute and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
“Barbara will be looked upon to transition immediately from a junior college level into a floor general for the Cowgirls," Yerty said. "She has extensive international experience and excels under pressure.”
Lasic, at 5-foot-9, is a two-time letterwinner at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M. This past season, she led her team to a 33-11 record overall, a 4-4 mark in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, and a second place finish at the Region V Tournament.
Lasic was also named all-conference and all-region, along with being named to several all-tournament teams. She led the conference in assists with 9.6 asps, along with 1.81 digs. During her freshman year, she averaged almost six assists per set, while the team went 31-12 overall and 5-3 in conference play. In 2007, she earned second team all-conference honors. Lasic was coached by Shelby Forchtner. She is the daughter of Zeljko and Vesna Lasic, and has one sibling, Robert.
Lasic is the seventh signee by Yerty during this signing period. She joins Makenzie Bartsch of Casper Natrona, Emily Rochelle of Casper Kelly Walsh, Reese Roehrkasse of Fort Collins, Camille Coffman of Peculiar, Mo., Cali Miller of Bullard, Texas and Jodi Purdy of Winterset, Iowa.
“Barbara will be looked upon to transition immediately from a junior college level into a floor general for the Cowgirls," Yerty said. "She has extensive international experience and excels under pressure.”
Lasic, at 5-foot-9, is a two-time letterwinner at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M. This past season, she led her team to a 33-11 record overall, a 4-4 mark in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, and a second place finish at the Region V Tournament.
Lasic was also named all-conference and all-region, along with being named to several all-tournament teams. She led the conference in assists with 9.6 asps, along with 1.81 digs. During her freshman year, she averaged almost six assists per set, while the team went 31-12 overall and 5-3 in conference play. In 2007, she earned second team all-conference honors. Lasic was coached by Shelby Forchtner. She is the daughter of Zeljko and Vesna Lasic, and has one sibling, Robert.
Lasic is the seventh signee by Yerty during this signing period. She joins Makenzie Bartsch of Casper Natrona, Emily Rochelle of Casper Kelly Walsh, Reese Roehrkasse of Fort Collins, Camille Coffman of Peculiar, Mo., Cali Miller of Bullard, Texas and Jodi Purdy of Winterset, Iowa.
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