Cowboy wrestlers split in Stillwater

STILLWATER, Okla. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team saw its dual win streak come to an end, as the Cowboys split a pair of matchups on Sunday.

Wyoming lost to No. 15-ranked Oklahoma State 34-4, before beating the Binghamton (N.Y.) Bearcats 27-9.

UW began their day learning that close just wouldn’t quite cut it against a ranked opponent like OSU. The Cowboys’ came out on the wrong end of four close decisions, which were decided by two points or less, and their only win came from redshirt freshman Joe LeBlanc at 184 pounds.

The ‘Pokes then bounced back and asserted themselves against the Bearcats, winning seven of 10 matches, with two of those wins coming by fall.

Wyoming’s season record is now 13-3, while Oklahoma State is 14-7 and Binghamton is 12-14. UW’s only losses this season have come at the hands of ranked opponents, No.1 Iowa and No. 16 Boise State at the National Duals and Sunday at OSU.

“Against OSU, we fought and wrestled hard, but just did not have that winning mind set,” said Wyoming head coach Mark Branch. “We had four matches that went down to the wire and we came out on the losing end of all four. Joe (LeBlanc) did a good job of staying focused after falling behind early and he went on to dominate his opponent.”

Wyoming began the dual against Oklahoma State by dropping three straight 3-1 decisions at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. UW’s Michael Martinez, Cory VomBaur and Cole Dallaserra were each in good position in their respective bouts, but just could not get points late in the match to put them over the top.

Then, following a questionable throw which led to a pin at 149 pounds, OSU would roll to a huge team lead with a major decision victory at 157 and a technical fall win at 165. No. 19-ranked Cowboy redshirt freshman Shane Onufer had a win in his sights at 174 pounds, until No. 14 Newly McSpadden scored a reversal in the third period to pull out a 5-4 decision.

LeBlanc (184) put Wyoming in the scoring column with a 16-3 major decision victory over Jared Shelton. Shelton got the first takedown to go up 2-0 and then it was all LeBlanc from there on out. The No. 7-ranked Cowboy would earn two takedowns and three nearfalls to cruise to a decisive victory.

UW freshmen Alfonso Hernandez (197) and Jacob Scharbrough (Hwt.) both competed well against highly ranked opponents, before falling 14-4 and 8-1 respectively to end the dual.

“In the Binghamton dual we looked good in the team score, but overall were sloppy and did not do enough in some individual situations,” Branch said. “The highlight was Fonz’s (Alfonso Hernandez) match and his good performance. He was down big early on, but knew he was going to win and was aggressive. It was a win that he can build on as we come down the stretch in the season.”

Against the Bearcats, UW jumped out early and won the first three matches which set the tone for the team victory. Wyoming got wins by way of fall from Dallaserra (141) and Scharbrough (Hwt.), as well as favorable decisions from Martinez (125), VomBaur (133), Alex Rieder (165), Onufer (174) and Hernandez (197).

Onufer won his match 6-1 and pushed his season record to 37-9. That mark ties Onufer for eighth on Wyoming’s all-time single season victories list with Mike McNaney, who had 37 wins during the 1984-85 season.

Hernandez’s match proved to be the most exciting of the day for the ‘Pokes, as he had to fight from behind for a 13-11 win. The UW frosh fell behind 6-1 in the first period against Cory Waite, but would explode for five takedowns in the final two periods to pull out the victory.

“The overall environment of this trip was a neat experience for the guys,” said Branch, the former OSU all-American and assistant coach. “The atmosphere was exciting and they handled themselves well. Not only did they get to see the tradition of Oklahoma State, but we also visited the Wrestling Hall of Fame and they were exposed to the history of the sport.

“Now, we have to be on a mission. Our focus over the next two weeks will be to begin peaking as we ready for the conference and NCAA tournaments. We want to continue to better our conditioning, better ourselves technically and believe in what we are doing.”

The Cowboys will return to Laramie this week for their final home dual of the season, as they host Air Force at 7 p.m. in the UniWyo sports Complex. Heading into the match, Wyoming is 3-0 in the Western Wrestling Conference and Air Force is 1-3, 4-10 overall.
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No. 15 Oklahoma State 34, Wyoming 4
125 pounds - No. 15 Obenson Blanc (OSU) by decision over Michael Martinez (WYO), 3-1
133 pounds - No. 14 Chris Notte (OSU) by decision over Cory VomBaur (WYO), 3-1
141 pounds - No. 15 Jamal Parks (OSU) by decision over Cole Dallaserra (WYO), 3-1
149 pounds - Quinten Fuentes (OSU) by fall over Chase Smith (WYO), 2:42
157 pounds - No. 10 Neil Erisman (OSU) by major decision over Eric Coxbill (WYO), 11-0
165 pounds - No. 10 Brandon Mason (OSU) by technical fall (5) over Alex Rieder (WYO), 17-0, 4:48
174 pounds - No. 14 Newly McSpadden (OSU) by decision over No. 19 Shane Onufer (WYO), 5-4
184 pounds - No. 7 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) by major decision over Jared Shelton (OSU), 16-3
197 pounds - No. 8 Clayton Foster (OSU) by major decision over Alfonso Hernandez (WYO), 14-4 Heavyweight (285) - No. 3 Jared Rosholt (OSU) by decision over Jacob Scharbrough (WYO), 8-1
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Wyoming 27, Binghamton 9
125 pounds - Michael Martinez (WYO) by decision over Tyler Malmberg (BU), 8-4
133 pounds - Cory VomBaur (WYO) by decision over Robert Slavin (BU), 7-3
141 pounds - Cole Dallaserra (WYO) by fall over Anwar Goeres (BU), 1:21
149 pounds - Matt Kaylor (BU) by decision over Chase Smith (WYO), 6-4
157 pounds - Justin Lister (BU) by decision over Eric Coxbill (WYO), 7-5
165 pounds - Alex Rieder (WYO) by decision over Ryan McGarity (BU), 15-13
174 pounds - No. 19 Shane Onufer (WYO) by decision over Anthony Esposito (BU), 6-1
184 pounds - No. 8 Josh Patterson (BU) by decision over No. 7 Joe LeBlanc (WYO), 10-7
Heavyweight (285) - Jacob Scharbrough (WYO) by fall over Dan Bittner (BU), 3:25