Monday, March 2, 2009

Martinez earns WWC honors

Wyoming redshirt freshman Michael Martinez

The University of Wyoming's Michael Martinez has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials.

Wyoming's 125-pound redshirt freshman got the key win for the Cowboys in their season-ending road dual victory over Northern Colorado last Wednesday. The decision by Martinez over Tony Mustari avenged a narrow loss earlier this season and helped the 'Pokes secure a portion of the league's regular season title.

Martinez solidly beat Mustari 8-2 in a bout that ultimately determined UW's team fate and was the Cowboys' biggest win of the night. Wyoming's light-weight was aggressive from the start and kept the pressure on Mustari all match, breaking through with a takedown late in the second period and then dominating the third period with two more takedowns, plus riding time. Mustari had beaten Martinez earlier this season in sudden victory overtime in the championship match at the Cowboy Open.

Wednesday's win should give a boost to Martinez' NCAA qualification resume, as Mustari was an NCAA qualifier in 2008 and has spent parts of this season in InterMat's Top-20 rankings. Martinez now has a season record of 34-9, 15-3 in duals and 4-1 in the WWC.

The win by Martinez gave the Cowboys a 6-0 lead in the dual, which would turn out to be key in a narrow 21-15 win. By remaining undefeated in the WWC at 5-0, the Cowboys claimed a share of the WWC regular season dual championship.

The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. The NCAA West Regional will take place on Saturday in Greeley, Colo.

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