Cowboy wrestlers split in duals

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team ended its East Coast road trip on Sunday at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals. Wyoming competed in two morning duals, first with No. 24-ranked Michigan State and then with West Virginia. UW lost to the Spartans 20-13, but then bounced back and defeated the Mountaineers 19-18.

Junior Cole Dallaserra at 149 pounds, as well as the sophomore trio of No. 6 Joe LeBlanc (184), No. 10 Michael Martinez (125) and Chase Smith (141), each won both their match-ups for the Cowboy.

Wyoming’s dual with Michigan State was tight throughout, but the Spartans ultimately won six of 10 bouts to earn a seven-point victory.

Martinez started things off right for the ‘Pokes with a 15-5 major decision win at 125 pounds, but then redshirt freshman Kasey Garnhart ran into No. 1-ranked Franklin Gomez at 133 pounds and suffered a 17-1 technical fall set-back. Down 5-4, UW won the next two matches with Smith and Dallaserra earning five-point decisions. Now the Cowboys had a 10-5 lead before losing three straight match-ups by narrow margins to go down 14-10. LeBlanc brought his team back to within one (14-13) by winning 8-3, however Wyoming would get no closer and lost the last two bouts by two-point decisions.

In their next head-to-head match-up, Wyoming won five matches and West Virginia won five matches, however the Cowboys had two bonus-point wins, while the Mountaineers had only one.

Again, Martinez started the dual with a major decision victory (14-4), only to see that lead shrink immediately when Garnhart lost a close two-point decision at 133 pounds. The team score was 4-3 in favor of Wyoming when Smith and Dallaserra won back-to-back decisions for UW to stretch the margin to 10-3.

Three straight wins by WVU would give them their only lead of the day, 12-10. Included in those wins was a key victory at 165 pounds by No. 13 Donnie Jones (3-2) over Wyoming’s No. 16 Shane Onufer, as well as a triumph for No. 20 Chance Litton (6-3) over UW’s Alex Rieder. LeBlanc then made short work of his WVU opponent, earning the win by fall only 40 seconds into the match. That win, combined with Alfonso Hernandez’ 4-2 decision at 197 pounds gave the Cowboys a 19-12 lead, which would be enough for the team win despite a Mountaineer pin in the heavyweight match.

The next competition for the Cowboy team will be the Las Vegas Invitational, Dec. 4-5 in Las Vegas, Nev.
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No. 24 Michigan State 20, Wyoming 13
125 pounds - No. 10 Michael Martinez (WYO) by major decision over Eric Olanowski (MSU), 15-5
133 pounds - No. 1 Franklin Gomez (MSU) by technical fall over Kasey Garnhart (WYO), 17-1
141 pounds - Chase Smith (WYO) by decision over Collin Dozier (MSU), 5-0
149 pounds - Cole Dallaserra (WYO) by decision over David Cheza (MSU), 10-5
157 pounds - Anthony Jones (MSU) by decision over Mikah Kadera (WY), 7-4
165 pounds - Kyle Bounds (MSU) by decision over No. 16 Shane Onufer (WYO), 5-3
174 pounds - Ian Hinton (MSU) by decision over Alex Rieder (WYO), 6-2
184 pounds - No. 6 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) by decision over Nick Palmieri (MSU), 8-3
197 pounds - Tyler Dickenson (MSU) by decision over Alfonso Hernandez (WYO), 5-3
Hwt. (285) - Alan O’Donnell (MSU) by decision over Matthew McLaughlin (WYO), 3-1
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Wyoming 19, West Virginia 18
125 pounds - No. 10 Michael Martinez (WYO) by major decision over Anthony Curcio (WVU), 14-4
133 pounds - Colin Johnston (WVU) by decision over Kasey Garnhart (WYO), 2-0
141 pounds - Chase Smith (WYO) by decision over Trey Ayala (WVU), 5-3
149 pounds - Cole Dallaserra (WYO) by decision over Mark Tsikerdanos (WVU), 7-3
157 pounds - Ryan Goodman (WVU) by decision over Mikah Kadera (WYO), 10-6
165 pounds - No. 13 Donnie Jones (WVU) by decision over No. 16 Shane Onufer (WYO), 3-2
174 pounds - No. 20 Chance Litton (WVU) by decision over Alex Rieder (WYO), 6-3
184 pounds - No. 6 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) by fall over Matt Ryan (WVU), 0:40
197 pounds - Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) by decision over Kyle Rooney (WVU), 4-2
Hwt. (285) - Brandon Williamson (WVU) by fall over Matthew McLaughlin (WYO), 1:59