The University of Wyoming wrestling team took firm hold of the reins in the Western Wrestling Conference standings on Saturday by soundly defeating fellow league front-runners Northern Iowa and Utah Valley in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
The Cowboys won eight of nine bouts competed and received a victory by forfeit in their 37-3 win over the UVU Wolverines. Then UW turned right around and took down the UNI Panthers by a 26-12 margin, winning six of 10 match-ups.
By beating their two WWC opponents, Wyoming’s overall record improves to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in the league. Utah Valley’s record is now 6-2 and 2-1, while Northern Iowa falls to 6-10, 2-2 in conference duals. Earlier in the afternoon, UVU had defeated UNI by a score of 19-16.
Wyoming’s win over Northern Iowa broke a nine-match losing streak to the Panthers that dated all the way back to Feb. 4, 1964, a 29-3 win by the ‘Pokes in Laramie.
“It was good to come out on the winning end tonight,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “We needed to shake off last night (OSU loss) and we did. This is an indication that our team is getting better and these were two big WWC victories.
“I saw some inspiring performances tonight from our team. Kasey’s (Garnhart) come from behind win, Jimmy’s (Belleville) upset over Reiner (of UNI) and L.J.’s (Helbig) last-second victory were examples of the type of efforts we need to have every time we step on the mat.
Among the highlights for the ‘Pokes were a major decision and technical fall by sophomore All-American Joe LeBlanc at 184 pounds, as well as two victories apiece for the freshman Belleville (157 pounds) and sophomore Shane Onufer (165 pounds). No. 6-ranked LeBlanc now has a record of 28-4, with 22 of those wins coming by bonus-point margin. Both Belleville and Onufer each recorded falls for their team, Belleville’s over Tyson Reiner of UNI at 2:33 and Onufer’s over Jeb Clark of UVU at 2:10.
“We now need to focus on finishing the rest of our league schedule strong for seeding purposes, but we need to also look bigger than that,” Branch said. “We need to pay attention to the little things that will benefit us on a larger scale at the West Regional and the NCAA Tournament.”
The next two WWC dual matches for the Cowboys will be on the road, at South Dakota State on Friday at 6.pm., and then at North Dakota State on Sunday at noon.
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Wyoming 37, Utah Valley 3
125 pounds - No. 13 Ben Kjar (UVU) dec. No. 11 Michael Martinez 5-3
133 pounds - Cory VomBaur (WYO) dec. Flint Ray 3-2
141 pounds - Chase Smith (WYO) dec. Jeff Newby 6-2
149 pounds - Cole Dallaserra (WYO) dec. Justin Morrill 4-3
157 pounds - Jimmy Belleville (WYO) by medical default over Jamison Moss 1:44
165 pounds - No. 10 Shane Onufer (WYO) pin Jeb Clark 2:10
174 pounds - Brock Smith (WYO) dec. Brad Darrington 8-6
184 pounds - No. 6 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) major dec. Casen Eldredge 15-5
197 pounds - Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) dec. Josh Wood 7-1
Hwt. (285) - L.J. Helbig (WYO) won by forfeit
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Wyoming 26, Northern Iowa 12
125 pounds - No. 11 Michael Martinez (WYO) by medical default over Terrance Young 3:11
133 pounds - Kasey Garnhart (WYO) dec. Ryan Jauch 11-9
141 pounds - Charlie Ettelson (UNI) dec. Cory VomBaur 4-1
149 pounds - Trent Washington (UNI) SV decision over Cole Dallaserra 4-2
157 pounds - Jimmy Belleville (WYO) pin Tyson Reiner 2:33
165 pounds - No. 10 Shane Onufer (WYO) dec. Nick Pickerell 5-0
174 pounds - Jarion Beets (UNI) sec. Alex Rieder 7-4
184 pounds - No. 6 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) technical fall over Scott Hazen (UNI) 15-0, 5:36
197 pounds - L.J. Helbig (WYO) dec. Dustin Bauman 9-5
Hwt. (285) - Christian Brantley (UNI) dec. Alfonso Hernandez 3-2
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Indoor track fares well at Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The University of Wyoming women’s track team finished the Don Barrett Air Force Duals tied for first place with Colorado State, while the Cowboys placed second out of five teams.
The Cowgirls dual score of 3-0-1 and tied CSU with 59 points each. The Cowboys came away with a 3-1 record, losing only to Colorado State by a score of 64-57.
“Just like with all meets, you have some ups and downs, but I thought we had a pretty good day,” said UW head coach Don Yentes. “We have some kids that are really starting to come around and we have some kids that feel like they can go through the motions in training and turn it on in competitions. You just can’t do that, and as soon as they all realize it we will have a pretty good team.”
On the women’s side, the sprinters were led by junior Afiya Walker in the 200-meter dash with her time of 24.84 seconds, which is good for eighth in UW history. Senior Jennifer Schmitz and freshman Katy Hall went second and third in the 60-meter hurdles with their respective times of 8.73 and 8.80.
It was the first time we have seen the distance team this season since competing in the cross country season, and they were led by juniors Alysha Davis and Emily Byra in the 1-mile run. They finished in sixth and seventh, while freshman Brooke Hughes finished in eighth in the 3,000-meter run.
The throwers are lacking a little depth, but competed well with junior Ashley Hutchinson placing second in the 20lb weight throw and third in the shot put. Fellow junior Amanda Aimone was right behind her with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw.
The jumpers were led by freshman Erin Urbanoski, as she took the title in the long jump with her leap of 18-feet, 7 inches.
Laramie native Stephen Michel led the Cowboys, winning the 60-meter dash in 6.78, which was third on the all-time UW list. Sophomore Travis Gunderson and freshman Lenyn Leonce ran identical 7.04 60’s and tied for eighth as well as entering their names in the record books as well. Freshman Brandon Douglass improved his 60-meter hurdles personal best time to 8.36 and jumped from seventh all-time to fifth with his second-place finish.
On the distance squad, junior Greg Miller finished second in the 1-mile run with his time of 4:24.54, before being converted for altitude.
Sophomore Joe Plante had a solid day with two personal bests in the shot put (50-9 1/2) and in the 35lb weight throw (59-4 1/4).
The jumpers were once again led by junior Jeremiah James, who took the title in the long jump and triple jump, while Michel followed in the triple jump and Leonce followed in the long jump.
“I tend to look past Jeremiah James’ performances because we get use to seeing them on a regular occurrence,” said Yentes. “But he is a freak. He continues to lead this very talented jumping crew and I look forward to them continuing their success.”
The Cowboys on the day came away with eight top-three finishes and had three individual winners while the Cowgirls finished with seven top-three finishes and also had three individual crowns.
Up next for the Cowboys and Cowgirls will be the Husker Invitational Friday and Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cowgirls dual score of 3-0-1 and tied CSU with 59 points each. The Cowboys came away with a 3-1 record, losing only to Colorado State by a score of 64-57.
“Just like with all meets, you have some ups and downs, but I thought we had a pretty good day,” said UW head coach Don Yentes. “We have some kids that are really starting to come around and we have some kids that feel like they can go through the motions in training and turn it on in competitions. You just can’t do that, and as soon as they all realize it we will have a pretty good team.”
On the women’s side, the sprinters were led by junior Afiya Walker in the 200-meter dash with her time of 24.84 seconds, which is good for eighth in UW history. Senior Jennifer Schmitz and freshman Katy Hall went second and third in the 60-meter hurdles with their respective times of 8.73 and 8.80.
It was the first time we have seen the distance team this season since competing in the cross country season, and they were led by juniors Alysha Davis and Emily Byra in the 1-mile run. They finished in sixth and seventh, while freshman Brooke Hughes finished in eighth in the 3,000-meter run.
The throwers are lacking a little depth, but competed well with junior Ashley Hutchinson placing second in the 20lb weight throw and third in the shot put. Fellow junior Amanda Aimone was right behind her with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw.
The jumpers were led by freshman Erin Urbanoski, as she took the title in the long jump with her leap of 18-feet, 7 inches.
Laramie native Stephen Michel led the Cowboys, winning the 60-meter dash in 6.78, which was third on the all-time UW list. Sophomore Travis Gunderson and freshman Lenyn Leonce ran identical 7.04 60’s and tied for eighth as well as entering their names in the record books as well. Freshman Brandon Douglass improved his 60-meter hurdles personal best time to 8.36 and jumped from seventh all-time to fifth with his second-place finish.
On the distance squad, junior Greg Miller finished second in the 1-mile run with his time of 4:24.54, before being converted for altitude.
Sophomore Joe Plante had a solid day with two personal bests in the shot put (50-9 1/2) and in the 35lb weight throw (59-4 1/4).
The jumpers were once again led by junior Jeremiah James, who took the title in the long jump and triple jump, while Michel followed in the triple jump and Leonce followed in the long jump.
“I tend to look past Jeremiah James’ performances because we get use to seeing them on a regular occurrence,” said Yentes. “But he is a freak. He continues to lead this very talented jumping crew and I look forward to them continuing their success.”
The Cowboys on the day came away with eight top-three finishes and had three individual winners while the Cowgirls finished with seven top-three finishes and also had three individual crowns.
Up next for the Cowboys and Cowgirls will be the Husker Invitational Friday and Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.
Divers conclude Air Force meet
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- At the Air Force Diving Invite, junior Allie Smith won the three-meter event, while senior Stephanie Ortiz placed second for the Cowgirls. The top performance for the Cowboys came from Mark Murdock, who placed first on platform and second on one-meter.
In the two days of the AFA Invite, the Cowgirls had 11 scores rank in the top 10 on the three boards. On Saturday, Smith led the way on three-meter with her winning score of 282.05 points. A day after winning the one-meter event, Ortiz placed second on three-meter with 273.25. Senior Emily Huth was sixth at 265.85 and sophomore Tiffany Izatt was 11th with 245.60.
On platform Smith placed the highest for the Cowgirls in third with 195.40. Ortiz and Huth placed fifth and sixth respectively.
On Saturday, the Pokes were competing on one-meter and platform. Murdock placed the highest for the Cowboys on both boards. Murdock won the platform event with 342.45. Murdock also led the way on one-meter at 306.95 and finished in second. Sophomore Valentin Schwarz was right behind Murdock on one-meter and placed third with a 267.30.
Up next, Cowgirl swimming and diving team will be in action against two rivals. On Thursday, the Cowgirls will host Colorado State in Corbett Pool at 5 p.m. and on Saturday, both teams travel to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force at 1 p.m.
In the two days of the AFA Invite, the Cowgirls had 11 scores rank in the top 10 on the three boards. On Saturday, Smith led the way on three-meter with her winning score of 282.05 points. A day after winning the one-meter event, Ortiz placed second on three-meter with 273.25. Senior Emily Huth was sixth at 265.85 and sophomore Tiffany Izatt was 11th with 245.60.
On platform Smith placed the highest for the Cowgirls in third with 195.40. Ortiz and Huth placed fifth and sixth respectively.
On Saturday, the Pokes were competing on one-meter and platform. Murdock placed the highest for the Cowboys on both boards. Murdock won the platform event with 342.45. Murdock also led the way on one-meter at 306.95 and finished in second. Sophomore Valentin Schwarz was right behind Murdock on one-meter and placed third with a 267.30.
Up next, Cowgirl swimming and diving team will be in action against two rivals. On Thursday, the Cowgirls will host Colorado State in Corbett Pool at 5 p.m. and on Saturday, both teams travel to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force at 1 p.m.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Cowboys close, but lose lopsided match
Richard Anderson photos
At top, Wyoming coach Mark Branch talks things over with 165-pounder Shane Onufer Friday night against No. 4 Oklahoma State. At left, official Charlie Jones lifts UW 149-pounder Cole Dallaserra's hand in victory.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
Mark Branch detested it as a wrestler; he hates it equally as a coach.
Close just isn’t good enough.
In most of the individual bouts, the Wyoming Cowboys were close with their Oklahoma State counterparts, losing three one-point matches, one two-point bout, one three-point match (in overtime) and a four-point match.
As is often the case in wrestling, close individual bouts don’t make a close team match and No. 4 Oklahoma State rolled to a 31-3 win in front of a Wyoming record 2,566 fans Friday night in the Arena-Auditorium.
“The crowd was great, the band was great, the cheerleaders were great and we weren’t great,” Branch said. “That was the difference. We were OK. If I was OK with close losses, then I would be real happy, but I’m not OK with close losses.”
Branch, who was a four-time All-American at Oklahoma State and two-time national champion, went into overtime in his first match as a starter at OSU with the No. 1 wrestler in the country. He ended up losing in OT and took many pats on the back for a job well done.
Losing, and the congratulations that he received just made him angry.
“Everybody rushed to me ... I was on the front page of the paper, and everybody was telling me good job because I lost in overtime to the No. 1 kid in the country,“ Branch said. “That’s when I knew that I was going to be a winner, because I was disgusted that people were telling me good job after a loss. ‘Don’t tell me good job, I just got beat.’”
Branch said his wrestlers have known him long enough to know that they aren’t going to get a “good job” in defeat.
“I’m just making it clear that I am not happy with close losses,” said Branch, who did say that that his Cowboys (6-3) battled hard, just not very smart.
“We were in three or four matches that we found a way to lose," he said. “We have to find a way to win. That’s the difference right now in us being a top-level team and us being just one of the others.
“It was good experience for us, it was good to be in front of a good crowd. I don’t think our kids were really taken out of their focus by their surroundings, but we just didn’t have the formula to get the win in the end in a lot of matches. When that happens, the score gets lopsided real quick.”
That’s exactly how the match began, as Wyoming’s Michael Martinez (ranked 11th) lost a 3-2 decision to No. 10 Chris Notte. Martinez, who lost two previous lop-sided matches to Notte this season, fell behind 3-1 in the third period on a two-point near fall.
“I was proud of a lot of our effort, we just did some dumb things,” Branch said. “Michael Martinez wrestled a good, hard, solid match, but he went to his butt. When I went out there during an injury timeout, I said, ‘get to your feet, don’t go to you butt.’ I think, if he doesn’t get sucked onto his back and give up those back points, we feel pretty good about his chances to win.”
At 133 pounds, No. 5 Jordan Oliver edged Wyoming’s Cory Vombaur 4-3 on a reversal with just seconds left.
"Cory did a great job of staying in the match against a stud, but he gives up a reversal with 12 seconds left," Branch said.
The toughest loss to swallow for Branch and UW came at 184 pounds, when Wyoming All-American Joe LeBlanc, ranked No. 6 in the country, losing an 8-5 overtime decision to No. 10 Clayton Foster.
Foster had the early lead, but LeBlanc battled back to take a 5-3 lead late, only to give up an escape with three seconds left. Foster had built up riding time, so the match went into overtime at 5-5.
LeBlanc came out aggressive, but Foster had the last laugh when he fought off the charge and put the Wyoming wrestler on his back for a three-point near fall.
Branch admitted that both he and LeBlanc were confused on how much riding time was left, but that didn’t excuse giving up the escape in the end of regulation.
“It was a wild match and I lost track (of the riding time),” Branch said. “But that is not an excuse. I tell these guys that we wrestle to score next every time. Joe didn’t put the effort in to finish that match. You just never give up an easy escape, I don’t care what the situation is.”
The highlight of the match for Wyoming was at 149 pounds when Cole Dallaserra defeated Luke Silver -- OSU’s only un-ranked wrestler -- 3-0. After two scoreless periods, Dallaserra got a reversal in the third period and added a point on riding time.
“It’s like coach says, he wants us to wrestle to the philosophy of always scoring next, just keep pressure on the guy,” Dallaserra said. “I was just looking to score next and ride him tough.”
Oklahoma State, which thumped Northern Colorado 41-3 earlier in the day in Greeley, Colo., is now 10-2-1 on the season. Nine of OSU wrestlers are ranked in the Top 20, including eight in the Top 10.
“Oklahoma State is a top five team year-in and year-out, so they pretty much know how to win the close matches. We have to learn to do that," Branch said. “I like a good fight, but if you come up short and don’t find a way to win, that doesn’t do much for you.”
The Wyoming Cowboys don’t have long to lick their wounds, as they return to Western Wrestling Conference action on Saturday, hosting Utah Valley at 4 p.m. and Northern Iowa at 5:30 p.m. Both matches are set for the UniWyo Sports Complex.
“We did not have the formula to win tonight,” Branch said. “Now we have to find a way to get those matches behind us, make weight in the morning and make the adjustments that we need in order to win some important conference match-ups.”
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No. 4 Oklahoma State 31, Wyoming 3
125 -- No. 10 Chris Notte (OSU) dec. No. 11 Michael Martinez 3-2.
133 -- No. 5 Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. Cory VomBaur 4-3.
141 -- No. 8 Jamal Park (OSU) dec. Chase Smith 8-1.
149 -- Cole Dallaserra (WYO) dec. Luke Silver 3-0.
157 -- No. 17 Neil Erisman (OSU) maj. dec. Jimmy Belleville 13-0.
165 -- No. 9 Alex Meade (OSU) dec. No. 10 Shane Onufer 8-6.
174 -- No. 7 Mike Benefeil (OSU) dec. Brock Smith 7-3.
184 -- No. 10 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 6 Joe LeBlanc 8-5, overtime.
197 -- No. 7 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Alfonso Hernandez 3-2.
Hwt. -- No. 1 Jared Rosholt (OSU) pin. L.J. Helbig 2:30.
Cowgirl swimmers beat SDSU
A home meet at a different venue proved to be to the Wyoming women's swim team's liking, as the Cowgirls rolled toppled San Diego State 153-128 Friday at the Laramie Recreation Center Pool.
Meanwhile, in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Wyoming divers were competing in the Air Force Invite. Cowgirl one-meter scores were added into the final dual meet scores today, while tomorrow’s three-meter will also be counted. However, the Cowgirls were able to take down the Aztecs without three-meter diving scores added in.
The Cowgirls extend their overall record to 12-1 and 5-1 in league action. SDSU drops to 11-3 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Coming into the meet tonight, the Aztecs were third in the conference behind BYU and the Cowgirls and also received votes in the latest NCSAA poll.
“Tonight was an awesome meet that was swam very hard on both sides. Our girls put out a great effort and beat a darn good team in San Diego State,” said UW head coach Tom Johnson. “The girls dusted themselves off after the loss the BYU and battled hard for the win tonight.”
Leading off the meet, the Cowgirls Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Shelby Bull, and Cassie Stelow swam the 200 medley relay 1 minute, 44.48 seconds, for first place, a new Wyoming pool record.
The Aztecs rallied and won four of the next five events, but the Cowgirls held a narrow lead. Senior Stelow stepped-up to the starting blocks in the 50 freestyle and not only won the event, but broke Olympian Amy Van Dyken’s Corbett Pool record with a time of 23.32.
The Cowgirls went on to win five of the seven remaining events and pulled ahead with great performances from the Cowgirl divers at the Air Force Invite. Shelby Bull won the 100 freestyle in 51.87 and followed that up with a win in the 100 butterfly at 57.63 later in the meet. Lauren Hewson swam the 200 breaststroke in 2:19.30, breaking the old Corbett Pool record that was 2:21.28. Lesley Young swam the 200 IM in 2:09.50 for the last individual win of the night. The Cowgirl 400 freestyle relay also placed first with a time of 3:26.57, another Wyoming pool record.
“Cassie Stelow was blazing fast by breaking former Olympian Amy Van Dyken’s record. She was outstanding in the 50 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay,” Johnson said. “Lauren Hewson was close to an NCAA provisional time and broke the old pool record. Overall it was a great team effort.”
For the UW divers, both the Cowgirls and Cowboys were competing at the Air Force Invite. Scores from the women’s one-meter today were added into Friday's dual. On Saturday, the Cowgirls three-meter scores will also be added in.
Leading the way was senior captain Stephanie Ortiz and fellow senior Emily Huth. Not only did Ortiz and Huth place first and second against the Aztecs in dual action, they also placed one-two for the entire one-meter competition. Ortiz finished with a total of 275.65 points for the first place finish. Huth was close behind in second with a total of 269.35. Allie Smith also gave the Cowgirls a top-five finish by scoring 251.7 and placing fourth. Virginia Marcon finished with a personal best mark of 249.60 and placed sixth, while sophomore Tiffany Izatt was tenth in the field of 24.
The Cowboy divers were led by junior Mark Murdock, who placed first on three-meter with a score of 355.60. Sophomore Valentin Schwarz added a fifth placed finish with 257.40.
“The divers were wonderful and gave us very valuable points today,” Johnson said. “It was a blast to have our fans there and out from behind the glass. It was a tremendous atmosphere at the Rec Center.”
The UW divers will continue competing at the Air Force Invite on Saturday. Next up for the Cowgirls will be the Border War against Colorado State Thursday at 5 p.m. in Corbett Pool.
Meanwhile, in Colorado Springs, Colo., the Wyoming divers were competing in the Air Force Invite. Cowgirl one-meter scores were added into the final dual meet scores today, while tomorrow’s three-meter will also be counted. However, the Cowgirls were able to take down the Aztecs without three-meter diving scores added in.
The Cowgirls extend their overall record to 12-1 and 5-1 in league action. SDSU drops to 11-3 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Coming into the meet tonight, the Aztecs were third in the conference behind BYU and the Cowgirls and also received votes in the latest NCSAA poll.
“Tonight was an awesome meet that was swam very hard on both sides. Our girls put out a great effort and beat a darn good team in San Diego State,” said UW head coach Tom Johnson. “The girls dusted themselves off after the loss the BYU and battled hard for the win tonight.”
Leading off the meet, the Cowgirls Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Shelby Bull, and Cassie Stelow swam the 200 medley relay 1 minute, 44.48 seconds, for first place, a new Wyoming pool record.
The Aztecs rallied and won four of the next five events, but the Cowgirls held a narrow lead. Senior Stelow stepped-up to the starting blocks in the 50 freestyle and not only won the event, but broke Olympian Amy Van Dyken’s Corbett Pool record with a time of 23.32.
The Cowgirls went on to win five of the seven remaining events and pulled ahead with great performances from the Cowgirl divers at the Air Force Invite. Shelby Bull won the 100 freestyle in 51.87 and followed that up with a win in the 100 butterfly at 57.63 later in the meet. Lauren Hewson swam the 200 breaststroke in 2:19.30, breaking the old Corbett Pool record that was 2:21.28. Lesley Young swam the 200 IM in 2:09.50 for the last individual win of the night. The Cowgirl 400 freestyle relay also placed first with a time of 3:26.57, another Wyoming pool record.
“Cassie Stelow was blazing fast by breaking former Olympian Amy Van Dyken’s record. She was outstanding in the 50 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay,” Johnson said. “Lauren Hewson was close to an NCAA provisional time and broke the old pool record. Overall it was a great team effort.”
For the UW divers, both the Cowgirls and Cowboys were competing at the Air Force Invite. Scores from the women’s one-meter today were added into Friday's dual. On Saturday, the Cowgirls three-meter scores will also be added in.
Leading the way was senior captain Stephanie Ortiz and fellow senior Emily Huth. Not only did Ortiz and Huth place first and second against the Aztecs in dual action, they also placed one-two for the entire one-meter competition. Ortiz finished with a total of 275.65 points for the first place finish. Huth was close behind in second with a total of 269.35. Allie Smith also gave the Cowgirls a top-five finish by scoring 251.7 and placing fourth. Virginia Marcon finished with a personal best mark of 249.60 and placed sixth, while sophomore Tiffany Izatt was tenth in the field of 24.
The Cowboy divers were led by junior Mark Murdock, who placed first on three-meter with a score of 355.60. Sophomore Valentin Schwarz added a fifth placed finish with 257.40.
“The divers were wonderful and gave us very valuable points today,” Johnson said. “It was a blast to have our fans there and out from behind the glass. It was a tremendous atmosphere at the Rec Center.”
The UW divers will continue competing at the Air Force Invite on Saturday. Next up for the Cowgirls will be the Border War against Colorado State Thursday at 5 p.m. in Corbett Pool.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Cowboy hockey sweeps Colorado College
The University of Wyoming hockey club, fronted by Erik Blomberg and Michael Leriger, swept two American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) games against Colorado College last weekend.
The Cowboys overwhelmed the Tigers 11-4 Friday at the Laramie Community Ice Arena and 12-2 Saturday at the Taco John's Events Center in Cheyenne to improve their record to 15-7 this season.
Blomberg (Parker, Colo.) netted three goals in Friday's contest and added two more in the series finale, boosting his season point total to 25, one behind Mitch Nelson (Sheridan) for the team lead.
Leriger (Houston, Texas) recorded a goal and an assist in both victories for UW, ranked sixth in the ACHA's Pacific Region.
Willie Forbes (Casper) and T.J. Peters (Jackson) had two goals apiece in Friday's victory, and Nelson, Elliott Bauder (Douglas) and Tyler Yorke (Houston, Texas) also scored goals in the series opener.
Kenny Ainsworth (Casper) stopped 31 of 35 shots to earn the victory between the pipes.
A pair of club newcomers, Mitch Barker (Powell) and Matt Moore (Casper), sparked the Cowboys in Saturday's triumph. Both players scored two goals apiece in the opening two periods as UW surged to a 9-2 advantage.
Cody Leeper (Bondurant) also had two goals, and Nelson, Rick Comer (Gillette) and Taylor Freeman (Parker, Colo.) each had one goal.
In goal, Sean Collins (Cheyenne) made 14 saves for his second victory in two collegiate starts.
UW plays three games this week, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup Friday against the University of Colorado (12-8) at the Taco John's Events Center. The Cowboys play Mesa State College (7-17-1) the following two days, at 7 p.m. Saturday in Laramie and at 11 a.m. Sunday in Cheyenne.
The Cowboys overwhelmed the Tigers 11-4 Friday at the Laramie Community Ice Arena and 12-2 Saturday at the Taco John's Events Center in Cheyenne to improve their record to 15-7 this season.
Blomberg (Parker, Colo.) netted three goals in Friday's contest and added two more in the series finale, boosting his season point total to 25, one behind Mitch Nelson (Sheridan) for the team lead.
Leriger (Houston, Texas) recorded a goal and an assist in both victories for UW, ranked sixth in the ACHA's Pacific Region.
Willie Forbes (Casper) and T.J. Peters (Jackson) had two goals apiece in Friday's victory, and Nelson, Elliott Bauder (Douglas) and Tyler Yorke (Houston, Texas) also scored goals in the series opener.
Kenny Ainsworth (Casper) stopped 31 of 35 shots to earn the victory between the pipes.
A pair of club newcomers, Mitch Barker (Powell) and Matt Moore (Casper), sparked the Cowboys in Saturday's triumph. Both players scored two goals apiece in the opening two periods as UW surged to a 9-2 advantage.
Cody Leeper (Bondurant) also had two goals, and Nelson, Rick Comer (Gillette) and Taylor Freeman (Parker, Colo.) each had one goal.
In goal, Sean Collins (Cheyenne) made 14 saves for his second victory in two collegiate starts.
UW plays three games this week, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup Friday against the University of Colorado (12-8) at the Taco John's Events Center. The Cowboys play Mesa State College (7-17-1) the following two days, at 7 p.m. Saturday in Laramie and at 11 a.m. Sunday in Cheyenne.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Cowboys beat BYU; Cowgirls drop first dual
For the first time in Wyoming swimming and diving history, the Cowboys defeated BYU for the second consecutive year Saturday at Corbett Pool, 178-122. The Cowgirls and BYU women entered the meet with undefeated records, but the Cowgirls fell to BYU 185-115.
The Cowboys pick up two conference victories this weekend and have an overall mark of 6-3 and 2-2 in the Mountain West conference. BYU drops to 2-5 overall and 0-5 in conference.
The Cowgirls lost only their first dual meet all year and are 11-1 and 3-1 in the league. The BYU women are the lone undefeated MWC team at 11-0 and 8-0 MWC.
"I am very happy for the guys to beat BYU two years in a row for the first time ever," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "For the women, we started out winning the 200 medley relay and set a new pool record in that event, and had some good swims and great diving, but there were a few parts that I was disappointed with."
The Cowboys won 11 events against the Cougars. Senior captain Tommy Gregory and sophomore Brandon Fischer won multiple events each. Gregory won both the 100 freestyle (46.92 seconds) and 200 freestyle (51.85) in his last meet at Corbett Pool. Fischer won both the 100 (57.70) and 200 (2:08.83) breaststrokes as he did a day earlier against Utah. Gregory and Fischer also helped the Cowboy relays to win the 200 medley relay. Gregory also led off in the 400 freestyle relay, another first place finish for UW.
Other event winners for the Cowboys included Marshall Dilworth in the 100 backstroke at 51.85, Tyler Kybartas in the 200 butterfly in 1:57.36, Christian Johnson swam the 50 freestyle in 21.66, Nathan Fuller in the 200 backstroke finished at 2:08.83, and Sam Holmes swam the 500 freestyle in 4:49.03 for a first place finish.
The Cowgirls started the meet off on the right foot by winning the 200 medley relay and set a Corbett Pool record in the process with a time of 1:45.34. In the water, Cassie Stelow led the way in the 50 freestyle by placing first with a time of 23.65. Lauren Hewson won the 200 breaststroke a day earlier against Utah, and backed that performance with another win in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.16.
Cowgirl diver Stephanie Ortiz nearly broke the pool record again on three-meter springboard. Ortiz won the event and finished with 314.18 points. On one-meter, Ortiz came in a close second at 295.35, while fellow senior Emily Huth was right behind Ortiz in third with 290.70.
"The girls faced the defending conference champion today, but hopefully we can get them at the conference championships in February," Johnson said. "The divers had a great rounds today. We swam well and very tough, but we have to get better for next week."
The Cowgirls will be back in action in Laramie next week against San Diego State, hosting the Aztecs Friday at 5 p.m. at the Laramie Rec. Center pool.
The Cowboys pick up two conference victories this weekend and have an overall mark of 6-3 and 2-2 in the Mountain West conference. BYU drops to 2-5 overall and 0-5 in conference.
The Cowgirls lost only their first dual meet all year and are 11-1 and 3-1 in the league. The BYU women are the lone undefeated MWC team at 11-0 and 8-0 MWC.
"I am very happy for the guys to beat BYU two years in a row for the first time ever," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "For the women, we started out winning the 200 medley relay and set a new pool record in that event, and had some good swims and great diving, but there were a few parts that I was disappointed with."
The Cowboys won 11 events against the Cougars. Senior captain Tommy Gregory and sophomore Brandon Fischer won multiple events each. Gregory won both the 100 freestyle (46.92 seconds) and 200 freestyle (51.85) in his last meet at Corbett Pool. Fischer won both the 100 (57.70) and 200 (2:08.83) breaststrokes as he did a day earlier against Utah. Gregory and Fischer also helped the Cowboy relays to win the 200 medley relay. Gregory also led off in the 400 freestyle relay, another first place finish for UW.
Other event winners for the Cowboys included Marshall Dilworth in the 100 backstroke at 51.85, Tyler Kybartas in the 200 butterfly in 1:57.36, Christian Johnson swam the 50 freestyle in 21.66, Nathan Fuller in the 200 backstroke finished at 2:08.83, and Sam Holmes swam the 500 freestyle in 4:49.03 for a first place finish.
The Cowgirls started the meet off on the right foot by winning the 200 medley relay and set a Corbett Pool record in the process with a time of 1:45.34. In the water, Cassie Stelow led the way in the 50 freestyle by placing first with a time of 23.65. Lauren Hewson won the 200 breaststroke a day earlier against Utah, and backed that performance with another win in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:22.16.
Cowgirl diver Stephanie Ortiz nearly broke the pool record again on three-meter springboard. Ortiz won the event and finished with 314.18 points. On one-meter, Ortiz came in a close second at 295.35, while fellow senior Emily Huth was right behind Ortiz in third with 290.70.
"The girls faced the defending conference champion today, but hopefully we can get them at the conference championships in February," Johnson said. "The divers had a great rounds today. We swam well and very tough, but we have to get better for next week."
The Cowgirls will be back in action in Laramie next week against San Diego State, hosting the Aztecs Friday at 5 p.m. at the Laramie Rec. Center pool.
Petsch finishes second
BOULDER, Colo. -- Wyoming senior Jay Petsch came away in second place Saturday in the multi-events at the Potts Invitational.
Petsch was leading after the first day and four events but slipped to second place at the conclusion of the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run. Petsch won the hurdle event with a time of 8.53 seconds, tied for third in the pole vault at 13-feet, 5 1.4 inches and was fourth in the 1,000-meter run with a personal best time of 2:59.64. He scored 4,974 points, just 21 points shy of his personal best.
“Jay had a good weekend and unfortunately left quite a few points on the board,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “This is the only time we can get the kids a multi-event before they go to conference in late February, so it was good to get them the experience.”
Petsch was joined by sophomore Henry Ferreira, who finished the two-day heptathlon in fifth with a personal best 4,267 points. Henry competed well and finished the day strong with a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles and fifth-place finish in the 1,000-meter run.
“Henry has a lot of potential, and along with Jay, left quite a few points on the board, but with time Henry will get there,” said Howe. “We got exactly what we wanted to get out of this weekend and I couldn’t be happier heading into the bulk of our schedule.”
The UW track team returns to action on Jan. 30, in Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on the Air Force Academy.
Petsch was leading after the first day and four events but slipped to second place at the conclusion of the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run. Petsch won the hurdle event with a time of 8.53 seconds, tied for third in the pole vault at 13-feet, 5 1.4 inches and was fourth in the 1,000-meter run with a personal best time of 2:59.64. He scored 4,974 points, just 21 points shy of his personal best.
“Jay had a good weekend and unfortunately left quite a few points on the board,” said assistant coach Quincy Howe. “This is the only time we can get the kids a multi-event before they go to conference in late February, so it was good to get them the experience.”
Petsch was joined by sophomore Henry Ferreira, who finished the two-day heptathlon in fifth with a personal best 4,267 points. Henry competed well and finished the day strong with a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles and fifth-place finish in the 1,000-meter run.
“Henry has a lot of potential, and along with Jay, left quite a few points on the board, but with time Henry will get there,” said Howe. “We got exactly what we wanted to get out of this weekend and I couldn’t be happier heading into the bulk of our schedule.”
The UW track team returns to action on Jan. 30, in Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on the Air Force Academy.
Friday, January 22, 2010
UW swimmers sweep Utah
The University of Wyoming swimming and diving team swept the Utah Utes in Corbett Pool on Friday. In the process, the Cowgirls broke three pool records, while the Pokes improve their record and win their first Mountain West conference dual.
The Cowgirls defeated the Utah women by a final score of 182-115 to improve their record to 11-0 overall and 4-0 in conference meets. The Cowboys advanced their record to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in conference with a 162-137 victory over the Utah men.
"Tonight was a solid team effort from both sides," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "We lost a few events we should have won, but breaking three pool records was awesome and it was great for our the guys to get their first conference win."
The first pool record that went down Friday night was also the first race of the night. Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Stephanie Vint and Cassie Stelow swam the 400 medley relay in 3:53.00, a new Corbett Pool record. The old record was set by Utah in 2006.
Cowgirl relays continued setting new marks in the 200 freestyle relay. Stelow, Conci, Shelby Bull, and Vint touched in at 1 minute, 34.89 seconds to set the new record as well.
Individually, Lauren Hewson, a transfer to UW from Utah, broke the 200 breaststroke pool record by placing first in 2:21.28. Other individual winners for the Cowgirls include Paige Fischer in the 1000 freestyle (10:56.90), Bull in the 200 freestyle, Conci in the 100 backstroke (58.89), Lauren Hewson in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.98), Stelow in the 50 freestyle (23.57), Mandy Schumacher in the 200 backstroke (2:09.48) and Kristen Flachbarth in the 500 freestyle (5:21.93).
"The relay records set tonight was fun to watch. The 200 freestyle relay crushed the previous record," Johnson said. "Lauren Hewson and Paige Fischer swam very well tonight. I thought Lauren (Hewson) swam the best she has this season at altitude."
The Pokes earned their first conference victory and were led by two double winners. Senior Tommy Gregory won both the 50 and 100 freestyle to give his team much needed points.
Sophomore Brandon Fischer won his two events, the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.
Other winners were Nathan Fuller in the 100 backstroke (51.82), Tyler Kybartas in the 200 butterfly (1:57.12), and Kendrick Bachman in the 200 IM (1:56.17). The Pokes 400 medley relay of Marshall Dilworth, Fischer, Kybartas, and Gregory also finished first.
"Fischer was awesome today like last week, and Tommy Gregory was a stud as well," Johnson said. "Kendrick Bachman swam a great 200 IM and saved us in that race. I was happy for the guys to get their first conference win."
On the diving boards, senior Stephanie Ortiz nearly broke the pool record on three-meter with a score of 316.55 points, two points away from a pool record. Ortiz backed up her winning three-meter performance with another first place finish on one-meter with a score of 278.35. Junior Mark Murdock placed the highest for the Cowboys on both boards. Murdock won the one-meter springboard with a final of 314.40, and placed second on three-meter with 310.95.
"The divers were awesome again today. Ortiz winning both boards was huge and Murdock did very well too," said Johnson. "All-in-all it was a good meet for us. Tonight the challenge is to rest and recover and be ready to be challenged tomorrow."
Wyoming will host BYU in Corbett Pool on Saturday. Senior recognition will take place prior to the meet as well. One board of diving will take place at 10:30 a.m., while the meet will start at noon.
The Cowgirls defeated the Utah women by a final score of 182-115 to improve their record to 11-0 overall and 4-0 in conference meets. The Cowboys advanced their record to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in conference with a 162-137 victory over the Utah men.
"Tonight was a solid team effort from both sides," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "We lost a few events we should have won, but breaking three pool records was awesome and it was great for our the guys to get their first conference win."
The first pool record that went down Friday night was also the first race of the night. Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Stephanie Vint and Cassie Stelow swam the 400 medley relay in 3:53.00, a new Corbett Pool record. The old record was set by Utah in 2006.
Cowgirl relays continued setting new marks in the 200 freestyle relay. Stelow, Conci, Shelby Bull, and Vint touched in at 1 minute, 34.89 seconds to set the new record as well.
Individually, Lauren Hewson, a transfer to UW from Utah, broke the 200 breaststroke pool record by placing first in 2:21.28. Other individual winners for the Cowgirls include Paige Fischer in the 1000 freestyle (10:56.90), Bull in the 200 freestyle, Conci in the 100 backstroke (58.89), Lauren Hewson in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.98), Stelow in the 50 freestyle (23.57), Mandy Schumacher in the 200 backstroke (2:09.48) and Kristen Flachbarth in the 500 freestyle (5:21.93).
"The relay records set tonight was fun to watch. The 200 freestyle relay crushed the previous record," Johnson said. "Lauren Hewson and Paige Fischer swam very well tonight. I thought Lauren (Hewson) swam the best she has this season at altitude."
The Pokes earned their first conference victory and were led by two double winners. Senior Tommy Gregory won both the 50 and 100 freestyle to give his team much needed points.
Sophomore Brandon Fischer won his two events, the 100 and 200 breaststrokes.
Other winners were Nathan Fuller in the 100 backstroke (51.82), Tyler Kybartas in the 200 butterfly (1:57.12), and Kendrick Bachman in the 200 IM (1:56.17). The Pokes 400 medley relay of Marshall Dilworth, Fischer, Kybartas, and Gregory also finished first.
"Fischer was awesome today like last week, and Tommy Gregory was a stud as well," Johnson said. "Kendrick Bachman swam a great 200 IM and saved us in that race. I was happy for the guys to get their first conference win."
On the diving boards, senior Stephanie Ortiz nearly broke the pool record on three-meter with a score of 316.55 points, two points away from a pool record. Ortiz backed up her winning three-meter performance with another first place finish on one-meter with a score of 278.35. Junior Mark Murdock placed the highest for the Cowboys on both boards. Murdock won the one-meter springboard with a final of 314.40, and placed second on three-meter with 310.95.
"The divers were awesome again today. Ortiz winning both boards was huge and Murdock did very well too," said Johnson. "All-in-all it was a good meet for us. Tonight the challenge is to rest and recover and be ready to be challenged tomorrow."
Wyoming will host BYU in Corbett Pool on Saturday. Senior recognition will take place prior to the meet as well. One board of diving will take place at 10:30 a.m., while the meet will start at noon.
Petsch, Jackson lead UW in Boulder
BOULDER, Colo. -- Wyoming senior Jay Petsch leads the Cowboys and the rest of the field in the first day of the Potts Invitational on Friday in the heptathlon, while junior Britney Jackson led the Cowgirls in the conclusion of the women’s pentathlon.
Petsch has a leading 2,808 points through four events with three to go on Saturday. He was first in three of four events, while fellow Cowboy, sophomore Henry Ferreira was first in the last event. Petsch won the 60-meter dash (7.21 seconds), high jump (6-feet, 2 3/4 inches) and long jump (22-7 3/4) while Ferreira took the title in the shot put (43-2 1/2).
“We are definitely getting what we need and want out of this weekend,” said UW assistant coach Quincy Howe. “Jay is competing very well and with the position we are in our goal is to take the title tomorrow. Henry hasn’t completed a multi in a long time, so we want him to finish tomorrow strong and without any setbacks.”
Ferreira has a total 2,394 points through four events with three to be finished tomorrow (60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000-meter run).
For the Cowgirls, Jackson finished the five event pentathlon in seventh place with a total of 3,184 points. She was followed by freshman Hannah Romsa who competed in her first collegiate pentathlon and finished 11th out of 16 competitors with a total of 2,685 points.
Jackson had her best finishes in the high jump where she tied for second with a leap of 5-5 1/4 and in the 60-meter hurdle event where she placed 10th with a time of 9.74. Romsa’s best event of the day was also in the 60-meter hurdles where she finished just behind Jackson in 11th place with a time of 9.85.
“Britney had a solid day but not a breakthrough day,” said Howe. “Hannah is very inexperienced and got a taste of the collegiate multi-event day today. Both Britney and Hannah will improve throughout the season.”
Saturday will bring the conclusion of the Potts Invite and the final three events of the men’s heptathlon.
Petsch has a leading 2,808 points through four events with three to go on Saturday. He was first in three of four events, while fellow Cowboy, sophomore Henry Ferreira was first in the last event. Petsch won the 60-meter dash (7.21 seconds), high jump (6-feet, 2 3/4 inches) and long jump (22-7 3/4) while Ferreira took the title in the shot put (43-2 1/2).
“We are definitely getting what we need and want out of this weekend,” said UW assistant coach Quincy Howe. “Jay is competing very well and with the position we are in our goal is to take the title tomorrow. Henry hasn’t completed a multi in a long time, so we want him to finish tomorrow strong and without any setbacks.”
Ferreira has a total 2,394 points through four events with three to be finished tomorrow (60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000-meter run).
For the Cowgirls, Jackson finished the five event pentathlon in seventh place with a total of 3,184 points. She was followed by freshman Hannah Romsa who competed in her first collegiate pentathlon and finished 11th out of 16 competitors with a total of 2,685 points.
Jackson had her best finishes in the high jump where she tied for second with a leap of 5-5 1/4 and in the 60-meter hurdle event where she placed 10th with a time of 9.74. Romsa’s best event of the day was also in the 60-meter hurdles where she finished just behind Jackson in 11th place with a time of 9.85.
“Britney had a solid day but not a breakthrough day,” said Howe. “Hannah is very inexperienced and got a taste of the collegiate multi-event day today. Both Britney and Hannah will improve throughout the season.”
Saturday will bring the conclusion of the Potts Invite and the final three events of the men’s heptathlon.
Tickets on sale for UW-Oklahoma State
UW coach Mark BranchWWC has 19 wrestlers ranked nationally
The University of Wyoming athletics department has announced that advance tickets are on sale for the Cowboy wrestling team’s upcoming home dual with Oklahoma State, as well as a limited number of seats in the Wyoming section at the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Tickets may be purchased online at WyomingAthletics.com, by calling 800-922-9461 or in person at the UW Athletics Ticket Office.
On Jan. 29, a large crowd is expected when the ‘Pokes host No. 4-ranked Oklahoma State. In anticipation of the increased number of fans, the Cowboy vs. Cowboy match-up will take place in the Arena-Auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. The event is presented by Your Local Ford Stores.
UW’s busy weekend continues on Jan. 30 when it hosts a full day of Western Wrestling Conference duals. The first WWC dual of the day will feature a neutral-mat match, with the Utah Valley Wolverines against the Northern Iowa Panthers at 2 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex. Next, the ‘Pokes will face Utah Valley at 4 p.m., followed immediately by a match-up with the defending West Regional champions, UNI at approximately 5:30 p.m.
Tickets for each day will be $5 for adults and $3 for youth. UW students can gain free admission with a valid ID.
Saturday’s tickets will not be presold. Doors will open at 1 p.m. and one ticket on that day will gain entrance for all three dual match-ups. Additionally, a ticket from Saturday’s women’s basketball game between Wyoming and Air Force, at 2 p.m. in the AA, will gain free admittance to that day’s wrestling duals.
“We have a great opportunity to be hosting three outstanding teams in one weekend,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “It will be a great showcase of wrestling for our fans. Oklahoma State brings in the richest tradition in college wrestling and Northern Iowa and Utah Valley are two of the toughest teams in our conference. These duals will weigh heavily on our season and our preparations for the NCAA tournament and we are ecstatic to be able to host them in Wyoming.”
For the three upcoming duals, all tickets are general admission.
All orders online for the OSU dual are subject to a $1.00 per ticket fee and a $3.00 per order fee. Phone orders are subject to a $3.00 per order fee and there is no per ticket fee for phone orders. There are no fees for anything ordered in-person at the ticket office window or on the day of the event. OSU dual tickets ordered prior to Sunday, Jan. 24 can be mailed out, then after that, all tickets will be held at will call.
Regarding the 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Omaha, Neb., for the first time in many years a block of seats will be available for Cowboy fans. The Division I National Championships will be held March 18-20, at the Qwest Center.
Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets through the UW Athletics Ticket Office to ensure that all Wyoming fans will be seated in the same section. The three-day, six-session ticket costs $160 and UW’s allotted seats are in sections 206 and 207.
Exact seat locations at the Qwest Center will be allocated February 24, and will first be based off of the purchaser’s Cowboy Joe Club priority point rank, then off of their Cowboy Wrestling Club donation level.
“Last year, we had a good number of Wyoming fans at the NCAA Tournament, but they all obtained tickets through various sources and were spread out,” Branch said. “From now on, we need to make sure that our fan base is united at the national championships. Our Cowboy wrestlers need to know that our fans are together supporting our team and that they have a physical presence in the stands.”
WWC has 19 wrestlers ranked nationally
The Western Wrestling Conference has had 19 wrestlers named in the first of three coaches' panel rankings for the 2009-10 wrestling season. Highlighting the weight classes for the fourth-year league were five wrestlers at 125 pounds and four at 141 pounds.
The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Four Cowboys are ranked, led by Joe LeBlanc, who is tied for seventh at 184 pounds; Shane Onufer, 10th at 165, Michael Martinez, 11th at 125 and Cory VomBaur, 20th at 133.
Last season, the NCAA West Regional Tournament, at which all WWC institutions currently qualify for nationals, was awarded 13 automatic qualifiers. The WWC was also given one additional wild-card bid for a total of 14 spots.
This year’s NCAA West Regional Tournament will take place March 6 in Brookings, S.D. and is hosted by South Dakota State University.
Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn spots for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.
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.
Following is a list of the highest-ranked wrestler in each weight class in the WWC. A list of complete rankings is attached…
125 pounds – No. 11 Michael Martinez (Wyoming)
133 pounds – No. 20 Cory VomBaur (Wyoming)
141 pounds – No. 18 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)
149 pounds – No. 19 Brett Robbins (Northern Iowa)
157 pounds – No. 19 Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado)
165 pounds – No. 10 Shane Onufer (Wyoming)
174 pounds – No. 29 Jarion Beets (Northern Iowa)
184 pounds – T No. 7 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
197 pounds – No. 28 Tyler Sorenson (South Dakota State)
HWT (285 pounds) – No. 29 Christian Brantley (Northern Iowa)
The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Four Cowboys are ranked, led by Joe LeBlanc, who is tied for seventh at 184 pounds; Shane Onufer, 10th at 165, Michael Martinez, 11th at 125 and Cory VomBaur, 20th at 133.
Last season, the NCAA West Regional Tournament, at which all WWC institutions currently qualify for nationals, was awarded 13 automatic qualifiers. The WWC was also given one additional wild-card bid for a total of 14 spots.
This year’s NCAA West Regional Tournament will take place March 6 in Brookings, S.D. and is hosted by South Dakota State University.
Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches' rankings to earn spots for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.
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.
Following is a list of the highest-ranked wrestler in each weight class in the WWC. A list of complete rankings is attached…
125 pounds – No. 11 Michael Martinez (Wyoming)
133 pounds – No. 20 Cory VomBaur (Wyoming)
141 pounds – No. 18 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)
149 pounds – No. 19 Brett Robbins (Northern Iowa)
157 pounds – No. 19 Justin Gaethje (Northern Colorado)
165 pounds – No. 10 Shane Onufer (Wyoming)
174 pounds – No. 29 Jarion Beets (Northern Iowa)
184 pounds – T No. 7 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
197 pounds – No. 28 Tyler Sorenson (South Dakota State)
HWT (285 pounds) – No. 29 Christian Brantley (Northern Iowa)
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Cowboy wrestling thumps No. 25 Nebraska
UW freshman Jimmy BellevilleLINCOLN, Neb. – The University of Wyoming wrestling team took the fight to the home team and beat the No. 25-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers 29-10 on Sunday.
Wyoming won the first five matches competed, in addition to receiving a forfeit, en route to a 26-0 lead that it would never relenquish.
No. 9-ranked Shane Onufer at 165 pounds, No. 11-ranked Michael Martinez (125) and true freshman Jimmy Belleville (157) each contributed bonus-point wins to the team score, fueling UW’s big early lead. On the day, the ‘Pokes also got victories from senior Cory VomBaur (133), sophomore Chase Smith (141) and All-American Joe LeBlanc (184).
With the win at NU’s Coliseum, Wyoming improves their dual mark to 6-2 overall while Nebraska falls to 8-6.
“As a team, I am pleased with how we competed today and this is a big win for our program,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “This was a tough environment to wrestle in, they have great fans, and Nebraska is a tradition-rich program that I am very familiar with. So for us to come out and give the effort we did was really good to see. Our guys worked hard and in general, performed well.
“The little things are becoming very important at this time in the season and we did some little things well today. Now we have to move on to the next little thing and focus on it. If we do that we will continue to improve.”
Martinez started things off at 125 pounds for the Cowboys with a 12-3 major decision over David Klingsheim. Martinez would get a takedown late in the first period and then control the match from that point on. Another takedown at 6:36 in the third period sealed the bonus-point win for the UW sophomore. He now has a 22-5 overall record.
At 133 pounds, VomBaur then pulled off a low-scoring decision over C.J. Napier, 3-2. Down by one point, he scored a takedown with ten seconds remaining in the match and gave UW a 7-0 team lead.
Chase Smith survived two takedowns at 141 pounds, then produced one of his own in the third period, but a three-point nearfall at 4:00 in the second period by Smith would prove to be the decisive point in his 8-5 decision over Mike Koehnlein.
Wyoming’s Cole Dallaserra then received a win by default at 149 pounds taking Wyoming’s team lead to 16-0. Belleville brought the UW bench to its feet at 5:57 in the third period with a win by fall over Tyler Koehn at the 157-pound weight class. He nearly pinned Koehn in the first period and held a 10-2 lead, with riding time, at the time of the fall. It was the first dual win of Belleville’s young career.
In a physically dominant effort at 165 pounds, Onufer used five takedowns on his way to a 13-2 major decision over James Nakashima. He gave the ‘Pokes an insurmountable 26-0 team lead, sealing the dual win. Onufer now has an 18-4 overall record.
Nebraska finally got on the board at 174 pounds when Brock Smith suffered an 8-4 loss to No. 3-ranked, All-American Stephen Dwyer.
LeBlanc had his hands full at 184 pounds with Josh Ihnen, using a valuable riding time point to pull out a 5-4 decision. He leads the team with a 26-3 overall record, 8-0 in duals.
At the 197-pound weight class, Alfonso Hernandez faced No. 2-ranked, two-time All-American Craig Brester, and lost by major decision 12-1.
Finally, in the heavyweight bout, L.J. Helbig wrestled up in weight versus No. 13 Tucker Lane and lost 7-1.
“Even in the matches we lost, I was proud of our efforts,” Branch said. “On the flip side of that, I was also disappointed with our efforts in some matches we won. These are all learning experiences and we need to keep trying to get better each time out.”
The Cowboys will now prep for a big weekend on Jan. 29-30 when they host No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State on Friday, and then on Saturday will wrestle Western Wrestling Conference foes Utah Valley and Northern Iowa in Laramie.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Cowboys roll past UNC
The University of Wyoming wrestling team started the Western Wrestling Conference dual season with a bang on Friday night, soundly defeated the Northern Colorado Bears 33-6 at the UniWyo Sports Complex.
The ‘Pokes won seven of nine bouts that were wrestled and did not give up an offensive point to their league opponent until the seventh match of the evening. UW had three bonus-point victories to begin the dual and then won by forfeit at 197 pounds, giving themselves a huge cushion they would never relinquish.
With the win, Wyoming improves their dual mark to 5-2 overall, 1-0 in the WWC, while Northern Colorado falls to 1-9 and 0-1.
“We knew that the lower weights would be tougher matches tonight, so that is why we started out at 165 pounds,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “That was a good weight for us to start at and our upper weight classes really gave us some momentum for the remainder of the dual.
“We trained hard this last week and I did not expect us to be at our best physically tonight, but I did expect us to be on top of our game mentally. I saw some good things and now we just need to go back, clean a few things up and fix the little stuff. We need to continue to chain wrestle and put multiple moves together.”
There were multiple story-lines for the Cowboys against the Bears, including a technical fall win by No. 9-ranked Shane Onufer to kick-off the dual at 165, a major decision by Brock Smith at 174 pounds, a fall from No. 6-ranked All-American Joe LeBlanc at 184, a gritty decision by Alfonso Hernandez at heavyweight, a three-overtime decision by No. 11 Michael Martinez in the 125-pound weight class, as well as shut-out wins by Cory VomBaur (133) and Cole Dallaserra (149).
Wyoming was off and running after reigning WWC Wrestler of the Week Onufer racked up seven takedowns in his 19-4 technical fall win over Kevin O’Brien at 165 pounds. He now owns an overall record of 17-4, with 11 bonus-point wins.
Brock Smith kept lighting up UW’s side of the scoreboard in the 174-pound bout with an aggressive 14-2 major decision over Patrick Prentice. Smith has a 3-1 dual record for the ‘Pokes and an overall mark of 16-8.
Sophomore sensation LeBlanc did not disappoint the home crowd at the 184-pound level, as he pinned Eric Brennan at 5:33. At the time of the fall, LeBlanc led 12-2 and had over four minutes in riding time. The win was No. 70 of his young, two-year career. He now has an overall record this season of 25-3, 7-0 in duals. It was LeBlanc’s eighth pin of the season, the 15th of his career. Of his 25 wins this year, 20 have come by bonus-point margin.
Redshirt freshman L.J. Helbig received a forfeit from UNC at 197 pounds, which gave UW a 21-0 team lead.
Wrestling up in weight to fill UW’s void at heavyweight, Hernandez then gave a valiant effort to beat the much larger Justin Tuell of Northern Colorado by a score of 3-2. He was the aggressor all match and his approach finally paid off in the third period when Tuell was twice penalized points for locking his hands in an effort to keep Hernandez from escaping.
The lightweight bout was a rematch of last season’s West Regional finals match-up between Martinez and the Bears’ Tony Mustari. A riding-time point by Mustari sent the match into extra time, but an escape and subsequent takedown by Martinez in the second overtime, followed by Martinez staying on top for the entire third OT, sealed the match 6-3 in UW’s favor. It was the UW sophomore’s first match back in action since December, after some academic issues kept him out of the last two duals. Martinez now has an overall record of 21-5.
“Win or lose, Michael (Martinez) is going to come out and battle,” Branch said. “He was not happy with his match, but he did keep after it and got a good win. It was good to have him back.”
At 133 pounds, VomBaur tilted a low-scoring affair in his favor by riding Casey Cruz for the entire second period, then gaining three points in the last period via escape, penalty and riding time. The 3-0 win by the UW senior avenged a loss to Cruz earlier this season at the Cowboy Open.
UW’s Chase Smith could not do much with No. 20-ranked Kenny Hashimoto of UNC at 141 pounds and lost 9-2. However, Dallaserra followed with a 5-0 blanking of Justin Gonzalez at 149 pounds to get his team an additional three points. Dallaserra is now 15-8 this season, 4-2 in duals.
The last match of the evening saw UW freshman Jimmy Belleville shrug off his redshirt season at 157 pounds and give Justin Gaethje all he could handle in a close 6-4 loss. It was Belleville’s first varsity action for the ‘Pokes, but after competing the previous portion of the season unattached he does have an impressive 23-4 overall record.
UW will now immediately head out on the road, traveling east on I-80 to face the No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The ‘Pokes won seven of nine bouts that were wrestled and did not give up an offensive point to their league opponent until the seventh match of the evening. UW had three bonus-point victories to begin the dual and then won by forfeit at 197 pounds, giving themselves a huge cushion they would never relinquish.
With the win, Wyoming improves their dual mark to 5-2 overall, 1-0 in the WWC, while Northern Colorado falls to 1-9 and 0-1.
“We knew that the lower weights would be tougher matches tonight, so that is why we started out at 165 pounds,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “That was a good weight for us to start at and our upper weight classes really gave us some momentum for the remainder of the dual.
“We trained hard this last week and I did not expect us to be at our best physically tonight, but I did expect us to be on top of our game mentally. I saw some good things and now we just need to go back, clean a few things up and fix the little stuff. We need to continue to chain wrestle and put multiple moves together.”
There were multiple story-lines for the Cowboys against the Bears, including a technical fall win by No. 9-ranked Shane Onufer to kick-off the dual at 165, a major decision by Brock Smith at 174 pounds, a fall from No. 6-ranked All-American Joe LeBlanc at 184, a gritty decision by Alfonso Hernandez at heavyweight, a three-overtime decision by No. 11 Michael Martinez in the 125-pound weight class, as well as shut-out wins by Cory VomBaur (133) and Cole Dallaserra (149).
Wyoming was off and running after reigning WWC Wrestler of the Week Onufer racked up seven takedowns in his 19-4 technical fall win over Kevin O’Brien at 165 pounds. He now owns an overall record of 17-4, with 11 bonus-point wins.
Brock Smith kept lighting up UW’s side of the scoreboard in the 174-pound bout with an aggressive 14-2 major decision over Patrick Prentice. Smith has a 3-1 dual record for the ‘Pokes and an overall mark of 16-8.
Sophomore sensation LeBlanc did not disappoint the home crowd at the 184-pound level, as he pinned Eric Brennan at 5:33. At the time of the fall, LeBlanc led 12-2 and had over four minutes in riding time. The win was No. 70 of his young, two-year career. He now has an overall record this season of 25-3, 7-0 in duals. It was LeBlanc’s eighth pin of the season, the 15th of his career. Of his 25 wins this year, 20 have come by bonus-point margin.
Redshirt freshman L.J. Helbig received a forfeit from UNC at 197 pounds, which gave UW a 21-0 team lead.
Wrestling up in weight to fill UW’s void at heavyweight, Hernandez then gave a valiant effort to beat the much larger Justin Tuell of Northern Colorado by a score of 3-2. He was the aggressor all match and his approach finally paid off in the third period when Tuell was twice penalized points for locking his hands in an effort to keep Hernandez from escaping.
The lightweight bout was a rematch of last season’s West Regional finals match-up between Martinez and the Bears’ Tony Mustari. A riding-time point by Mustari sent the match into extra time, but an escape and subsequent takedown by Martinez in the second overtime, followed by Martinez staying on top for the entire third OT, sealed the match 6-3 in UW’s favor. It was the UW sophomore’s first match back in action since December, after some academic issues kept him out of the last two duals. Martinez now has an overall record of 21-5.
“Win or lose, Michael (Martinez) is going to come out and battle,” Branch said. “He was not happy with his match, but he did keep after it and got a good win. It was good to have him back.”
At 133 pounds, VomBaur tilted a low-scoring affair in his favor by riding Casey Cruz for the entire second period, then gaining three points in the last period via escape, penalty and riding time. The 3-0 win by the UW senior avenged a loss to Cruz earlier this season at the Cowboy Open.
UW’s Chase Smith could not do much with No. 20-ranked Kenny Hashimoto of UNC at 141 pounds and lost 9-2. However, Dallaserra followed with a 5-0 blanking of Justin Gonzalez at 149 pounds to get his team an additional three points. Dallaserra is now 15-8 this season, 4-2 in duals.
The last match of the evening saw UW freshman Jimmy Belleville shrug off his redshirt season at 157 pounds and give Justin Gaethje all he could handle in a close 6-4 loss. It was Belleville’s first varsity action for the ‘Pokes, but after competing the previous portion of the season unattached he does have an impressive 23-4 overall record.
UW will now immediately head out on the road, traveling east on I-80 to face the No. 25 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Cowgirl swimmers stop UNLV
LAS VEGAS -- The Wyoming cowgirls swim team remained unbeaten with an impressive 196.5-102.5 win over UNLV Friday night. The Pokes came in as huge underdog’s and took UNLV down to the wire, but came up short with a 154.5-139.5 loss.
The Cowgirl victory advances their unblemished record to 10-0 overall and 3-0 in the MWC. The Cowboys are now 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the league. For UNLV, the men advance their overall mark to 5-1 and 3-0 in the conference, while the women drop to 1-7 and 1-4 in the MWC.
"All in all, it was a great meet for us and we swam well," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "The women came out and won the first race and never looked back. The men’s meet was nip and tuck the whole way and made it very close at the end."
The Cowgirls won 14 of 15 events, including two Cowgirls winning multiple events and three divers earning NCAA Zone "E" qualifying scores.
In the pool, the Cowgirls were led by junior Stephanie Vint and freshman Paige Fischer. Vint won three individual events and anchored the 400 freestyle relay that placed fourth. Vint’s victories came in both the 100 (57.82 seconds) and 200 (2:05.46) butterflies, along with the 400 IM (4:24.31). Fischer took over the distance events for the Cowgirls winning both the 1000 freestyle (10:21.62) and 500 freestyle (5:03.26).
Other individual winners for UW were Kelsey Conci in the 100 backstroke (57.45), Lesley Young in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.50), Cassie Stelow in the 50 freestyle (23.35), Shelby Bull in the 100 freestyle (51.73) and Lauren Hewson in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.91). The Cowgirls also won the 200 medley relay in 1:45.56, and 400 freestyle relay in 3:27.47.
The Cowgirl divers swept both the one-meter and three-meter springboards. Emily Huth earned a Zone qualifying score by placing first on one-meter with a score of 285.53 points. Stephanie Ortiz and Allie Smith were second and third respectively and also earned Zone marks. On three-meter, Smith led the way in first with another Zone score of 285.38. Huth and Ortiz finished in second and third.
"The divers dominated today with the Zone scores. They have been great all week," Johnson said. "Vint won three events and swam really well. Paige (Fischer) continued her impressive times in the 1000 freestyle and remains unbeaten in that event this year. Stelow and Bull had tremendous swims as well. We were deep today and had a great team effort."
The Pokes took the defending conference champions to the last race before the winner was decided. Individually, sophomore Brandon Fischer led the charge by winning three events of his own. Fischer won both the 100 (56.67) and 200 (2:03.39) breaststrokes, as well as the 400 IM (4:04.91).
Other individual winners today include Marshall Dilworth in the 100 backstroke (50.52) and Nathan Fuller in the 200 backstroke (1:51.69). On the diving boards, the Cowboys also swept both their boards. On one-meter Mark Murdock led the way with a Zone qualifying score of 320.85 and finished first. Teammate Kyle Bogner was second and also qualified for Zones with 318.83. The two Cowboy divers then switched placed on three-meter. Bogner was first with 341.25, while Murdock was second with 291.53. Bogner’s three-meter score is also a Zone qualifying score.
"We had another relay DQ’ed today that could have cost us the meet. That is something we definitely need to get better at. The divers were tremendous with their Zone scores today," Johnson said. "Guys like Fischer, Dilworth, Fuller, and Henehan were studs today. We just need to find a way to win a few more events."
The Wyoming teams return home for a pair of meets next week, hosting Utah Friday at 5 p.m. and BYU Saturday at noon.
Indoor sprinters compete at Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The University of Wyoming track and field team had seven sprinters compete in the Air Force All-Comers meet on Friday.
The Cowboys had four compete in the 60-meter hurdles and all ran very well. They were led by freshman Brandon Douglass with a second-place finish and time of 8.41 seconds, which was a personal best and time that was good for seventh all-time in UW history. Douglas was followed by senior Kekoa Chavez with his fifth place finish and personal best time of 8.63.
The Cowgirls had three athletes compete in the 60-meter hurdles and were led by senior Jennifer Schmitz and freshman Katy Hall. Schmitz ran a 8.89, good for third place while Hall ran a personal best 8.93, good for fourth place and a time that ranks eighth all-time in Cowgirl history.
“I was very happy with the way that we ran today,” said UW head coach Don Yentes. “We are farther along than I thought we would be at this point after having six weeks between meets, and it was a great for some of our sprinters to run against some competition, instead of just practicing.”
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will compete as a team Friday in the Potts Invite in Boulder, Colo.
The Cowgirl victory advances their unblemished record to 10-0 overall and 3-0 in the MWC. The Cowboys are now 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the league. For UNLV, the men advance their overall mark to 5-1 and 3-0 in the conference, while the women drop to 1-7 and 1-4 in the MWC.
"All in all, it was a great meet for us and we swam well," said UW head coach Tom Johnson. "The women came out and won the first race and never looked back. The men’s meet was nip and tuck the whole way and made it very close at the end."
The Cowgirls won 14 of 15 events, including two Cowgirls winning multiple events and three divers earning NCAA Zone "E" qualifying scores.
In the pool, the Cowgirls were led by junior Stephanie Vint and freshman Paige Fischer. Vint won three individual events and anchored the 400 freestyle relay that placed fourth. Vint’s victories came in both the 100 (57.82 seconds) and 200 (2:05.46) butterflies, along with the 400 IM (4:24.31). Fischer took over the distance events for the Cowgirls winning both the 1000 freestyle (10:21.62) and 500 freestyle (5:03.26).
Other individual winners for UW were Kelsey Conci in the 100 backstroke (57.45), Lesley Young in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.50), Cassie Stelow in the 50 freestyle (23.35), Shelby Bull in the 100 freestyle (51.73) and Lauren Hewson in the 200 breaststroke (2:20.91). The Cowgirls also won the 200 medley relay in 1:45.56, and 400 freestyle relay in 3:27.47.
The Cowgirl divers swept both the one-meter and three-meter springboards. Emily Huth earned a Zone qualifying score by placing first on one-meter with a score of 285.53 points. Stephanie Ortiz and Allie Smith were second and third respectively and also earned Zone marks. On three-meter, Smith led the way in first with another Zone score of 285.38. Huth and Ortiz finished in second and third.
"The divers dominated today with the Zone scores. They have been great all week," Johnson said. "Vint won three events and swam really well. Paige (Fischer) continued her impressive times in the 1000 freestyle and remains unbeaten in that event this year. Stelow and Bull had tremendous swims as well. We were deep today and had a great team effort."
The Pokes took the defending conference champions to the last race before the winner was decided. Individually, sophomore Brandon Fischer led the charge by winning three events of his own. Fischer won both the 100 (56.67) and 200 (2:03.39) breaststrokes, as well as the 400 IM (4:04.91).
Other individual winners today include Marshall Dilworth in the 100 backstroke (50.52) and Nathan Fuller in the 200 backstroke (1:51.69). On the diving boards, the Cowboys also swept both their boards. On one-meter Mark Murdock led the way with a Zone qualifying score of 320.85 and finished first. Teammate Kyle Bogner was second and also qualified for Zones with 318.83. The two Cowboy divers then switched placed on three-meter. Bogner was first with 341.25, while Murdock was second with 291.53. Bogner’s three-meter score is also a Zone qualifying score.
"We had another relay DQ’ed today that could have cost us the meet. That is something we definitely need to get better at. The divers were tremendous with their Zone scores today," Johnson said. "Guys like Fischer, Dilworth, Fuller, and Henehan were studs today. We just need to find a way to win a few more events."
The Wyoming teams return home for a pair of meets next week, hosting Utah Friday at 5 p.m. and BYU Saturday at noon.
Indoor sprinters compete at Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The University of Wyoming track and field team had seven sprinters compete in the Air Force All-Comers meet on Friday.
The Cowboys had four compete in the 60-meter hurdles and all ran very well. They were led by freshman Brandon Douglass with a second-place finish and time of 8.41 seconds, which was a personal best and time that was good for seventh all-time in UW history. Douglas was followed by senior Kekoa Chavez with his fifth place finish and personal best time of 8.63.
The Cowgirls had three athletes compete in the 60-meter hurdles and were led by senior Jennifer Schmitz and freshman Katy Hall. Schmitz ran a 8.89, good for third place while Hall ran a personal best 8.93, good for fourth place and a time that ranks eighth all-time in Cowgirl history.
“I was very happy with the way that we ran today,” said UW head coach Don Yentes. “We are farther along than I thought we would be at this point after having six weeks between meets, and it was a great for some of our sprinters to run against some competition, instead of just practicing.”
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will compete as a team Friday in the Potts Invite in Boulder, Colo.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Cowgirl swimmers remain unbeaten
DENVER -- The Wyoming women's swim team remained unbeaten with a 178-122 win over Denver on Tuesday. The Cowboys weren't as fortunate, falling to DU 154-146.
With the win, the Cowgirls are now 9-0 on the season in duals, while the Cowboys fell to 5-2 with the loss.
The Wyoming divers kicked off the meet with the women on the three-meter board and the men on the one-meter board. The Cowgirls were led by Allie Smith, who won with a final score of 279.60 points. Stephanie Ortiz, Tiffany Izatt and Emily Huth placed second through fourth respectively. For the Pokes one-meter, Mark Murdock was second (335.70) and Kyle Bogner was third (322.43).
Later in the meet the divers returned to the boards with the women on one-meter and the men on three-meter. The Cowgirls this time were led by Ortiz in first with a final score of 311.47, while Huth was second with a total of 268.20. The Pokes went second and third with Murdock at 356.17 and Bogner at 354.82 on three-meter.
"The Cowgirl divers were solid as usual, which they have been all year," said head coach Tom Johnson. "The men dove well but were up against a tough DU diver, Cody Stambaugh, and we competed well against him."
In the pool, the Cowgirls started the night off by winning the 200 medley relay with Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Shelby Bull, and Cassie Stelow. Freshman Paige Fischer came in first in the 1000 freestyle in 10 minutes, 31.93 seconds to give the Cowgirls their first individual win of the night.
The Cowgirls continued their winning ways by winning a total of 13 events. The Cowgirls had three races that ended with first and second place finishes. In the 50 freestyle, the Cowgirls won with Conci in first and Stelow close behind in second. Other one-two finishes were in 100 freestyle with Bull and Stelow, and 500 freestyle with Fischer and Stephanie Vint.
Other individual winners include Vint in both the 200 freestyle (1:53.16) and 200 IM (2:07.68), Conci in the 100 backstroke (56.70), Lesley Young in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.16) and Lauren Hewson in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.45). The Cowgirls ended the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay with Bull, Caroline Wells, Conci and Stelow.
"The women were unbelievable. Vint was a hammer, winning multiple events and participating in the relays," said Johnson. "Cassie Stelow was a little disappointed with her 50 freestyle but came back with Shelby Bull and they both swam season bests in the 100 freestyle, which is good to see."
For The Cowboys won seven events and the first win of the night came from captain Brett Henehan, who captured the 200 freestyle in 1:42.73. Marshall Dilworth followed with his own first place finish in the 100 backstroke in 51.62. In the 100 freestyle, captain Tommy Gregory and Christian Johnson went first and second to give Wyoming much needed points. In the 200 breaststroke, the Pokes also went first and second with Brandon Fischer and Kendrick Bachman.
"The 200 medley relay that we were disqualified in to start the day really hurt us," said Johnson. "It cost us the meet at the end, but we still had stellar performance from Brett Henehan, Brandon Fischer and Kendrick Bachman."
Other event winners for the Cowboys included Fischer in the 100 breaststroke (56.93), Gregory in the 50 freestyle (21.27) and Nathan Fuller in an exciting 200 backstroke (1:52.56).
Wyoming returns to the pool on Friday against conference foe at UNLV, beginning at 1 p.m.
With the win, the Cowgirls are now 9-0 on the season in duals, while the Cowboys fell to 5-2 with the loss.
The Wyoming divers kicked off the meet with the women on the three-meter board and the men on the one-meter board. The Cowgirls were led by Allie Smith, who won with a final score of 279.60 points. Stephanie Ortiz, Tiffany Izatt and Emily Huth placed second through fourth respectively. For the Pokes one-meter, Mark Murdock was second (335.70) and Kyle Bogner was third (322.43).
Later in the meet the divers returned to the boards with the women on one-meter and the men on three-meter. The Cowgirls this time were led by Ortiz in first with a final score of 311.47, while Huth was second with a total of 268.20. The Pokes went second and third with Murdock at 356.17 and Bogner at 354.82 on three-meter.
"The Cowgirl divers were solid as usual, which they have been all year," said head coach Tom Johnson. "The men dove well but were up against a tough DU diver, Cody Stambaugh, and we competed well against him."
In the pool, the Cowgirls started the night off by winning the 200 medley relay with Kelsey Conci, Lesley Young, Shelby Bull, and Cassie Stelow. Freshman Paige Fischer came in first in the 1000 freestyle in 10 minutes, 31.93 seconds to give the Cowgirls their first individual win of the night.
The Cowgirls continued their winning ways by winning a total of 13 events. The Cowgirls had three races that ended with first and second place finishes. In the 50 freestyle, the Cowgirls won with Conci in first and Stelow close behind in second. Other one-two finishes were in 100 freestyle with Bull and Stelow, and 500 freestyle with Fischer and Stephanie Vint.
Other individual winners include Vint in both the 200 freestyle (1:53.16) and 200 IM (2:07.68), Conci in the 100 backstroke (56.70), Lesley Young in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.16) and Lauren Hewson in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.45). The Cowgirls ended the meet with a victory in the 400 freestyle relay with Bull, Caroline Wells, Conci and Stelow.
"The women were unbelievable. Vint was a hammer, winning multiple events and participating in the relays," said Johnson. "Cassie Stelow was a little disappointed with her 50 freestyle but came back with Shelby Bull and they both swam season bests in the 100 freestyle, which is good to see."
For The Cowboys won seven events and the first win of the night came from captain Brett Henehan, who captured the 200 freestyle in 1:42.73. Marshall Dilworth followed with his own first place finish in the 100 backstroke in 51.62. In the 100 freestyle, captain Tommy Gregory and Christian Johnson went first and second to give Wyoming much needed points. In the 200 breaststroke, the Pokes also went first and second with Brandon Fischer and Kendrick Bachman.
"The 200 medley relay that we were disqualified in to start the day really hurt us," said Johnson. "It cost us the meet at the end, but we still had stellar performance from Brett Henehan, Brandon Fischer and Kendrick Bachman."
Other event winners for the Cowboys included Fischer in the 100 breaststroke (56.93), Gregory in the 50 freestyle (21.27) and Nathan Fuller in an exciting 200 backstroke (1:52.56).
Wyoming returns to the pool on Friday against conference foe at UNLV, beginning at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Cowboys rally to beat N.C. State
Redshirt freshman Lee Helbig
UW-NCS statistics
by UW Media Relations
The University of Wyoming wrestling team took its home fans on an emotional roller coaster on Tuesday night in the UniWyo Sports Complex against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Short-handed and with a shuffled lineup, UW fell behind 15-4 after five weight classes, only to rally and win the remaining five bouts, earning a 26-15 team victory.
Wyoming improves to 4-1 in dual matches this season, while North Carolina State drops to 2-5. The Cowboys are now 3-0 all-time versus the Wolfpack.
Getting wins for the ‘Pokes in their first home dual since Nov. 13 were senior Cory VomBaur at 133 pounds, sophomores Shane Onufer (165), Brock Smith (174), Joe LeBlanc (184) and Alfonso Hernandez (197), as well as the unlikely hero, redshirt freshman Lee Helbig at heavyweight.
“The overall theme tonight was that we needed our guys to step up and fill some vacancies,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “Some guys stepped up and some didn’t. The later needs to, and will be addressed, but hats off to our upper weights. They really pulled through and made the end of that dual about as exciting as it could be. They put a good product out there and hopefully that is what our fans want to see.”
The Cowboy team was not in a good position to begin the match since they were missing two starters from this past fall. Junior heavyweight Matthew McLaughlin has been declared academically ineligible for the remainder of the season and No. 10-ranked lightweight Michael Martinez was relegated to the bench pending a decision on his own academic issues.
As a result, the ‘Pokes had to forfeit the 125-pound weight class and immediately were down 6-0.
No. 22-ranked VomBaur got the Cowboys their only win in the lower weights at 133 pounds with an 8-0 major decision over Scott Norris. VomBaur fended off Norris early and then took control of the match with a takedown at 2:08, never looking back on his way to a bonus-point win.
UW was now down 6-4, but things would only get worse over the next three matches. Sophomore Chase Smith and junior Cole Dallaserra each lost one-point decisions at 141 and 149 pounds respectively, while sophomore Mikah Kadera also dropped a decision at 157 pounds, by a score of 8-4. Wyoming was now behind by 11 points, 15-4.
The Wolfpack would not score another team point, as the Cowboys’ upper weights then took the reins and guided their squad to a victory by winning five consecutive bouts.
In his first action in a month due to a knee injury, No. 9-ranked Onufer set the tone for a comeback by sticking Ray Ward to the mat at 4:35 in the second period of their 165-pound match. The win by fall was his fifth this season and 19th of his two-year career. Onufer dominated the match from the start and led 9-2 at the time of his pin, thanks to three takedowns, a two-point nearfall and an escape. He now has a season record of 15-4.
Brock Smith then followed suit at 174 pounds by shutting out Quinton Godley, 5-0. Smith is 15-7 this season, 2-0 in duals for the Cowboys.
All-American and No. 7-ranked LeBlanc took all of two minutes and 28 seconds to pin Jonathan Becker at 184 pounds, continuing his amazing run of bonus-point victories this year. He now has a season record of 23-3, with 18 of those wins by either fall, technical fall or major decision. The fall against the Wolfpack was LeBlanc’s seventh this season and 14th of his career. His win gave UW the lead for good at 19-15.
Hernandez then put the match out of reach for his team with an impressive 13-4 major decision at 197 pounds over Andrew Tumlin. He led 4-1 heading into the third period before gassing his opponent with four takedowns in the final two minutes.
Helbig’s match at heavyweight then ended the evening on an emotional high note. Wrestling up in weight in his first career dual for the Brown and Gold, the UW 197-pounder took the fight to his much larger opponent, Eloheim Palma, never giving the N.C. State big man a chance to rest. Helbig won 6-0 in dominating fashion, with takedowns in the first and third periods, an escape point and a riding time point. In fact, Helbig had 3:20 in riding time as he had control from beginning to end. He is now 14-8 this season.
“I can’t say enough about L.J. (Helbig),” Branch said “He won tonight because from the moment he stepped onto that mat he thought he could beat their guy. It’s exciting to see a guy who is put into that kind of situation really step up and perform. With adversity the best will come out of you and our entire team can learn from that kind of effort.”
Wyoming will now take a quick road trip to Corvallis, Ore., to face the No. 24-ranked Oregon State Beavers on Thursday at 8 p.m.
UW-NCS statistics
by UW Media Relations
The University of Wyoming wrestling team took its home fans on an emotional roller coaster on Tuesday night in the UniWyo Sports Complex against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Short-handed and with a shuffled lineup, UW fell behind 15-4 after five weight classes, only to rally and win the remaining five bouts, earning a 26-15 team victory.
Wyoming improves to 4-1 in dual matches this season, while North Carolina State drops to 2-5. The Cowboys are now 3-0 all-time versus the Wolfpack.
Getting wins for the ‘Pokes in their first home dual since Nov. 13 were senior Cory VomBaur at 133 pounds, sophomores Shane Onufer (165), Brock Smith (174), Joe LeBlanc (184) and Alfonso Hernandez (197), as well as the unlikely hero, redshirt freshman Lee Helbig at heavyweight.
“The overall theme tonight was that we needed our guys to step up and fill some vacancies,” UW head coach Mark Branch said. “Some guys stepped up and some didn’t. The later needs to, and will be addressed, but hats off to our upper weights. They really pulled through and made the end of that dual about as exciting as it could be. They put a good product out there and hopefully that is what our fans want to see.”
The Cowboy team was not in a good position to begin the match since they were missing two starters from this past fall. Junior heavyweight Matthew McLaughlin has been declared academically ineligible for the remainder of the season and No. 10-ranked lightweight Michael Martinez was relegated to the bench pending a decision on his own academic issues.
As a result, the ‘Pokes had to forfeit the 125-pound weight class and immediately were down 6-0.
No. 22-ranked VomBaur got the Cowboys their only win in the lower weights at 133 pounds with an 8-0 major decision over Scott Norris. VomBaur fended off Norris early and then took control of the match with a takedown at 2:08, never looking back on his way to a bonus-point win.
UW was now down 6-4, but things would only get worse over the next three matches. Sophomore Chase Smith and junior Cole Dallaserra each lost one-point decisions at 141 and 149 pounds respectively, while sophomore Mikah Kadera also dropped a decision at 157 pounds, by a score of 8-4. Wyoming was now behind by 11 points, 15-4.
The Wolfpack would not score another team point, as the Cowboys’ upper weights then took the reins and guided their squad to a victory by winning five consecutive bouts.
In his first action in a month due to a knee injury, No. 9-ranked Onufer set the tone for a comeback by sticking Ray Ward to the mat at 4:35 in the second period of their 165-pound match. The win by fall was his fifth this season and 19th of his two-year career. Onufer dominated the match from the start and led 9-2 at the time of his pin, thanks to three takedowns, a two-point nearfall and an escape. He now has a season record of 15-4.
Brock Smith then followed suit at 174 pounds by shutting out Quinton Godley, 5-0. Smith is 15-7 this season, 2-0 in duals for the Cowboys.
All-American and No. 7-ranked LeBlanc took all of two minutes and 28 seconds to pin Jonathan Becker at 184 pounds, continuing his amazing run of bonus-point victories this year. He now has a season record of 23-3, with 18 of those wins by either fall, technical fall or major decision. The fall against the Wolfpack was LeBlanc’s seventh this season and 14th of his career. His win gave UW the lead for good at 19-15.
Hernandez then put the match out of reach for his team with an impressive 13-4 major decision at 197 pounds over Andrew Tumlin. He led 4-1 heading into the third period before gassing his opponent with four takedowns in the final two minutes.
Helbig’s match at heavyweight then ended the evening on an emotional high note. Wrestling up in weight in his first career dual for the Brown and Gold, the UW 197-pounder took the fight to his much larger opponent, Eloheim Palma, never giving the N.C. State big man a chance to rest. Helbig won 6-0 in dominating fashion, with takedowns in the first and third periods, an escape point and a riding time point. In fact, Helbig had 3:20 in riding time as he had control from beginning to end. He is now 14-8 this season.
“I can’t say enough about L.J. (Helbig),” Branch said “He won tonight because from the moment he stepped onto that mat he thought he could beat their guy. It’s exciting to see a guy who is put into that kind of situation really step up and perform. With adversity the best will come out of you and our entire team can learn from that kind of effort.”
Wyoming will now take a quick road trip to Corvallis, Ore., to face the No. 24-ranked Oregon State Beavers on Thursday at 8 p.m.
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