Jan. 27, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
OREM, Utah - Utah Valley University's wrestling team will begin its Western Wrestling Conference schedule this week as the Wolverines (5-1) travel to Colorado and Wyoming to take on Air Force, Wyoming, and Northern Iowa. UVU will first be at the Air Force Falcons (4-6) in Colorado Springs Thursday night at 7 p.m., following that dual the Wolverines will travel up to Laramie, Wyo., on Saturday to compete against the Northern Iowa Panthers (6-8, 2-0) and the Wyoming Cowboys (5-2, 1-0) at 2 and 4 p.m. respectively.
In UVU's last action at the Lone Star Duals on Jan. 16, the Wolverines went 2-1 in Arlington, Texas as they cruised to victories over two Ivy League schools, in Brown (24-12) and Harvard (40-10), before dropping a close 27-15 decision to the No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils. Sophomore Brad Darrington led the way as he went 3-0 at the duals and was recognized by the WWC as he was named the conference wrestler of the week last week.
Utah Valley is led by junior 125-pounder Benjamin Kjar who boasts a 21-6 overall record and is currently ranked No. 13 by InterMat.
All-time against the Falcons, UVU and AFA are all tied up with three wins apiece. Last year the Wolverines dominated Air Force in the season finale, 36-6, on Feb. 20, 2009 in Orem. This year the Falcons are coming off of a 2-1 performance at the Tracy Borah Duals on Jan. 23, and a 1-2 record at the Lone Star Duals, Jan. 16, as they fell to Arizona State and Northwestern but beat Brown, 18-15.
Air Force is led by freshman Cole VonOhlen, who is currently ranked 16th in the nation at 141 pounds and has posted a team-best 20 victories (20-5) in his rookie campaign, while six other Falcons--Tyler Spangler (17), Tyler French (16), Derek Gillespie (13), Neil Delaney (11), James Ciccone (11) and Dake Williams (10)--have won at least 10 matches each.
Live video from Thursday's dual with Air Force can be found by CLICKING HERE.
On Saturday UVU's matchup against Northern Iowa, on neutral ground in Laramie, Wyo., will mark the first all-time dual between the two schools. This is the fourth season that the two have been in the same conference but they have elected not to face one another until this season. The UNI Panthers have won the team West Regional title for 24 straight seasons but UVU will try to change that, as this year is the first season that UVU is eligible for NCAA D-I tournaments and awards.
UNI finished tied atop the WWC last year as they and Wyoming both finished with a 5-0 clip while UVU finished in second place with a 4-1 conference record. The Panthers are led by senior Brett Robbins who is ranked No. 19 at 149-pounds and is 18-4 on the year.
This meeting with the Cowboys is the sixth meeting on the wrestling mat between the two schools and Wyoming leads 4-1 in the all-time series. Last year's clash resulted in a 21-15 win for the Cowboys in Orem, on Feb. 13, 2009, and also snapped a 10-match win-streak by the Wolverines. Both UVU and UW have defeated North Carolina State this season, Utah Valley by a 26-10 margin and Wyoming by a score of 26-15. Wyoming is currently consistently receiving top-25 votes (NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll) but is just out of the poll.
Wyoming is led by returning All-American Joe LeBlanc (184-lbs.) who is listed in the latest InterMat individual rankings at No. 6. Shane Onufer (165-lbs.) leapt up the charts after the Las Vegas Invite and is now No. 10 while Michael Martinez (125-lbs.) is just ahead of UVU's Kjar in the polls as he has risen to No. 11.
Live video from Saturday's 4 p.m. dual at Wyoming can be seen by CLICKING HERE. Live Stats between UVU and Wyoming can also be found by CLICKING HERE.
Following this weeks action UVU will come home to take on two top-10 teams in the nation as the Wolverines will host No. 8 Boise State in Orem on Fri, Feb. 5 and then travel to Vernal, Utah (Uintah HS) to go one-on-one with the two-time defending National Champions and current No. 1 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes Sat., Feb. 6.
