WWC Squads vie for West Regional Title on Saturday in Brookings, S.D.
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by Aaron Thomas
LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 4, 2010) - All seven teams from the Western Wrestling Conference will take to the mat this Saturday, March 6, at the NCAA West Regional, a one-day qualifying tournament at which competitors will compete to earn automatic bids for the NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships.
The event will be held in Frost Arena on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings, S.D. Matches will start at 9 a.m. (MT), and the finals will begin at 4 p.m.
Tournament information, results and live video of the finals matches will be available at GoJacks.com.
West Regional Championships website
Seeds will be announced following a coaches meeting on Friday night.
In its fourth year, the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Since all league schools compete at the West Regional, then for all practical purposes the WWC tournament championship will be determined at the event.
The UNI Panthers have won the team NCAA West Regional title for 24 straight seasons, including the last three seasons since the formation of the WWC.
In 2009, Northern Iowa scored 94 points and edged Wyoming (92.5) by a point and a half for the team trophy. Northern Colorado (70.5) was third, followed by North Dakota State (39.5), South Dakota State (24.5) and Air Force (12.5).
Seven defending individual champions return to defend their titles this Saturday, including UW's Michael Martinez (125) and Cory VomBaur (133), UNI's Trent Washington (149), UNCo.'s Justin Gaethje (157), the Cowboys' Shane Onufer (165) and Joe LeBlanc (184), as well as the Panthers' Christian Brantley (Hwt.). Last season, Washington won his title at 141 and Onufer earned his at 174 pounds.
The depth of this year's field is indicated by five additional competitors who have been West Regional champions during their careers: Tony Mustari (UNCo., 125 pounds), Kenny Hashimoto (UNCo., 141), Tyson Reiner (UNI, 157), Tyler French (AFA, 174) and Andy O'Loughlin (UNI, 184).
This particular West Regional event will be a landmark for the Utah Valley Wolverines. This season marks UVU's first year eligible for NCAA postseason tournaments and awards since the school recently completed a seven-year provisional jump to NCAA Division I.
This year's WWC regular season dual champion was the Wyoming Cowboys, who were undefeated in league match-ups at 6-0. Utah Valley was runner-up with a 4-1 record.
Each weight at the Western Wrestling Regional has been awarded a specific number of automatic bids for nationals. The automatic bids for each weight are: 125 pounds (2), 133 (1), 141 (3), 149 (1), 157 (1) 165 (1), 174 (2), 184 (1), 197 (1) and Hwt. (1).
The National Championships will be held in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20 at the Qwest Center Omaha.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, of which the West Regional is one, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
Final 2009-10 Western Wrestling Conference Dual Standings
School/WWC record/WWC Win %/*Overall record/Overall Win %
Wyoming, 6-0, 1.000, 11-3, .786
Utah Valley, 4-1, .800, 10-3, .769
Northern Iowa, 4-2, .667, 10-12, .455
North Dakota State, 2-3, .400, 9-7, .563
Northern Colorado, 2-4, .333, 3-14, .176
Air Force, 1-5, .167, 6-11, .353
South Dakota State, 1-5, .167, 2-11-1, .154
*Record vs. Four-Year Institutions
The event will be held in Frost Arena on the South Dakota State University campus in Brookings, S.D. Matches will start at 9 a.m. (MT), and the finals will begin at 4 p.m.
Tournament information, results and live video of the finals matches will be available at GoJacks.com.
West Regional Championships website
Seeds will be announced following a coaches meeting on Friday night.
In its fourth year, the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Since all league schools compete at the West Regional, then for all practical purposes the WWC tournament championship will be determined at the event.
The UNI Panthers have won the team NCAA West Regional title for 24 straight seasons, including the last three seasons since the formation of the WWC.
In 2009, Northern Iowa scored 94 points and edged Wyoming (92.5) by a point and a half for the team trophy. Northern Colorado (70.5) was third, followed by North Dakota State (39.5), South Dakota State (24.5) and Air Force (12.5).
Seven defending individual champions return to defend their titles this Saturday, including UW's Michael Martinez (125) and Cory VomBaur (133), UNI's Trent Washington (149), UNCo.'s Justin Gaethje (157), the Cowboys' Shane Onufer (165) and Joe LeBlanc (184), as well as the Panthers' Christian Brantley (Hwt.). Last season, Washington won his title at 141 and Onufer earned his at 174 pounds.
The depth of this year's field is indicated by five additional competitors who have been West Regional champions during their careers: Tony Mustari (UNCo., 125 pounds), Kenny Hashimoto (UNCo., 141), Tyson Reiner (UNI, 157), Tyler French (AFA, 174) and Andy O'Loughlin (UNI, 184).
This particular West Regional event will be a landmark for the Utah Valley Wolverines. This season marks UVU's first year eligible for NCAA postseason tournaments and awards since the school recently completed a seven-year provisional jump to NCAA Division I.
This year's WWC regular season dual champion was the Wyoming Cowboys, who were undefeated in league match-ups at 6-0. Utah Valley was runner-up with a 4-1 record.
Each weight at the Western Wrestling Regional has been awarded a specific number of automatic bids for nationals. The automatic bids for each weight are: 125 pounds (2), 133 (1), 141 (3), 149 (1), 157 (1) 165 (1), 174 (2), 184 (1), 197 (1) and Hwt. (1).
The National Championships will be held in Omaha, Neb., March 18-20 at the Qwest Center Omaha.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, of which the West Regional is one, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.
Final 2009-10 Western Wrestling Conference Dual Standings
School/WWC record/WWC Win %/*Overall record/Overall Win %
Wyoming, 6-0, 1.000, 11-3, .786
Utah Valley, 4-1, .800, 10-3, .769
Northern Iowa, 4-2, .667, 10-12, .455
North Dakota State, 2-3, .400, 9-7, .563
Northern Colorado, 2-4, .333, 3-14, .176
Air Force, 1-5, .167, 6-11, .353
South Dakota State, 1-5, .167, 2-11-1, .154
*Record vs. Four-Year Institutions
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