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Nov. 12, 2000

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

The University of Wyoming served as host to the Cowboy Open wrestling tournament Sunday in War Memorial Fieldhouse. The Cowboys hosted a variety of schools from throughout the region in the all day tournament.

Wyoming had three individuals in Division I championship matches. At 174 pounds senior Steven Schenk was defeated by Terry Parham of Air Force in a close, hard-fought match. Schenk ripped his way through the bracket by going 3-0 into the championship match, including one pin. At heavyweight Cowboy sophomore Brad Steele lost his championship match to #12 ranked Bart Johnson of Boise State 6-5. Steele led the match 5-4 in the third period, but a takedown by Johnson earned him the victory. Junior Kelly McConville was the third Wyoming individual in a championship match. McConville fell to Brian Luna of Southern Colorado in the 133 pound title match. Luna was named the tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler.

A number of youngsters on the Poke roster looked strong in the first action of the season. At 184 pounds freshman Kevin Kessner finished fourth, showing lots of promise. The Rock Springs native lost his third-place match to Sam Sherertz of Air Force 3-2. Thad Trujillo was impressive, wrestling in the 141 pound weight class. Trujillo placed fourth by going 3-2.

In the 20 and under bracket Wyoming freshman Brady Nielsen was third, winning the third-place match by fall at 3:07 over Brionne Tonkin of Northern Colorado.

"There were a couple of new guys who we're going to be counting on that I was really encouraged with," said Wyoming head coach Steven Suder. "Sure, I would have liked to have had more guys in the finals, but I feel real comfortable with where we're at in light of what we've been working on. The great thing about this tournament is now we have a bunch of ammo to go into the wrestling room with. We've got some things to work on, but this was a step we needed to get there. This is a process and I think we're on the right track."

Along with Brian Luna being named Most Outstanding Wrestler, Mike Whitehead of North Idaho College was given the Most Falls Award. Whitehead had two falls in 4:27 to win the award.

The next action for the Cowboys is Nov. 17 when they dual against the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The next day Wyoming will compete in the University of Nebraska-Omaha Open.