Jan. 29, 2001

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

A Look Ahead: The Cowboy wrestling team will head back out on the road this week when they dual against Southern Colorado in Pueblo, Colo. The dual will take place Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Cowboys Defeat Titans 32-6: Seven straight wins to end the match gave the University of Wyoming wrestling team a convincing 32-6 dual win over Cal State Fullerton Friday night in Laramie. The Cowboys were tied with the Titans at six after Kelly McConville's 3-2 win over David Rodriguez. It was all Wyoming after that, as the Pokes dominated the six remaining matches in coasting to victory. Wyoming had two major decisions and two pins in the dual. Junior Mark Hamrick won his 149 pound match 16-6 over Joshua Spencer to give Wyoming a 13-6 lead. The major decision was Hamrick's 15th victory of the season. In the next match at 157 pounds, UW freshman Levi Prevost scored big in a 27-14 win over Daniel Hernandez. Prevost was tied with Hernandez at 11, but pulled away to extend the Cowboy lead to 17-6. Senior Steven Schenk and freshman Kevin Kessner ended the match in style as each won their match by fall. Schenk pinned Shawn Henebry at 4:17 and Kessner finished off Josh Ready at 4:45. Schenk has been nationally ranked throughout the season and looked impressive while Kessner, a Rock Springs native, notched his 12th win of the season. Craig Rumsey, ranked #19 at 197 pounds, lost his match to #20 Babak Nejadmaghaddam 8-6 to start the dual. The match was tied with a little over a minute remaining, but Nejadmaghaddam scored an escape and a takedown for the win. Heavyweight Brad Steele got the first win of the night for Wyoming with an 8-3 decision over Chad Troxler.

Pokes Finish Third at Jack Hancock Invite: Wyoming placed third at the Jack Hancock Invitational Saturday in Golden, Colo. The tournament was hosted by the Colorado School of Mines. Wyoming was led by Steven Schenk and Kelly McConville, who each placed second in their weight class. Schenk went 2-1 in the 174 pound weight class, losing to Terry Parham of Air Force in the title match 8-5. On his way to the championship match Schenk defeated Ryan Swanson of the Colorado School of Mines by fall at 1:40 and also beat Mike Barger of Oklahoma 6-3. McConville went 2-1 at 133 pounds, continuing a hot streak as of late. The Cowboys had four third-place finishes. Mark Hamrick (149), Justin Christenson (165), Craig Rumsey (197) and Brad Steele (HWT) all won the consolation championship in their respective weight classes. Hamrick and Christenson went 3-1 on the day while Steele was 2-1 and Rumsey finished 1-1. Kevin Kessner placed fourth at 184 pounds by going 2-2. Paul Turco also finished fourth for UW, going 2-2 at 141 pounds. Oklahoma won the team competition with 138.5 team points. Air Force finished second with 128 points and the Cowboys were third with 66 points. Oklahoma's Jared Frayer was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler by winning the 149 pound championship.

Suder's Word: The following are quotes from Wyoming head coach Steven Suder after the Cowboys' 32-6 dual victory over Cal State Fullerton: "Our guys came out and wrestled pretty well. I thought we were aggressive, and that's something we need to be. We were scoring from a variety of positions and were able to finish them off. It was a good match for us, and now we can build on it and improve."

Wyoming to Qualify at West Regional: When UW joined the Mountain West Conference, that changed the way the Cowboys will qualify for the NCAA Championships. With only two MWC teams with wresting programs, the conference doesn't sponsor the sport. Wyoming will qualify wrestlers for the national tournament by competing in the West Regional, which will be held March 3 in Laramie, Wyo. Also competing in the West Regional along with Wyoming will be Air Force, Fresno State, Eastern Illinois, Marquette and Northern Iowa. There will be a total of 20 qualifiers in the tournament.

Cowboys to Host West Regional: The University of Wyoming and Laramie will serve as host to the West Regional on March 3, 2001. Wyoming will be hosting five other schools as they all compete for 20 spots to the NCAA Wrestling Championships. The tournament will take place at the Arena-Auditorium.

Rumsey Nationally Ranked: Amateur Wrestling News released its latest individual rankings on Jan. 23 and senior Craig Rumsey was ranked. Rumsey was ranked #19 at 197 pounds. Sophomore Brad Steele and senior Steven Schenk have each been nationally ranked this season but weren't in the latest rankings. Rumsey lost a tough match against Cal State Fullerton this past weekend. He fell to Babak Nejadmaghaddam 8-6 in the home dual. A late escape and takedown gave the win to Nejadmaghaddam, who entered the match undefeated and ranked #20. On Saturday Rumsey finished third at the Jack Hancock Invite with a 1-1 record.