May 15, 2001

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

University of Wyoming head wrestling coach Steven Suder has announced the signing of Blake Gunter of Northwest Junior College in Powell, Wyo., to a national letter-of-intent.

Gunter comes to Wyoming after placing third at the Junior College National Tournament at 141 pounds this past season. Gunter had an overall record of 31-4 as a sophomore. As a freshman at Northwest College Gunter placed fourth at nationals. As a team captain Gunter led the Northwest team to a tie for 5th place this season and an 8th place finish in 2000. Gunter was also Region IX Champion in his weight class each year at Northwest. Aside from being a two-time JC All-American Gunter was also a member of the Academic All-American team.

In high school Gunter wrestled at Green River High School in Green River, Wyo. At Green River Gunter was a State Champion at 130 pounds as a senior. He placed second his junior and freshman years and was third as a sophomore. The Green River team won the State Championship Gunter's freshman and sophomore years and placed second when he was a junior and third when he was a senior. He was a three-time All-State and All-Conference performer for head coach Bill Hodges. Gunter also won over 100 matches in high school.

At the University of Wyoming Gunter plans on studying physical education. He is the son of Rudy and Sandee Gunter. He was also recruited by Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa and Clarion (Pa) out of junior college.

"We've obviously been able to watch Blake for several years now and have been more and more impressed with his ability and his maturity each year," said Suder. "It excites us to have one of Wyoming's own pursue his goals here. This will be an ideal situation for him. When you add a guy like Blake to your program that comes in with the background he comes in with, it raises the standard for everybody. Having been coached by Jim Zeigler and Bill Hodges it's hard to find a better background than Blake has."

"I had an excellent trip to Wyoming," said Gunter. "I know some of the guys on the team. I wrestled with Justin Salas (Wyoming freshman) for three years in high school, so that helped. I just felt comfortable there and it was the best decision for me to make."

"I'm really excited that Blake decided on Wyoming," said Northwest head coach Jim Zeigler. "He's a great kid and is ready for the challenge of Division I wrestling. He has really matured in his two years here and is a good fit for coach Suder's program. This is also great for our program and hopefully we can get more kids to follow Blake to Laramie in the future."