Oct. 30, 2000

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

COWBOY WRESTLING (0-0)

A Look Ahead: The Cowboy wrestling team will begin its season on Friday with the annual intrasquad tournament. Action begins at 5:00 p.m. at War Memorial Fieldhouse.

Outlook for 2000-2001: Wyoming returns four starters off of last year's 8-8 squad, giving the Cowboys six new faces in the starting lineup. The Pokes will be led by seniors Craig Rumsey and Steven Schenk. Rumsey will be the man at 197 while Schenk will hold down the spot at 174. Rumsey and Schenk are the only seniors on the roster and each of them is capable of having an outstanding senior season. The Cowboys will also be looking for strong seasons from juniors Mark Hamrick and Kelly McConville along with sophomore Brad Steele. Hamrick returns to the 149 pound weight class while McConville will step in at 133. Steele returns for his second full season at heavyweight. All three have the skill and talent to put together strong seasons for the Pokes. There is some real excitement in the program about the youngsters who will be stepping into the spotlight. Levi Prevost (157), Matt Westenfelder (165) and Kevin Kessner (184) are all redshirt freshmen that should start this season. Each of the freshmen has the talent to have outstanding careers at Wyoming. The remainder of the lineup will be filled with guys who the coaching staff feels very comfortable with. A very challenging schedule awaits the Cowboys. After the always-tough Cowboy Open on Nov. 12, the Pokes will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Also on the dual schedule are Boise State, Oklahoma, Northern Iowa and Fresno State. The Pokes host Boise State, Cal State-Fullerton, Portland State and Fresno State in Laramie, along with hosting the 2001 West Regional.

Suder's Word: The following are quotes from University of Wyoming head wrestling coach Steven Suder heading into the 2000-2001 season. "Anytime you start a season after losing six senior starters off of your team it's a little worrisome. With that, we feel real comfortable with our first tier of guys who will step in and replace them. But as comfortable as we are with them, we realize that a lot of them are real young and really untested. It's possible that the talent we have in the wrestling room this year might be a notch or two above where it's ever been."

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.