Wyoming (6-2 overall, 1-0 Western Wrestling Conference) went 3-0 versus San Francisco State, CSU Bakersfield and Cal Poly. The Cowboys defeated San Francisco State 22-17, CSU Bakersfield 20-12 and Cal Poly by a score of 34-6. Four Cowboys won all their matches, including sophomore Tyler Cox, senior L.J. Helbig, sophomore Shane Woods and senior Alfonso Hernandez.
“Going 3-0 on the day is a good thing,” Wyoming head coach Mark Branch said. “But we definitely came out sluggish. We had a lot of guys who did fall into that trap. They came out and weren’t ready to wrestle.
“We got ourselves in a tussle with San Francisco State and it was a wakeup call. I liked the way we finished: strong. We had some guys who looked the best they ever have – (junior) Kyle Komata, L.J. Helbig and Shane Woods. I was proud of Tyler Cox, who hurt his rib against Utah Valley (on Friday) and contemplated whether he could go or not. You have to learn to wrestle with it and I told him, ‘There’s no time like today.’ He has to learn how to deal with it. It helps push you into being mentally tougher. We needed him today.”
Cox, a sophomore, tried his best to keep the Cowboys undefeated in the last dual of the day. He started the Cal Poly dual off with a 3-1 decision over Britain Longmire to give UW three team points and an early lead. Shortly after, sophomore Zach Zehner took on 19th-ranked Devon Lotito of Cal Poly, and suffered a 10-4 decision loss. That gave Cal Poly three points and tied things up.
Kyle Komata, a 141-pounder, gave the Pokes the lead again with a 9-4 decision over Brandon Rocha, and UW led 6-3. But sophomore Brandon Richardson lost at 149 to Damien Arrendondo in a 5-3 decision, and Cal Poly tied things up at 6. Sophomore Andy McCulley gave the Pokes the lead for good when he pinned Kyle Chene in just 1:04 at 157 pounds. Wyoming led 12-6 after that, and wouldn’t allow another point.
Sophomore Dakota Friesth beat Connor King in a 15-0 technical fall, good for five team points, and senior L.J. Helbig kept the momentum going with an 18-9 major decision over Paul Woodman. Wins from sophomore Shane Woods at 184 (8-0 major decision) and fourth-ranked senior Alfonso Hernandez at 197 by forfeit gave UW a 31-6 lead.
Sophomore Leland Pfeifer won a 9-4 decision over Cal Poly’s J.T. Goodwin at heavyweight to cap things off, giving UW the 34-6 win. It was Pfeifer’s first win of the season.
The Cowboys will return to the home mats for a matchup against 10th-ranked Oregon State on Sunday. Matches begin at 2 p.m. MT in the UniWyo Sports Complex.
Wyoming 34, Cal Poly 6
125: Tyler Cox (UW) dec. Britain Longmire (CP), 3-1 / Wyoming 3, Cal Poly 0
133: Devon Lotito (CP) dec. Zach Zehner (UW), 10-4 / Wyoming 3, Cal Poly 3
141: Kyle Komata (UW) dec. Brandan Rocha (CP), 9-4 / Wyoming 6, Cal Poly 3
149: Damien Arredondo (CP) dec. Brandon Richardson (UW), 5-3 / Wyoming 6, Cal Poly 6
157: Andy McCulley (UW) fall (1:04) Kyle Chene (CP) / Wyoming 12, Cal Poly 6
165: Dakota Friesth (UW) tech. fall Connor King (CP), 16-0 / Wyoming 17, Cal Poly 6
174: L.J. Helbig (UW) maj. dec. Paul Woodman (CP), 19-9 / Wyoming 21, Cal Poly 6
184: Shane Woods (UW) maj. dec. Sean Dougherty (CP), 8-0 / Wyoming 25, Cal Poly 6
197: Alfonso Hernandez (UW) won by forfeit / Wyoming 31, Cal Poly 6
285: Leland Pfeifer (UW) dec. J.T. Goodwin (CP), 9-4 / Wyoming 34, Cal Poly 6
Wyoming 20, CSU Bakersfield 12
125: Tyler Cox (UW) dec. Miguel Comparan (CSUB), 4-1 / Wyoming 3, CSU Bakersfield 0
133: Ian Nickell (CSUB) dec. Zach Zehner (UW), 9-5 / Wyoming 3, CSU Bakersfield 3
141: Kyle Komata (UW) dec. Tyler Box (CSUB), 3-2 / Wyoming 6, CSU Bakersfield 3
149: Dalton Kelley (CSUB) dec. Brandon Richardson (UW), 8-6 / Wyoming 6, CSU Bakersfield 6
157: Adam Fierro (CSUB) dec. Andy McCulley (UW), 9-7 / CSU Bakersfield 9, Wyoming 6
165: Dakota Friesth (UW) dec. David Meza (CSUB), 6-1 / Wyoming 9, CSU Bakersfield 9
174: L.J. Helbig (UW) dec. Andrew Balch (CSUB), 5-1 / Wyoming 12, CSU Bakersfield 9
184: Shane Woods (UW) dec. Reuben Franklin (CSUB), 8-2 / Wyoming 15, CSU Bakersfield 9
197: Alfonso Hernandez (UW) tech. fall over Frankie Hurtado (CSUB), 17-1 / Wyoming 20, CSU Bakersfield 9
285: Sammy Cervantes (CSUB) dec. Leland Pfeifer (UW), 8-2 / Wyoming 20, CSU Bakersfield 12
Wyoming 22, San Francisco State 17
125: Tyler Cox (UW) dec. Marc Collier (SFS), 6-0 / Wyoming 3, San Francisco State 0
133: Isaiah Hurtado (SFS) maj. dec. Jake Eitzen (UW), 10-2 / San Francisco State 4, Wyoming 3
141: Navaeed Bagheri (SFS) maj. dec. McCade Ford (UW), 15-5 / San Francisco State 8, Wyoming 3
149: Conrad Snell (SFS) dec. Brandon Richardson (UW), 3-2 / San Francisco State 11, Wyoming 3
157: Andy McCulley (UW) fall (2:37) Vicente Aboytes (SFS) / San Francisco State 11, Wyoming 9
165: Isaiah Jimenez (SFS) dec. Dakota Friesth (UW), 4-3 / San Francisco State 14, Wyoming 9
174: L.J. Helbig (UW) maj. dec. AJ Simon (SFS), 11-2 / San Francisco State 14, Wyoming 13
184: Shane Woods (UW) maj. dec. Calvin Nicholls (SFS), 16-3 / Wyoming 17, San Francisco State 14
197: Alfonso Hernandez (UW) tech. fall over Thomas Martin (SFS), 20-3, 6:42 / Wyoming 22, San Francisco State 14
285: Richard Segovia (SFS) dec. Leland Pfeifer (UW), 7-5 / Wyoming 22, San Francisco State 17
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