Brackets
Wyoming won its third straight West Regional titleCEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Wyoming won its third all-time NCAA West Regional team title Sunday at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa, as the Cowboys beat out host Northern Iowa by 17.5 points to capture their third straight crown.
All seven members of the Western Wrestling Conference competed at the qualifying tournament and 17 individuals received automatic berths to the 2012 NCAA Division I Wresting Championships.
Overall the Cowboys finished with 93.5 points and the Panthers came in second with 76. North Dakota State (51.5) beat out Air Force (50.5) by a point for third place, while Utah Valley placed fifth (43.5), Northern Colorado sixth (36.5) and South Dakota State seventh (5).
Out of the 10 individual titles, four wrestlers from Wyoming managed to win individual crowns, while Northern Iowa was next with three.
Wyoming's four individual champions were: Shane Onufer at 165 pounds, Pat Martinez at 174, Joe LeBlanc at 184 and Alfonso Hernandez at 197. The title for Onufer was his fourth consecutive regional crown as the Wyoming senior became just the second-ever Cowboy grappler to accomplish that feat. The crown was also LeBlanc's third and Martinez' second.
Other West Regional champions included North Dakota State's Trent Sprenkle at 125 and Steven Monk at 157, UNI's Joe Colon at 133, Levi Wolfensperger at 141 and Blayne Beale at heavyweight as well as Air Force's Cole VonOhlen at 149. The titles were everyone's first besides VonOhlen, as it was his second.
Seven other automatic berths to nationals were handed out at the regional and they were won by 125-pounder Michael Martinez (UW), 133-pounder Zach Zehner (UW), 149-pounder Josh Wilson (UVU), 157-pounders David Bonin (UNI) and Josh Kreimier (AFA), 165-pounder Gabe Burak (UNC) and 184-pounder Ryan Loder (UNI).
M. Martinez and Wilson both won their automatic bids on true second-place matches. M. Martinez and LeBlanc will also make their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.
Each weight class at the West Regional/WWC Championships had earned a specific number of automatic bids for nationals. The automatic bids for each weight class were: 125 pounds (2), 133 (2), 141 (1), 149 (2), 157 (3) 165 (2), 174 (1), 184 (2), 197 (1) and Hwt. (1).
The WWC also handed out a couple postseason awards at the regional. UNI's Joe Colon was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler, while his teammate Levi Wolfensperger won the Most Falls Award with two. Wyoming head coach Mark Branch was also named the Coach of the Year for the second straight time.
The 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held in St. Louis, Mo., March 15-17 at the Scottrade Center.
After all of the qualifying events have concluded this weekend, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person next week to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7. Last season the WWC received two additional at-large selections.
Final Team Scores:
1. Wyoming (93.5)
2. Northern Iowa (76)
3. North Dakota State (51.5)
4 Air Force (50.5)
5. Utah Valley (43.5)
6. Northern Colorado (36.5)
7. South Dakota State (5)
West Regional/WWC Automatic Qualifiers for the NCAA Championships (champions listed first):
125 - Trent Sprenkle (NDSU)
125 - Michael Martinez (WYO)
133 - Joe Colon (UNI)
133 - Zach Zehner (WYO)
141 - Levi Wolfensperger (UNI)
149 - Cole VonOhlen (AFA)
149 - Josh Wilson (UVU)
157 - Steven Monk (NDSU)
157 - David Bonin (UNI)
157 - Josh Kreimier (AFA)
165 - Shane Onufer (WYO)
165 - Gabe Burak (UNC)
174 - Pat Martinez (WYO)
184 - Joe LeBlanc (WYO)
184 - Ryan Loder (UNI)
197 - Alfonso Hernandez (WYO)
285 - Blayne Beale (UNI)
Tournament Awards:
Outstanding Wrestler - Joe Colon, UNI
Most Pins - Levi Wolfensperger, UNI (2)
Coach of the Year - Mark Branch, Wyoming
Regular Season Team Champion - Wyoming
Tournament Champion - Wyoming
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