As voted by its' coaches, the Western Wrestling Conference has announced postseason award winners for the 2009-10 season.  Wyoming sophomore 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc was named WWC Wrestler of Year, 141-pound Air Force newcomer Cole VonOhlen was the unanimous WWC Freshman of the Year and Northern Iowa head man Brad Penrith was chosen by his peers as WWC Coach of the Year.

The Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards were voted on by the league's head coaches this past week, while the Coach of the Year balloting was determined after the West Regional Tournament.

Wrestler of the Year:  Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), 184 lbs., So., Meeker, Colo. (Meeker HS)
Following up on a dominant regular season, LeBlanc placed fourth at the 2010 NCAA Championships and earned All-American distinction at 184 pounds for the second straight year.  On his way through the bracket, he upset No. 2 seed John Dergo (Illinois) and No. 5 seed Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) at Nationals.  LeBlanc finished three spots higher than his seed at the national tournament and improved on his NCAA finish from last year, after placing fifth in 2009.

Now the two-time West Regional champion at 184 pounds, LeBlanc led the ‘Pokes to the 2010 West Regional team title, as well as the 2010 WWC Regular Season Dual team title.  His 2009-10 overall record was 39-6 with 28 bonus point margins.  Twelve of his wins came by fall, 12 by way of technical fall and four by major decision.  He earned a team-best 69 points this past season in 15 duals, an average of 4.6.

LeBlanc tied for No. 6 in the final NCAA Coaches Rankings at 184 pounds and was No. 7 in the final RPI.  He placed first (Elite) at the 2009 Cowboy Open, second at the 2009 Body Bar Classic, third at 2009 Las Vegas Invitational and third at the 2009 Reno Tournament of Champions.  His career record is now 84-14 with 19 pins, 18 major decisions and 17 technical falls.  LeBlanc has not lost a WWC match-up in his two-year career (13-0, including West Regional results).  He was the WWC Freshman of the Year in 2008-09 and was recently named the 2009-10 DICollegeWrestling.net West Region Wrestler of the Year.

Freshman of the Year:  Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), 141 lbs., Fr., Jackson, Minn. (Jackson County Central HS)

VonOhlen was the Falcons' standout performer during the 2009-10 season, finishing as the West Regional runner-up at 141 pounds to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.  He concluded the season with a 31-9 overall record (.775 winning percentage), including a 13-2 dual mark and 5-1 record in WWC duals.

He recorded a team-best 12 falls on the year, along with six major decisions and a technical fall.  The Air Force freshman posted six wins over NCAA qualifiers, including a 17-2 technical fall over Cal State Fullerton's Adin Duenas (ranked 11th at the end of the regular season) and a 10-0 decision against Cal State Bakersfield's Elijah Nacita (ranked 13th).  Meanwhile, eight of VonOhlen's nine losses came by decision, and all came against NCAA qualifiers (including one to NCAA Division II runner-up Mario Morgan of UNO).  His lone major decision loss was a 12-4 victory by All-American Mike Thorn of Minnesota.

VonOhlen began his freshman campaign with an individual title in the Elite Division of the Cowboy Open and placed sixth at the Kaufman-Brand Open after suffering an injury during the meet.  He also secured a fifth-place finish at the prestigious Southern Scuffle, while winning the 141-lb. title at the All-Academy Championships, recording three falls in as many matches.

A two-time WWC Wrestler of the Week, VonOhlen became the first Air Force freshman to qualify for the national tournament since 2005, as well as the first Falcon to reach 30 wins in a single season since 2005.  He was recently named the 2009-10 DICollegeWrestling.net West Region Freshman of the Year.

Coach of the Year:  Brad Penrith (Northern Iowa)=
In his 10th season as the head coach of the Northern Iowa Panthers, Penrith coached redshirt junior 174-pounder Jarion Beets to his first All-America honor, while also leading the Panthers to a near upset of regular-season WWC champion Wyoming in the West Regional team race, losing by just 1/2 point.  Penrith guided the Panthers to three championship performances at the West Regional, as well as three runner-up honors, the most of any WWC school.  He saw four of his student-athletes, including Beets, reach the NCAA Championships, and coached an All-American wrestler for the third consecutive year.  During his tenure with the Panthers, Penrith has coached 14 All-Americans, won nine West Regional titles and compiled a WWC record of 16-2.  This marks the second time in the history of the fourth-year league that Penrith has earned Coach of the Year honors (2006-07).

The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.