IMAGE: Alfonso Hernandez, Wyoming, changes levels and scores a take down on Kallen Kleinschmidt, NDSU, during their 197lb finals match at the NCAA
West Regional Tournament held in Laramie, WY on Mar. 9th. Hernandez went
on to win by technical fall 22-7. Photo by Mike Smith / MatShots.

The University of Wyoming Cowboys entered the finals of the 2013 NCAA West Regional sitting at fourth place in the team standings, only to storm their way to a championship by winning nine out of ten matches in the final session of the evening. 

The team title came down to the final bout of the evening as Utah Valley’s Adam Fager defeated Evan Knutson of North Dakota State 2-1 in overtime. 

The Wyoming wrestlers capitalized on the home crowd advantage to capture four individual championships, all of which were essential in the team’s comeback performance. 

In the most exciting and controversial match of the tournament, the 184-pound finals between Shane Woods (Wyoming) and Macain Stoll (North Dakota State) not only went to overtime, but also ended with seemingly endless minutes of video review, with Woods coming out the victor. 

Wyoming’s All-American Alfonso Hernandez gave the Cowboys their first lead of the tournament with an impressive 22-7 technical fall victory. 

North Dakota State had an opportunity to regain the lead at heavyweight but fell 3 points shy of Wyoming in what was a team race for the ages.

Another standout performance came from North Dakota State’s Trent Sprenkle. Sprenkle captured the West Regional title at 125 pounds by avenging previous defeat to Air Force’s Josh Martinez 6-2. 

The 125-pound weight class led all weights at the West Regional for NCAA Tournament qualifiers with four.

Wyoming led the field in qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament with six. Air Force qualified four for the big dance with Utah Valley qualifying three, North Dakota State two and South Dakota State one.  

Look for the NCAA West Regional qualifiers at the 2013 NCAA Championships, which will be held in Des Moines, IA on March 21-23. 


Results

125
1st: Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) dec Josh Martinez (Air Force) 6-2
3rd: Tyler Cox (Wyoming) pin Rauser (Utah Valley) 6:27

133
1st: Dylan Hyder (Air Force) dec Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) 8-5
3rd: Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley) dec Kasey Garnhart (Wyoming) 4-0

141
1st: McCade Ford (Wyoming) dec Avery Garner (Utah Valley) 5-2
3rd: Mark Erickson (North Dakota State) Maj Dec Carter McElhany (Air Force) 11-0

149
1st: Josh Wilson (Utah Valley) Inj Def Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) 
3rd: Brandon Richardson (Wyoming) dec Dustin Walraven (South Dakota State) 6-4

157
1st: Joshua Kreimier (Air Force) Tech Fall Cody Pack (South Dakota State) 17-2
3rd: Andy McCulley (Wyoming) dec Ethan Smith (Utah Valley) 4-2

165
1st: Steven Monk (North Dakota State) pin Curtis Cook (Utah Valley) 2:48
3rd: Dakota Friesth (Wyoming) dec Joseph Brewster (South Dakota State) 4-2

174
1st: Lee Helbig (Wyoming) dec Monte Schmalhaus (Utah Valley) 3-2
3rd: Kurtis Julson (North Dakota State) dec Clayton Gable (Air Force) 3-0

184
1st: Shane Woods (Wyoming) dec Macain Stoll (North Dakota State) 7-5
3rd: Devin Hightower (Air Force) Tech Fall Derek Thomas (Utah Valley) 17-2

197
1st: Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) Tech Fall Kallen Kleinschmidt (North Dakota State) 22-7
3rd: David Prieto (Utah Valley) dec Joshua Mohr (Air Force) 4-1

285
1st: Adam Fager (Utah Valley) dec Evan Knutson (North Dakota State) 2-1
3rd: Leland Pfeifer (Wyoming) dec Bentley Alsup (Air Force) 6-4

Team Standings
1. Wyoming 79.0
2. North Dakota State 76.0
3. Utah Valley 70.0
4. Air Force 63.5
5. South Dakota State 16.5