Senior Alfonso Hernandez wrestles against a wrestler from South Dakota State during the NCAA West Regionals. Hernandez finished seventh in his 197 pound weight class over the weekend in the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
It was a weekend of brutal competition as the Wyoming Cowboys wrestling team took on the NCAA Wrestling Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa.
Though the season started off slow, the team finished the event Saturday with a top 25 finish. The accomplishment is the Cowboys’ 17th top 25 NCAA finish.
Before the Championship’s end during Saturday night’s finals, UW was seated in 23rd place with 20.5 points, but could finish no lower than 25th, depending on the outcome of the final bouts of senior Alfonso Hernandez and sophomore Tyler Cox.
Hernandez finished seventh at 197 pounds while Cox was eighth at 125.
According to the NCAA’s event overview, Hernandez walked off the mat for the final time in his collegiate career as a winner, after he defeated Oklahoma State’s Blake Rosholt in a 7-4 decision in the 197-pound seventh/eighth-place match. He won four matches over three days and was an All-American for the second time, finishing sixth in 2012. Hernandez has won 75 matches over the last two seasons, losing just 11 times.
Cox left the mat finishing eighth at 125 pounds, suffering a defeat at the hands of Minnesota’s David Thorn in the seventh/eighth-place match. Thorn put Cox to his back and secured the pin in the first period. But Cox still had a successful season going 35-11 leading the Pokes in season wins and earning his first All-American honor.
Other Cowboys who competed at the tournament were wrestlers McCade Ford, 141 pounds (1-2), Brandon Richardson, 149 pounds (1-2), Andy McCulley, 157 pounds (0-2), L.J. Helbig, 174 pounds (1-2) and Shane Woods, 184 pounds (0-2).
Final team scores from the competition placed Penn State first with 123.6 team points followed by Oklahoma State who took second (119.5), Minnesota taking third (103), Iowa in fourth (73) and Cornell trailing behind in the fifth place spot (65). Wyoming ended the NCAA Championships in 23rd place with 23 total team points.
The wrestling team has marked the end of its season and is expected to come back stronger as the 2013-14 season approaches.
