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Pokes Finish 3-0 On West Coast Road Swing
Jan. 6, 2013
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - SF State dual results Nineteen total match wins in the span of three duals powered the University of Wyoming wrestling team to an unbeaten mark in the Mustang Duals on Sunday. 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 16-0 technical fall, good for five team points, and senior L.J. Helbig kept the momentum going with an 19-9 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. Cal Poly dual results CSU Bakersfield dual results San Francisco State dual results
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