Air Force Wrestlers Head to NCAA West Regional
3/1/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 1, 2012
The Air Force wrestling team heads to Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend, March 4, for the 2012 NCAA West Regional, hosted by Northern Iowa. The action is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT), with finals beginning at 4:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL...
The NCAA West Regional, comprised of the seven members of the Western Wrestling Conference (Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming), serves as a qualifying tournament for the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 15-17 in St. Louis, Mo.
This year, the West Regional will receive 17 automatic qualifiers, based on the final Coaches' Panel Ranking, Rating Percentage Index (RPI) and Division I winning percentage. The breakdown of the 17 automatic bids per weight class for the West Regional is as follows: 125 (2), 133 (2), 141 (1), 149 (2), 157 (3), 165 (2), 174 (1), 184 (2), 197 (1) and 285 (1).
After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, who will be announced on March 7.
LAST YEAR AT THE NCAA WEST REGIONAL...
Wyoming captured its second-straight regional title, scoring 93.0 points to finish ahead of second-place Northern Iowa (87.0 points).
Wyoming claimed five individual champions, while Northern Iowa claimed two champions. Air Force, led by 141-pound champion Cole VonOhlen took third place with 59.0 points, followed by North Dakota State (45.5 pts.) and Utah Valley (41.5 pts.) who each finished with an individual champion. Rounding out the team standings were Northern Colorado in sixth place (24.0 pts.) and South Dakota State in seventh place (14.0 pts.).
LAST TIME OUT...
The Falcons closed out their dual slate on Feb. 19 with a 33-6 road victory over Northern Colorado.
Air Force notched eight individual wins against the Bears, led by sophomore Greg Rinker (125), who recorded his 10th fall of the season. Juniors Cole VonOhlen (149) and Clayton Gable (174) each notched technical falls, while sophomores Josh Kreimier (157) and Greg Isley (184) added major decisions. Scoring decisions for the Falcons were senior Tyler Untrauer (133) and juniors Josh Mohr (197) and Jared Erickson (HWT).
SCOUTING THE FALCONS...
Air Force finished its dual slate with an 8-5 overall record and 3-3 mark in WWC competition, tying for third place in the regular-season conference standings.
The Falcons are led by junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, who captured the conference title at 141 pounds last season and is currently ranked third in the nation at 149 pounds with a 32-2 overall record. Freshman Carter McElhany (141) is second on the team with 23 victories, while sophomore Josh Kreimier (157) has posted 20 wins on the season.
SCOUTING THE BISON...
North Dakota State concluded the regular season with a 6-9 overall record and 3-3 mark in the WWC, tying for third place in the conference standings.
Leading the Bison are sophomore Steven Monk (157) and junior Trent Sprenkle (125), who are rated 11th and 19th, respectively, by InterMatWrestle.com. Monk owns a team-best 30-7 overall record, while Sprenkle ranks second on the team with 27 wins this season.
SCOUTING THE BEARS...
Northern Colorado closed out its dual slate with a 6-7 overall record and 3-3 mark in WWC competition, tying for third place in the regular-season conference standings.
Leading the Bears is senior transfer Gabe Burak, currently ranked 10th in the nation at 165 pounds with an 19-2 overall record, while senior Casey Cruz has won 16 matches at 141 pounds.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS...
Northern Iowa posted an 8-7 dual record this season, including a 5-1 ledger in the Western Wrestling Conference, finishing second in the regular-season conference standings.
The Panthers return one conference champion from last season, sophomore Ryan Loder, who is currently ranked eighth in the nation at 184 pounds with a 30-3 overall record. Two other UNI wrestlers are ranked nationally, with sophomore Joe Colon (23-2) rated fifth at 133 pounds and junior David Bonin (28-6) ranked 17th at 157 pounds.
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS...
South Dakota State finished seventh in the WWC regular-season standings with a 4-9 overall record and 0-6 ledger in conference action.
The Jacks are led by junior Aaron Pickrel, who compiled a 23-9 record at 125 pounds, and senior Nick Flynn, who posted a 21-10 record at 157 pounds.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES...
Utah Valley finished the regular season with a 6-10 overall dual ledger and 1-5 record in WWC action, placing sixth in the conference standings.
Leading the Wolverines is junior Josh Wilson, who is currently ranked 15th in the nation at 149 pounds with a 16-8 overall record.
SCOUTING THE COWBOYS...
Wyoming, ranked 11th in the nation in the latest coaches poll, captured the WWC regular-season title with a 10-3 overall record and perfect 6-0 mark in conference action.
The Cowboys return four regional champions from 2010, including three-time champions Shane Onufer (165) and Michael Martinez (125), who are currently ranked third and 18th nationally in their respective weight classes. Other returning champions include Pat Martinez (174) and current heavyweight L.J. Helbig (197), while three-time All-American Joe LeBlanc, currently ranked first in the nation at 184 pounds, won back-to-back titles in 2009-10.
Other ranked wrestlers for Wyoming include junior Alfonso Hernandez, ranked ninth at 197 pounds with a team-high 33 wins, and freshman Zach Zehner, rated 15th at 133 pounds.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS...
Junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds, is currently ranked third in the nation at 149 pounds by several wrestling publications. VonOhlen is rated third in the nation by IntermatWrestle.com, W.I.N. Magazine, Amateur Wrestling News, WrestlingReport.com, The Open Mat and DI College Wrestling.
NCAA RANKINGS...
Junior Cole VonOhlen was ranked third at 149 pounds in the final coaches' panel rankings for the 2011-12 season, and is rated 11th in the final Rating Percentage Index (RPI) of the season. Meanwhile, classmate junior Clayton Gable closes out the regular season rated 31st in the RPI at 174 pounds. The final rankings and RPI are two of the tools that were used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Wrestlers in each weight class are measured by Division I winning percentage, RPI and coaches' rankings to earn spots for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.
To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight class.
UP NEXT...
Qualifiers from this weekend's NCAA West Regional will compete at the NCAA Championships, being held in St. Louis, Mo., March 15-17.
Players Mentioned
