April 9, 2009 For Immediate Release Contact: Colin McDonough Director of Media Relations Western Wrestling Conference Phone - 319-273-5456 Fax - 319-273-3602
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Western Wrestling Conference Honors 2008-09 Award Winners CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Western Wrestling Conference has announced its award winners for the 2008-09 season. Wyoming’s Mark Branch was voted Coach of the Year, Wyoming’s Joe LeBlanc was named Freshman of the Year and UNI’s Moza Fay earned Wrestler of Year honors. The awards were voted on by the league’s head coaches. Branch, who just completed his first season as the Cowboys’ head coach, has been named the 2008-09 WWC Coach of the Year. Branch led Wyoming to a share of the WWC regular season title with a perfect 5-0 dual record in league matches. The Cowboys posted a 153 overall dual mark this season. Wyoming qualified four wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and earned the program’s first-ever freshman All-America award when LeBlanc captured fifth-place honors in the 184-pound bracket. Branch also oversaw a squad that earned nine all-WWC honors in 2008-09.
Wrestler of the Year Voting Wrestler (School)
1st
2nd
3rd
Total
Moza Fay (UNI)
5
1
1
102
Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
2
5
-
92
Ben Kjar (Utah Valley)
-
1
4
52
Tyler Sorenson (SDSU)
-
-
2
20
Points awarded: 16 - 1st place, 12 - 2nd place, 10 - 3rd place
Freshman of the Year Voting Wrestler (School)
1st
2nd
3rd
Total
Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
7
-
-
112
The Cowboys’ LeBlanc (Meeker, Colo.) has Mitchell Polkowske (UNC) 3 4 76 been named WWC Freshman of the Year. Christian Brantley (UNI) 4 2 68 LeBlanc became the first-ever freshman AllAdam Fager (Utah Valley) 1 10 American in the history of Wyoming wrestling Points awarded: 16 - 1st place, 12 - 2nd place, 10 - 3rd place when he placed fifth in the 184-pound bracket at the 2009 NCAA Championships. LeBlanc earned a spot into the NCAA Championships by winning the 184-pound West Regional title. LeBlanc posted a 45-8 overall record, which included a 15-2 mark in dual action. He won three tournament titles. His 45 wins tied for third-place on UW’s single-season victories list. He had two double-didgit winning streaks during the season (10 and 11). LeBlanc posted 14 major decisions, five technical falls and seven pins. - continued on page 2 -
UNI’s Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) has been named WWC Wrestler of the Year for the second consecutive season. Fay earned back-to-back All-America honors at 165 pounds by placing sixth at this year’s NCAA Championships. Fay entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the 165-pound bracket. Fay posted a season mark of 297 overall mark with a 12-4 dual record. Fay won the 2009 NCAA West Regional title and was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the regional meet. He won the 165-pound title at the Loras Open (Nov. 8). Fay took third at 165 pounds at Midlands (Dec. 29-30). Fay capped his career with 119 wins and 37 falls. 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. The conference formed in April 2006. - 30 -