BRONCO WRESTLERS HEAD TO PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS

BOISE, Idaho The Boise State wrestling team will send ten wrestlers to Fullerton, Calif. this weekend with high hopes of defending its 2008 conference title at the Pac-10 Conference Championships, Sunday-Monday (March 1-2). The Broncos (17-3, 8-0 Pac-10) enter postseason action on an eight dual winning streak, with seven of those wins coming against Pac-10 opponents.

Looking to Repeat

Boise State boasts six wrestlers who reached the championship round of the 2008 conference tournament. Cory Fish (17-7, 8-6 Dual) and Nate Lee (15-3, 13-1) brought home first-place trophies, while Tyler Sherfey (23-8, 15-4), Kirk Smith (32-1, 19-1) and Adam Hall (30-3, 18-1) earned runner-up finishes. They will return to the tournament with last year’s 184-pound champion, Brent Chriswell (10-1, 10-1). Chriswell, who defeated Smith in the championship match while wrestling for Arizona State, has wrestled at 197-pounds for the Broncos this season.

The Broncos won the 2008 Pac-10 Championship in overwhelming fashion, posting 152.5 points, which was 46 points more than second-place Stanford. The tournament record for team points is 155, set by Cal State Bakersfield in 1996. Boise State Head Coach Greg Randall said his team hopes to make a run at breaking that record this weekend.

Season Review

Boise State finished the 2008-09 regular season ranked No. 9 nationally by USA Today/InterMat/NWCA. The Broncos moved up five spots from their preseason ranking of No. 14. Success hasn’t just come as a team, however, as the Broncos have also achieved a great deal of individual success so far this season.

In the most recent USA Today/InterMat/NWCA individual rankings, Boise State had seven wrestlers voted in the top-20 for their respective weight class. Four of them finished the regular season ranked in the top-six. Boise State has four wrestlers with more than 20 wins this season, including two that have already reached the 30 win plateau.

Smith earned the highest individual ranking of any Bronco, being voted No. 4 at 184-pounds in the Feb. 24 poll. Chriswell and Andrew Hochstrasser (28-2, 16-1) both received No. 5 rankings at 197 and 133-pounds, respectively. Hall finished the regular season ranked No. 6 at 157-pounds.

Rounding out the group of Broncos ranked nationally is Lee, Sherfey and Jason Chamberlain (17-7, 10-6). Lee enters the Pac-10 tournament ranked No. 12 at 174-pounds. Chamberlain is ranked No. 17 at 149-pounds and Sherfey is No. 18 at 165-pounds.

The Broncos enter the Pac-10 tournament with confidence, having enjoyed a great deal of success against conference opponents this season. Boise State compiled an astounding 68-12 (85.0%) match record in Pac-10 duals. The 10 wrestlers who will be competing in the conference tournament have won 88.4 percent (61-8) of their conference matches. Six of the 10 are undefeated in this season in Pac-10 dual matches.

The Broncos ended the season with a perfect 7-0 record in Boise. In their last four home duals of the season, Boise State lost just three matches. The Broncos scored an average of 29.75 points in their duals this season, while only allowing their opponents an average of 9.55 points.

Boise State’s Pac-10 Tournament Line-up

Weight Name (Overall, Dual)

125 Brian Owen (10-5, 6-5)

133 Andrew Hochstrasser (28-2, 15-1)

141 Cory Fish (17-7, 8-6)

149 Jason Chamberlain (17-7, 10-6)

157 Adam Hall (30-3, 18-1)

165 Tyler Sherfey (23-8, 15-4)

174 Nate Lee (15-3, 13-1)

184 Kirk Smith (32-1, 19-1)

197 Brent Chriswell (10-1, 10-1)

HWT Sam Zylstra (11-13, 6-9)

Boise State Athletics

Related News

Related Videos