March 19, 2008

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

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The Wyoming Cowboy Wrestling team will show off their talents at the NCAA Championships this week in St. Louis, Mo. The Cowboys will be sending two wrestlers to compete in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Senior Carter Downing and sophomore Cory VomBaur will be representing the Pokes for the Championships. The tournament will begin Thursday, March 20 and run through Saturday, March 22.

"This is the NCAA Tournament, this is a huge deal for us and we are excited to be participating," UW head coach Steven Suder said. "We have two guys' that have worked hard all year and we will have a chance to represent our institution and see how we stack up against the rest."

Downing heads into his third straight national tournament with a 21-5 overall record including a team leading ten major decisions and one technical fall. He went 3-0 in conference duals with two major decisions and one technical fall. Downing ended the regular season ranked 19th in the nation at 141 pounds and finished the 2nd in the Western Regional Tournament. He will face the #12 seeded Garrett Scott from Penn State. Scott finished the season with a 18-5 overall record.

VomBaur enters his second straight NCAA Tournament with a 20-15 record and four major decisions. He went 1-1 in the Western Regional Tournament losing to the #1 ranked Josh Baldridge of UNI in the championship match. He will take on the #6 seeded Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra who finished the season with a 27-3 record.

"Both of these guys have been here before and they are looking to make some noise this year," Suder continued. "There are no easy draws in this tournament, everyone here is an elite wrestler and we are here to get a job done. This is a nice tribute to both of our guy's hard work throughout the course of the season and we are excited to compete on Thursday."

The tournament will begin Thursday, at 10:00 a.m. and continue on through Saturday. Ticket Information can be located at www.ncaa.org.