UW roundup: Cowgirls fall to Utah State

By Wyoming Sports.org

Two second-half goals by Utah State were enough to hold off a late Wyoming rally and the Cowgirls fell to the Aggies 2-1 on Sunday at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

With the loss, the Cowgirls fall to 5-5-1 overall while Utah State improves to 5-5-1.

After a scoreless first half of soccer, Utah State notched the first score of the game in the 55th minute on an unassisted goal by Erin Salmon. The Aggies added to their lead with a penalty kick goal by Summer Tillotson in the 87th minute.

The Cowgirls got on the scoreboard late in the game and scored with six seconds remaining in the second half. The goal was junior Emily Layton’s sixth of the season and came from outside of the 18-yard box on as assist from sophomore Jerrica DiVincenzo. Unfortunately, the goal was too little, too late.

"We have to give credit to Utah State. They came out and played with more urgency and more purpose and they deserved to win," said UW head coach Danny Sanchez. "After seeing the progress we made while going 3-0-1 over the last two weeks on the road, it was disappointing to not play as well today. We have to regroup and get ready to open Mountain West Conference play next Friday against Air Force."

The Cowgirls will open the MWC season at home Friday, hosting Air Force at 3 p.m. They will continue action on Sunday against Boise State at 1 p.m., also at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex.

Korir paces Cowboys at Roy Griak Invite
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Wyoming senior Mark Korir finished in third place Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls both finished 12th in this competitive race. The Cowboys ran against four Top 25 teams and they all followed the winning Division II Adams State Grizzlies with a team total of 75 points. Other ranked teams were 29th-ranked Iowa State, 30th-ranked Brigham Young and ninth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers finished second, third and fourth respectively.

The Wyoming men finished with a total of 320 points. In the 8k race, Korir finished in 24 minutes, 10 seconds, a season best and only 15 seconds behind the winner from Auburn, Elkanah Kibet.

“It was a loaded field with some very talented runners from across the nation,” said head track and field coach Don Yentes. “Mark ran a great race, as he again made his name heard at the national level.”

Senior Michael Huntington remained consistent for the cowboys with his 43rd-place finish and time of 25:17. He was followed by freshman Eliud Chirchir in 79th-place and a time of 25:50. Sophomore Seth Grossman and senior Brett Schuler rounded out the scoring for the Cowboys with their 86th and 109th-place finishes respectively.

On the women’s side, ninth-ranked Minnesota was followed by fifth-ranked Arizona State with team scores of 31 and 46 points respectively for first and second place overall.

The Cowgirl harriers finished with a team total of 366 points and a 12th-place finish out of 23 teams. They were led by junior Emily Higgins, who finished in 33rd place and a time of 22:23 in the 6k race. Sophomore Alysha Davis ran one of her best races as she crossed the tape in 43rd place.

“Emily started the race out a little slower than usual, but really came on at the end and finished strong,” said Yentes. “Alysha Davis ran a very good race as she continues to gain maturity and strength.”

“All in all, it was a very good learning experience for both teams and they represented Wyoming well against the best in the nation,” said Yentes.

Wyoming returns to action at the Rocky Mountain Shootout in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday.

Cowboy golfers finish eighth
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The University of Wyoming men’s golf team concluded a strong performance on Saturday, placing eighth in a very strong 16-team field at the University of New Mexico William H. Tucker Invitational.

Wyoming finished with a three-round total of 901 -- 37 over par. The Cowboys defeated Mountain West Conference foes Utah by three strokes and Air Force by 21 strokes. Another MWC opponent, UNLV, captured the team title with a 12-under par total of 852 to defeat host New Mexico by 11 strokes.

Cowboy sophomore Phil Henzlik was Wyoming’s top individual finisher, placing 20th out of 92 individuals. Henzlik shot a 54-hole total of five-over par 221. Fellow Cowboy sophomores Gabe Maier and Aaron Johnson each finished tied for 34th place, shooting nine-over par 225 totals for the three rounds. The individual tournament title ended in a tie between Derek Tolan of Colorado and Eddie Olson of UNLV, who both shot five-under par 211 for the 54-hole event.

“I’m pleased that we finished in the upper half of the field and hung in there with some very good teams,” said Cowboy head coach Joe Jensen. “It is always good to get wins over other Mountain West Conference schools (Air Force and Utah). This was great experience for our young team and we just need to continue doing what we’re doing. We showed good balance as a team with our results and everyone contributed.”

Wyoming’s next fall tournament will be a new fall event hosted by the Cowboys in Palm Desert, Calif. The Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will be Saturday and Sunday at the Classic Club in Palm Desert.