OREM, Utah — North Dakota State University 125-pound senior Trent Sprenkle (Billings, Mont./Billings HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week after an outstanding performance on the mat last week. The conference award was announced Tuesday by the league.
Sprenkle and teammate Steven Monk have each claimed the honor twice this season. NDSU leads all league teams with its four awards this year.
Sprenkle posted a perfect 5-0 record at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11-12, including one pin, two technical falls, and a decision over the No. 8-ranked wrestler in the country, Christian Cullinan of Central Michigan. The NDSU senior helped the Bison to a 3-2 dual record and a seventh-place team finish, along with a 27-15 win over No. 25 Old Dominion.
Sprenkle, ranked sixth in the nation by InterMat, recorded an 18-2 technical fall of Arizona State’s Ares Carpio before his 2-1 decision of No. 8-ranked Cullinan in a dual with No. 9 Central Michigan. On Saturday, Sprenkle won by fall over Mike Sardo of Binghamton and by 17-2 technical fall over Boise State’s Rami Haddadin. In NDSU’s 27-15 win over No. 25 Old Dominion, ODU chose to forfeit to Sprenkle at 125 pounds. NDSU now has dual wins over two ranked opponents this season and Sprenkle is now 20-2 on the year.
The conference honor is Sprenkle’s second of the season and third of his career.
The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its seventh year of competition, is comprised of six schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming.
NDSU travels to No. 7 Missouri on Saturday, Jan. 19, before opening the conference portion of its schedule at Air Force on Jan. 25.