Tucson, Ariz. (March 19, 2022) --  The Wyoming Cowboys closed out the Arizona N.I.T. tying for 12th in a tournament field that included nine of the Top 30 ranked teams in the country.  The Cowboys tied with Mountain West rival Colorado State and finished ahead of MW opponents San Diego State and UNLV.  UW's top individual finisher was Kirby Coe-Kirkham, who tied for 23rd place.
 
The Pokes finished with a three-round total of even par 864.  Oklahoma State, ranked No. 2 in the country by Golfstat, was the class of the tournament, winning by 21 strokes over second-place and No. 7 ranked Texas.  The OSU Cowboys posted a score of 811 (-53), while Texas concluded the tournament with a score of 832 (-32).
 
Oklahoma State's Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra captured medalist honors, firing a score of 196 (-20) to win by five strokes over Christian Banke of Arizona, who finished at 201 (-15).
 
Individually, Wyoming's Kirby Coe-Kirkham was the lone Cowboy to finish under par, with a final scored of 212 (-4) to tie for 23rd.  Tyler Severin tied for 47th at 216 (Even).  Cowboys Bryce Waters and Patrick Azevedo tied for 61st at 218 (+2), and UW's Jimmy Dales finished in 79th at 223 (+7).
 
"I was really pleased with the way we maintained our consistent play throughout this tournament," said Joe Jensen, UW Director of Golf.  "It is always good when you can compete well against other Mountain West schools, and we were able  to do that. 
 
"This was an amazing field of teams and it was a good experience for us.  I like the balance we've developed on our team.  We've had different guys step up for us in different tournaments, and I think that balance will serve us well going forward into this season."
 
This week's Arizona N.I.T. included nine teams ranked in the Top 30 of the most recent Golfstat collegiate golf rankings (as of March 15).  Those nine teams were: No. 1 ranked Oklahoma, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 9 Pepperdine, No. 12 Texas, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 25 Illinois, No. 28 New Mexico and No. 30 Arizona.
 
Among the five Mountain West teams in the field, only No. 28 ranked New Mexico finished ahead of the Cowboys in sixth place.  Wyoming tied Colorado State for 12th.  San Diego State finished in 14th place and UNLV finished in 15th.
     
The University of Arizona N.I.T. was played at the Omni Tucson National Catalina Course.  The course measured 7,200 yards and played to a Par of 72.
 
Team Standings
1.   Oklahoma State                 266-269-276=811 (-53)
2.   Texas                                 280-280-272=832 (-32)
3.   Pepperdine                        283-277-276=836 (-28)
4.   Oklahoma                          283-275-279=837 (-27)
5.   Arizona                               277-279-282=838 (-26)
6.   Illinois                                 281-280-280=841 (-23)
      New Mexico                       271-287-283=841 (-23)
8.   Arkansas                            279-287-280=846 (-18)
9.   Tennessee                          281-286-284=851 (-13)
10. USC                                    279-295-281=855 (-9)
11. San Diego                           289-291-279=859 (-5)
12. Wyoming                           285-288-291=864 (Even)
      Colorado State                   292-289-283=864 (Even)
14. San Diego State                 286-291-293=870 (+6)
15. UNLV                                  289-295-290=874 (+10)
 
Wyoming Cowboys' Individual Standings
T23 Kirby Coe-Kirkham              68-72-72=212 (-4)
T47 Tyler Severin                       73-73-70=216 (Even)
T61 Bryce Waters                      72-71-75=218 (+2)
T61 Patrick Azevedo                  72-72-74=218 (+2)
79  Jimmy Dales                         74-73-76=223 (+7)