Sports briefs

Kjar Named Wrester of the Week by WWC

UVU 125-pound Junior Benjamin Kjar has been named the Western Wrestling Conference’s Wrestler of the Week as announced today by the league.

Kjar placed fifth at the Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30, after entering as the No. 6 seed and finishing with an overall record of 5-2 at the event. Kjar, who is ranked number fifteen in the nation in the latest InterMat poll, is 19-5 overall on the year.

At the Midlands, Kjar’s wins included a 16-5 major decision over Christopher Quiroga of Purdue and a 4-3 decision over the seventh seed and seventeenth ranked Jason Lara of Oregon State. Kjar’s two losses, both decisions, came against third seed and eighth ranked Matt McDonough of Iowa and the tournament’s top seed, Brandon Precin of Northwestern, who finished third at last season’s NCAA Championships. The weekly league honor for Kjar is his second this season, the other coming on Nov. 24.

The WWC is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, UVU and Wyoming.

UVU Track Opens Indoor Season at BYU

UVU’s men’s and women’s track and field teams officially began the 2010 indoor season this past weekend at the BYU Indoor Invitational held at the Smith Field House in Provo.

Coach Scott Houle’s Wolverines enjoyed very successful seasons in 2009 as both teams won the inaugural Great West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships while placing second (both men’s and women’s) at the indoor championships. A number of highly anticipated freshman will join several key returning athletes to make the program even stronger in 2010.