Tanner Gentry prepares to run after catching a pass from Josh Allen early in the 1st quarter. Photo Credit: Pete Arnold

Tanner Gentry prepares to run after catching a pass from Josh Allen early in the 1st quarter. Photo Credit: Pete Arnold

On Tuesday the Mountain West announced their post season awards and a host of Cowboys found themselves being honored by the conference. In all ten Cowboys were honored for their performance on the field this season. The Cowboys are sitting at 8-4 on the season, and are getting ready to host the Mountain West championship this weekend in Laramie. The Cowboys are playing for their first conference championship since 1996 when the Pokes were defeated by Brigham Young.

Of the Cowboys honored four of them were on the Mountain West all-conference first team, three on the second team, and one honorable mention.

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl was honored by the conference as coach of the year. The Cowboys, who were picked dead last in the preseason are now 8-4 and hosting the conference championship. Bohl’s roster grew up considerably over the summer and gutted out many wins this season. The Cowboys defeated two ranked opponents this season, the first time since 2002. The Cowboys were also undefeated on their home court this season, going 6-0. Bohl is in his third year at Wyoming.

Wyoming freshman linebacker Logan Wilson was honored as the Mountain West freshman of the year by the conference on Tuesday. Wilson, a Natrona County (Casper, Wyo) grad finished the regular season with 79 tackles, three sacks, three interceptions, and two touchdowns. He also had three fumble recoveries for the Cowboys.

Brian Hill, a junior from Belleville, IL, was honored as a first team All-Mountain West selection. Hill ended the regular season fourth in the country with 1674 yards and 21 touchdowns. He averaged 139 yards per game. Hill was a semi-finalist for the Doak Walker award, given to the nation’s top running back.

Jacob Hollister, a senior from Bend, OR, was named to the first team All-Mountain West as well. Hollister finished the season with 29 receptions for 488 yards and six touchdowns. Hollister was key to the Cowboy passing attack, often coming up with game saving catches for the Pokes.

Chase Roullier, a senior from Savage, MN, was named to the first team All-Mountain West. Roullier made the position change before the start of the season from guard to center and his performance never tapered off. Roullier was named to the Outland Trophy Award watch list as well as the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list in the pre-season. Roullier has been an anchor on the offensive line and was named a captain before the season.

Andrew Wingard, a sophomore from Arvada, CO, was named to the first team All-Mountain West. Wingard is no stranger to awards, being named the Mountain West player of the week in their win versus Colorado State. Wingard was a second team All-Mountain West pick last year as a freshman. Wingard finished the season with 119 tackles, two sacks, and one interception.

Josh Allen, a sophomore from Firebaugh, CA, was named a second team All-Mountain West selection. Allen came back to the field this season after suffering a broken collarbone in his first start for the Cowboys in 2015. Allen rebounded to throw for 2748 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Allen also rushed for 687 yards and seven touchdowns.

Tanner Gentry, a senior from Aurora, CO, was named a second team All-Mountain West selection. Gentry finished the season with 1132 yards and 11 touchdowns to lead all Cowboy receivers. Gentry ranked 20th in reception yards and 15th in touchdowns nationally. Gentry is the first Cowboy to record 1000 yards receiving since 2005 when Jovon Bouknight had 1116 yards.

DJ May, a senior from Federal Way, WA, was honored as a second team All-Mountain West selection at kick/punt returner. May made the conversion early in his career from running back to linebacker. He also took on a role of being the kick returner for the Cowboys. May finished the season as the 11th best kick returner, averaging nearly 28 yards per return. May also had 57 tackles, two sacks, and eight and a half tackles for loss.

Lucas Wacha was named honorable mention All-Mountain West. Wacha, a senior from Texarkana, TX, finished the season with 98 tackles, three sacks, and eight tackles for loss.

San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey was named Mountain West offensive player of the year. The Aztecs Damontae Kazee was named the defensive player of the year. Rashaad Penny from the Aztecs was named special teams player of the year.

The Cowboys will be back on the field on Saturday to take on San Diego State in War Memorial Stadium in the Mountain West championship. The game will be televised by ESPN and start at 5:45pm. Tickets are still available from gowyo.com or the UW Box Office at the stadium.