ELLENSBURG, Wash.- Twenty tries by twelve different players allowed the Central Washington University men's rugby team to breeze to a 122-5 victory over the University of Colorado Saturday afternoon at the Wildcat Rugby Pitch.
 
"Great job by our side from a decision making aspect today," CWU head coach Todd Thornley stated. "We scored some nice tries but at times lacked execution, which must be fixed going forward. Larry Peneueta was outstanding carrying the ball and our entire backline did well applying the work they have been doing in practice for the past month. Now we must recover well and have a good couple of days of practice leading into a tough trip down to Utah."
 
Senior winger Ian Wright led all scorers with 20 points on four tries as CWU improved to 5-3 on the season. Freshman center Jackson Cooley also recorded a hat trick in the match, finishing with 15 points. Senior fly half Scott Dean handled the majority of the Wildcat conversion attempts, accumulating 15 points on one try and five conversions.
 
Wright kicked off CWU's scoring effort in the third minute of action when he kicked the ball forward and raced a Buffalo defender to touch down for try. Jack Wendling scored four minutes later after catching Reuben Luddick's kick and rushed to try.
 
In the 12th minute, Larry Peneueta dragged a pair of Colorado defenders for approximately 15 meters before finally being brought down near the ten-meter line. Following a successful ruck, Wright offloaded to Cooley for his first try of the match.
 
Trailing 39-0, the Buffaloes were knocking on the door of the try line. The resilient Wildcat defense remained undeterred by Colorado's close proximity to the try zone. Sophomore Makani Mafua managed to intercept an errant pass by Colorado and scamper 80 meters for his lone try of the match. The Wildcats entered halftime leading 65 to 0.
 
The Wildcats kept their foot on the accelerator coming out of intermission, with Peneueta leading the way. Peneueta scored a pair of tries in a span of five minutes, including one that featured the senior hooker dragging several Colorado tacklers.
 
Barton Hasz scored his first try of the season after bullying his way into try in the 56th minute. Max Riseham followed suit two minutes later, following a handful of impressive offloads from Central Washington.
 
Colorado averted a shutout after an advantageous bounce landed in the arms of one of their wings in the 63rd minute, after which the Wildcats added four more tries to their final tally. 
 
CWU will travel to Utah next week to face a pair of challenging opponents. The Wildcats will battle Utah Valley University on Thursday, March 15 at 5 p.m. MST, followed by a visit to Brigham Young University on Saturday, March 17, for a 1 p.m. MST kickoff.
 
SCORING SUMMARY VS COLORADO
03:00:  Ian Wright 5
07:00:  Jack Wendling 5
12:00:  Jackson Cooley 5
15:00:  Jackson Cooley 5
20:00:  Ian Wright 5
24:00:  Reuben Ludick 7
27:00:  Ian Wright 5, Scott Dean 2
31:00:  Makani Mafua 5
34:00:  Jackson Cooley 5, Scott Dean 2
37:00:  Max Risham 5, Scott Dean 2
39:00:  Ian Wright 5, Reuben Ludick 2
HALFTIME SCORE: CENTRAL WASHINGTON 65, COLORADO 0
41:00:  Larry Peneueta 5, Scott Dean 2
45:00:  Larry Peneueta 5, Scott Dean 2
50:00:  Siaosi Lotulelei 5
56:00:  Barton Hasz 5, Nick Siemens 2
58:00:  Max Riseham 5, Jake Szumski 2
63:00:  Colorado 5
66:00:  Jake Szumski 5
69:00:  Nick Siemens 5
73:00:  Scott Dean 5, Jake Szumski 2
77:00:  Nick Siemens 5, Jake Szumski 2
FINAL SCORE: CENTRAL WASHINGTON 122, COLORADO 5
 
-CWU-