Former Wyoming student-athletes set for Olympic Games in Tokyo
LARAMIE -- A pair of former Wyoming student-athletes will head to the world’s biggest stage competing in the Olympics in Tokyo with opening ceremonies on Friday.
Mason Finley will represent the United States in the discus throw and Nathan Sobey will represent Australia in men’s basketball.
Finley will compete on Thursday, July 29 at 6:45 MT. Sobey opens the games on Sunday, July 25 at 2:20 a.m. MT against Nigeria. The Olympics can be seen on the NBC Family of Networks and the Peacock App.
Finley won the Men's Discus at the 2021 U.S Olympic Trials. With his best throw of the day at 206-11 Finley is heading to his second-consecutive Olympic games.
Finley wrapped up his time at the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Rio de Janerio placing 11th in the men's discus as he became the first American to compete in the final round of the event since Casey Malone in 2004.
The native of Buena Vista, Colo., won the 2014 Mountain West Conference individual title in the discus back on May 16, 2014, when he recorded a throw of 202' 11" for the second-best mark in MW Championship history.
Finley was named the Outstanding Male Athlete at the 2014 Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He went on to place sixth in the discus at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon to claim the 11th All-America honor of his college career.
Sobey, who plays for the Brisbane Bullets of the NBL in Australia was named First Team All-League this season. He averaged 21.1 points per game with 4.7 assists per game and 4.9 rebounds per night. He shot 46 percent from the field for the season. He earned All-NBL the previous two seasons and was named Most Improved Player in 2017.
In 2013-14 for the Cowboys, Sobey started all 33 games. He averaged 9.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.2 minutes per game. He shot 43 percent from the field and 26 percent beyond the arc to notch 13 double-figure point games, including two contests with more than 20 points. As a Junior, Sobey averaged 3.5 points and 1.0 rebound in 13.3 minutes per game to go with 24 assists and 10 steals. He came to Wyoming from Cochise College in Douglas, Ariz.
He also represented Australia in the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
GoWyo.com will have updates throughout the games and follow @wyoathletics on Twitter for information on the former Cowboys in Tokyo.
* University of Wyoming press release
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