Air Force Academy
All-Academy Championships
Wrestling Team Places Fifth at All-Academy Championships
1/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 31, 2004
The Air Force wrestling team placed a disappointing fifth overall at the 10th annual All-Academy Championships on Saturday. It was the lowest finish for the Falcons in the history of the event, as the team was held without an individual champion. Two Falcon grapplers placed second in the event.
Navy, which hosted the event, captured the team title. The Midshipmen finished the day with 107 points to take first place for the first time since 1999. Eight Mids advanced to the championship round, winning five individual titles to help the Mids capture their fourth All-Academy Championship.
Blaine Brown was the Falcons' first runner up. Brown suffered a 15-4 loss to Navy's Mike Barikian at the 165-pound weight class. The team's other runner up was at the 184-pound weight class. Lucas Lefever lost a 12-6 decison to Army's Luke Calvert. In addition, Jacob Lillich (174) placed third overall and Kurt Skarstedt (hwt) placed fourth.
Air Force scored only 36.5 team points in the match. Prior to last year's third place finish, the Falcons had won the previous two All-Academy Championships. The Falcons, who had never finished lower than third place, were affected by injuries. They forfeited two weight classes and wrestled just five of 10 regular starters.
Final Team Standings
1. Navy, 107.0
2. Citadel, 83.0
3. Army, 73.0
4. VMI, 62.5
5. Air Force, 36.5
6. Coast Guard, 22.0
7. Norwich, 9.0
8. U.S. Merchant Marine, 3.5
Championship Bouts
125 - Ryan McClester (Citadel) dec. Sam Gray (Navy), 2-1(sv)
133 - Sean Markey (Citadel) dec. Micah Amrozowicz (VMI), 6-0
141 - Nate Gulosh (Navy) dec. David Metzler (VMI), 5-0
149 - John Cox (Navy) maj. dec. Sam Alvarenga (VMI), 20-8
157 - Phil Simpson (Army) def. Pat Lukanich (Navy), 6-2
165 - Mike Barikian (Navy) maj. dec. Blaine Brown (Air Force), 15-4
174 - Keith Clifton (Citadel) dec. Andrew Hemminger (Navy), 6-0
184 - Luke Calvert (Army) dec. Luke Lefever (Air Force), 12-6
197 - Thayer Paxton (Navy) dec. Jason Cox (VMI), 14-12(sv)
HWT - Tanner Garrett (Navy) dec. Bo Reynolds (Army), 11-5
