Falcons Gear Up For National Championships
3/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Boxing
March 31, 2004
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force boxing team's season culminates this weekend with the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) national championships in Reno, Nev., on April 1-3.
Leading the way for the Falcons will be the six gold medalists from the NCBA Regional Championships. Freshman Willie Lloyd (Columbia, S.C.) will compete in a 112-pound bout, while junior Darren Smith (Laurel, Md.) will take on opponents in the 119-pound weight class. On the heavier side of the scale, Augustin Kamdem (Yaounde, Cameroon), Ryan Coates (San Antonio, Texas), Will Watson (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Brian Trumble (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will compete in the 175, 185, 195 and heavyweight bouts, respectively.
Air Force's four regional silver medalists will also compete at the national championships. Sophomore Luis Pena (Laredo, Texas) will fight in a 132-pound match, while junior Blake Baldi (Peoria, Ill.) will take on competition at 139-pounds. (Baldi stepped in for Wing Open champion Geoff Woolf, who became ill prior to the regional meet.) Defending 165-pound national champion Clell Knight (Justiceburg, Texas) will face off in a 156-pound bout, while Leif Nordhagen (Sun Prairie, Wis.) will compete at 165-pounds.
Two other Falcons also earned at-large bids to the national finals and will be competing at the No. 3 spot. Ezekiel Ignaco (Waukegan, Ill.) and Ryan Dorsey-Spitz (Pueblo, Colo.), who each finished third at the regional championships, will be competing in the 125-pound and 147-pound weight class, respectively.
Competition begins tomorrow (April 1) at the El Dorado Hotel in Reno, Nev.
No. 1 Competitors
112-lbs. - Willie Lloyd
119-lbs. - Darren Smith
175-lbs. - Augustin Kamdem
185-lbs. - Ryan Coates
195-lbs. - Will Watson
Hywt - Brian Trumble
No. 2 Competitors
132-lbs. - Luis Pena
139-lbs. - Blake Baldi
156-lbs. - Clell Knight
165-lbs. - Leif Nordhagen
No. 3 Competitors
125-lbs. - Ezekiel Ignaco
147-lbs. - Ryan Dorsey-Spitz
