Air Force Academy
NCAA West Regional
Air Force Takes Second Place at NCAA West Regional
3/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 8, 2008
Fargo, N.D. - Led by champions Jake Kriegbaum (Sr., Abilene, Kan.) and Tyler French (So., Malta, Mont.), the Air Force wrestling team captured a second-place finish at the 2008 NCAA West Regional, being hosted by North Dakota State. Kriegbaum, an NCAA qualifier for the third time in four years, was named the West Regional Outstanding Wrestler, while Air Force head coach Joel Sharratt was named the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year.
The Falcons, which placed sixth at last year's West Regional, finished with 64.5 points, behind Northern Iowa (110 points), which claimed its 23rd consecutive regional title. Rounding out the team standings were Wyoming (49.5), Northern Colorado (47.5), North Dakota State (44.5) and South Dakota State (14.0).
Kriegbaum, seeded third at 141 pounds, followed an opening round bye with a 9-7 decision over second-seed C.J. Ettelson of Northern Iowa. In the championship bout, Kriegbaum met up with top-seed Carter Downing of Wyoming, handing Downing a 3-1 loss. Both Downing and Ettelson entered the tournament ranked nationally, with Downing rated 19th in the country at 141 pounds and Ettelson ranked 20th. Kriegbaum improves his winning streak to 12 of his last 13 bouts, his last loss coming to 18th-ranked Matt Kyler of Army.
Meanwhile, French, wrestling in his first West Regional, captured the title at 174 pounds. French, the second seed in the tournament, opened with a bye before meeting Northern Colorado's Ryan Johnson. French pinned Johnson in a time of 2:53, moving into the championship bout versus top-seeded Alex Dolly of Northern Iowa. French picked up an 8-0 major decision against Dolly to earn the title, moving his own win streak to 11 of his last 12 bouts.
Two other Falcons, seniors Tony Dorward (Seattle, Wash.) and Jacob Devlin (Livingston, N.J.), were runner-ups in their respective weight classes. Dorward, seeded second at 157 pounds, recorded a 3-2 decision over Weston Blasius of South Dakota State, followed by a 6-2 tiebreaker win over NDSU's Adam Aho. In the championship bout, Dorward fell to top-seeded Tyson Reiner of UNI in a time of 6:36. He then registered a 5-4 tiebreaker win over UNC's Rocco DePaolo in the true second place match.
Devlin, the fourth-seed at 184 pounds, received an opening bye before facing top-seed Tyler Sorenson of South Dakota State. After taking a 9-8 decision over Sorenson, Devlin moved into the championship contest versus Northern Iowa's Andy O'Loughlin. Despite a close battle, Devlin came up short in a 6-4 loss to O'Loughlin, finishing second.
Junior Stephen Crozier (Monona, Iowa), unseeded at 165 pounds, went 4-1 on the day for the Falcons. Crozier started with an 11-4 decision over fourth-seed Devan Lewis of Northern Colorado. He then ran into top-seed Moza Fay of Northern Iowa, ranked 10th in the nation, falling in a time of 1:25. Moving into the consolation bracket, Crozier picked up a pair of wins, defeating NDSU's Vincent Salminen, 15-11, and SDSU's Ryan Meyer, 6-2. in the true second place bout, Crozier recorded a 7-5 decision over Wyoming's Eric Coxbill in the true second place bout.
Meanwhile, Zach Valdez (Sr., Parker, Colo.), Derek Gillespie (Fr., Chesapeake, Va.), Jordan Tribble (Jr., Midwest City, Okla.) and Anthony Stegeman (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) each finished fourth for the Falcons at 125, 133, 197 and heavyweight, respectively.
With their wins, Kriegbaum and French earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, being held March 20-22 in St. Louis, Mo. Crozier and Devlin earned wild card entries into the national tournament, while Dorward was named one of three alternates.
Players Mentioned
