Air Force Academy
Friday Night Fights
Falcons Shine During First Round of Friday Night Fights
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Boxing
Oct. 9, 2009
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - With a card that featured a talented blend of veterans and newcomers, the Air Force boxing team opened its home slate with the first of seven rounds of Friday Night Fights on Oct. 9 in the Upper Boxing Room of the Cadet Gym. While the 10-bout card reflected just one senior, the lineup featured six Wing Open finalists, two NCBA All-Americans and one NCBA national champion.
Junior Matt DeMars, the defending national champion at 112 pounds, opened the night with a unanimous 125-pound victory over sophomore Rainer Caparas, a 119-pound Wing Open finalist from one year ago. Sophomore Nicholas Watts, a 125-pound Wing Open finalist last spring, picked up a unanimous decision over classmate Jonathan Baker in another bout at 125 pounds.
Matt McPhail, the lone senior on the night's card, earned a split decision victory over rookie Chris Eby in a 135-pound contest. In the 143-pound bout, junior Michael Mizes used a fierce attack throughout the six-minute bout to win the decision and leave classmate Trever Symalla bloodied.
Newcomer Glenn Miltenberg, one of three freshmen to claim a victory during tonight's action, connected on some hard hits and used a commanding performance in the third round to take a decision from junior Colton Cash in the 151-pound bout. Classmate Benjamin Fox showed a promising future in the 156-pound bout, as he took control of ring from the opening bell. Using strong combinations, Fox overpowered Kekoa Clark and caused the referee to call the bout in the third round.
Sophomore Tyrus Korecki held the upper hand from the first bell, as he took a decision from classmate Luke Dugger in a 165-pound bout. Following an extremely hard-hitting third round, sophomore John Lydiard decisioned classmate Nicholas Rogers at 166 pounds.
The 170-pound matchup featured a pair of freshmen competing in their first collegiate bout. With most of the scoring punches coming in the opening minute of each round, John Alleman took a split decision from Kendrick Talamantez.
Junior Dalton Hall and sophomore Nick Cataldo stepped into the ring for the final bout of the night at 177 pounds. Hall, who already has one victory under his belt following a win at Navy last week, improved to 2-0 on the year with a unanimous decision over Cataldo in a spirited bout that seemed to grow in intensity as the clock wore down. For his efforts defeating the outstanding boxer from last year's Wing Open Championship, Hall was named the Academy's Boxer of the Week - the first such honor of his career.
Air Force returns to action on Friday, Oct. 23, when they travel to Detroit, Mich., for the annual Service Academy Classic. Six Falcons, including DeMars, Mizes, Korecki and Cataldo, will compete against boxers from Army and Navy at the historic Detroit Athletic Club.
RESULTS
125-lbs.: Matt DeMars (CS-14) dec. Rainer Caparas (CS-21)
125-lbs.: Nicholas Watts (CS-09) dec. Jonathan Baker (CS-37)
135-lbs.: Matt McPhail (CS-32) dec. Chris Eby (CS-14)
143-lbs.: Michael Mizes (CS-24) dec. Trever Symalla (CS-03)
151-lbs.: Glenn Miltenberg (CS-37) dec. Colton Cash (CS-30)
156-lbs.: Benjamin Fox (CS-30) rsc-3 Kekoa Clark (CS-38)
165-lbs.: Tyrus Korecki (CS-24) dec. Luke Dugger (CS-26)
166-lbs.: John Lydiard (CS-26) dec. Nicholas Rogers (CS-25)
170-lbs.: Jake Alleman (CS-39) dec. Kendrick Talamantez (CS-27)
177-lbs.: Dalton Hall (CS-12) dec. Nick Cataldo (CS-08)
Players Mentioned
