Air Force Academy
Kaufman-Brand Open
Falcons Conclude Action at Kaufman-Brand Open
11/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 21, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. - Finishing with five placewinners, the Air Force wrestling team completed competition at the one-day Kaufman-Brand Open, hosted by Nebraska-Omaha. In the Elite Division, senior Tyler French (Malta, Mont.) was the runner-up at 174 pounds, while freshman Cole VonOhlen (Jackson, Minn.) placed sixth at 141 pounds. Meanwhile, in the Amateur Division, freshmen Clayton Gable (Dallastown, Pa.) and Greg Isley (Toledo, Ohio) captured fourth-place finishes at 157 and 184 pounds, respectively, while Tyler Spangler (Fr., Midlothian, Va.) placed fifth at 133 pounds.
French rattled off four straight victories to earn a spot in the championship bout at 174 pounds. He opened the day with a 6-2 decision over Matt Morris of Augustana, followed by a 15-6 major decision against Minnesota's Matt Everson. He then pinned Nebraska-Omaha's James Reynolds in a time of 2:17, while defeating Iowa's Ethan Lofthouse, 6-4. However, he was unable to pull off another win, dropping a 5-3 decision to Nebraska-Kearney's Kamarudeen Usman in the title match.
Meanwhile, VonOhlen, who won his first collegiate title at last weekend's Cowboy Open, began his day by pinning James Fox of Newman in a time of 2:45. After dropping a 6-3 decision to Nebraska-Omaha's Mario Morgan, VonOhlen faced off against teammate Derek Gillespie (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.) in the consolation bracket, coming up with a 6-3 win. He notched his second fall of the day, pinning Old Dominion's Craig Wilson in 1:37 before giving up a 1-0 decision to WWC foe Ryan Adams of North Dakota State. His evening ended in the fifth-place match, where he lost to Iowa State's Dalton Jensen by medical forfeit.
Gable, competing for the first time this season, got off to a solid start as well, posting three straight victories. He followed up a 6-1 decision over Nebraska-Kearney's Jordan Gienger with a 10-4 win over Derek Hahn of Minnesota State-Mankato and a 2-1 decision against George Ivanov of Nebraska-Omaha. However, a pin by eventual champion Chase Nelson of Labette CC sent Gable into the consolation bracket. There, he posted an 8-5 win over Nebraska-Omaha's Tyler Kottas, but lost a 4-2 decision to UNO's Nathan Sigman in the third-place contest.
Isley, who also won an individual title in his first collegiate tournament last weekend, won each of his first two bouts on Saturday, pinning Newman's Tyler Hasenbank in a time of 2:48, while posting a 7-5 decision over Nebraska-Omaha's Mitch Brown. After a 5-2 loss to Cole Shafer of Iowa State, Isley registered a 5-0 victory over Matt Baker of Nebraska-Omaha, but fell to Northern Iowa's Ryan Loder, 5-2, in the third-place match.
Spangler started his day with three consecutive victories as well, beginning with a 6-0 decision over Danny Arnel of Wisconsin. He also posted a 15-4 major decision against Nebraska-Kearney's Jarek Patterson and a 3-2 decision over Iowa Central CC's Michael Garofalo, before dropping an 11-4 decision to C.J. Napier of Nebraska. In the consolation bracket, Spangler fell to Old Dominion's Justin LaValle, but won the fifth-place bout against Nebraska-Kearney's Matt Katusin by medical forfeit.
The Falcons are idle next week, but will return to action Dec. 4-5 for the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, as well as the FHSU-Bob Smith Open in Hays, Kan., on Dec. 5.
Players Mentioned
