Air Force Academy
Southern Scuffle
VonOhlen Places Fifth at Southern Scuffle
12/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 30, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Paced by a fifth-place finish from freshman Cole VonOhlen, the Air Force wrestling team wrapped up competition at the annual Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro. The Falcons finished 17th in the team standings with 32 points.
VonOhlen, who put together a 3-0 record on the first day of competition, suffered his first loss of the tournament in the quarterfinals at 141 pounds, dropping a major decision to sixth-ranked Mike Thorn of Minnesota. However, he won his first match of the wrestlebacks, pinning Old Dominion's Brennan Brumley in a time of 5:48 to guarantee a top-eight showing.
In the next round of wrestlebacks, VonOhlen secured a 7-1 decision against Virginia's Derek Valenti, but came up short in a hard-fought match versus Germane Lindsay of Ohio in the following round. With the score tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, Lindsay managed to score the only takedown of the bout in sudden victory to grab the 3-1 win.
In the fifth-place contest, VonOhlen scored several back points in the opening period against Elijah Nacita of Cal State Bakersfield, before rolling to a 10-0 major decision. With the win, VonOhlen improved his overall record to a team-best 15-4 on the season.
Also competing for the Falcons on the second day of the Southern Scuffle were Tyler Spangler (Fr., Midlothian, Va.) and Neil Delaney (Jr., Grand Rapids, Mich.), wrestling at 133 and 197 pounds, respectively.
Spangler, who compiled a 3-1 record on Tuesday, dropped a major decision to Ohio's Quentin Keyes in his only match on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Delaney, competing against a ranked wrestler for the second time during the tournament, fell to No. 14 Jesse Strawn of Old Dominion in his only match of the day.
The Falcons return to action Jan. 16, when they head to Grand Prairie, Texas, for the annual Lone Star Duals.
