Air Force Wrestling Falls at South Dakota State

Jan. 24, 2016

Brooking, S.D. - Air Force wrestling dropped a Big 12 conference dual to the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State, 15-23, Sunday, Jan. 24, in Brooking, S.D. The loss marks Air Force's second Big 12 conference loss on the weekend and third conference loss on the season. The Falcons saw victory in four of 10 weight classes, including a fall from Josh Martinez in a nationally ranked bout.

Following a major decision loss in the 125 class, No. 19 Martinez earned a fall at the six-minute mark against No. 17 Brance Simms in the 133 class to give the Falcons their first and only lead of the night. The fall marked Martinez's first fall against a ranked opponent on the season, his second fall on the season and his second win in nationally ranked bouts this year.

The Falcons would drop the next three matches in 141 and 149 as well as Zach Stepan's decision loss (10-6) to No. 6 Cody Pack in the 157 class.

In the second nationally ranked bout of the night, No. 18** Parker Hines took on No. 14 Nate Rotert in the 197 class. The bout would come down to the final seconds with riding time in favor of Rotert. Hines would give up escape points to attempt takedown points for the victory but Rotert was able to fend off Hines and take the 8-7 decision win with a riding time point.

Air Force would pick up three more wins on the night coming from Alex Lopouchanski's 7-3 decision in the 165's, Anthony McLaughlin's 3-2 decision in the 184's and Marcus Malecek's 2-0 decision in the 285's.

Martinez would be the only Falcon to earn bonus points on the night, with a final score of 23-15 in favor of the Jackrabbits. The Falcons record falls to 5-4, 0-3 Big 12 while the Jackrabbits improve to 8-5, 2-1 Big12.

Next week, Air Force will head to Lexington Virginia to participate in the All-Academy Championships hosted by the Virginia Military Institute. Service academy rivals Army West Point and Navy will be in attendance along with the Coast Guard Academy, VMI, Citadel, Norwich University and the Merchant Marine Academy. Action takes place on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at the Virginia Military Institute.

Final Results:

Air Force (5-3, 0-2 Big12) at South Dakota State (8-5, 1-1 Big12)
Ben Gilette (SDSU) MD Drew Romero (AF) - 15-4, SDSU 4-0
#19* Josh Martinez (AF) fall #17 Brance Simms (SDSU) - 6:00, AF 6-4
Seth Gross (SDSU) fall Dylan Hyder (AF) - 2:49, SDSU 10-6
Alex Kocer (SDSU) dec. Alex Mossing (AF) - 12-9, SDSU 13-6
#6* Cody Pack (SDSU) dec. Zach Stepan (AF) - 10-6, SDSU 16-6
Alex Lopouchanski (AF) Logan Peterson (SDSU) - 7-3, SDSU 16-9
David Kocer (SDSU) MD Zen Ikehara (AF) - 19-6, SDSU 20-9
Anthony McLaughlin (AF) dec. Brady Ayers (SDSU) - 3-2, SDSU 20-12
#14* Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. #18** Parker Hines (AF) - 8-7, SDSU 23-12
Marcus Malecek (AF) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU) - 2-0, SDSU 23-15

Final team score: SDSU 23, AF 15
*Ranking based on Intermat polls
** Ranking based on WIN Magazine polls

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