Falcon Blue Squad Prevails, 28-7, in Annual Wrestle-Off

Nov. 9, 2016

U.S. Air Force Academy -- The Air Force Blue squad registered 28 points from four bonus point wins and three decision victories in the annual Black and Blue Wrestle-Offs in Clune Arena, Wednesday night. Junior 184-pounder Zen Ikehara led the charge with a fall (2:12) over Bridger Barker in the seventh bout of the evening.

Junior 125-pounder Drew Romero opened up the card with a major decision over Alec Opsal to put the Black squad up 4-0, at the conclusion of the first match. The Blue team responded with two major decisions in the 133 and 149 classes from Dylan Hyder and Jerry McGinty, respectively.

The 141 class would be the first pair to see extra time as Anthony McHugh and Lyle Plummer battled out to TB2. Plummer managed to score the last point and secure a 3-2 decision victory. No match was held for the 157 class due to medical defaults.

The first technical fall of the evening came from freshman 174-pounder Randy Meneweather, with a 16-1 score over John Hagey in the second period. Ikehara's pin came in the following match to give the Blue squad a healthy lead at 25-4.

A highly anticipated 197 bout came down to five seconds of riding time in the second tiebreaker round. Sophomore Anthony McLaughlin held off team captain Parker Hines to secure a 4-3 decision victory and propel the Blue team to a 28-4 lead.

In the final bout of the night Kerry Powers found his rhythm, logging seven points to Matt Wagner's one, sealing the deal, 28-7, in favor of the Blue team.

The Falcons continue action at the Northern Colorado Open, Sunday, Nov. 13 in Greeley, Colo. Matches kick off at 9:00 a.m. MT, and are expected to run well into the evening.

Black and Blue Score Card
125: Drew Romero (Black) MD Alec Opsal (Blue) - 14-5, Black 4-0
133: Dylan Hyder (Blue) MD Garrett O'Shea (Black) - 10-2, Tie 4-4
141: Lyle Plummer (Blue) TB2 DEC Anthony McHugh (Black) - 3-2, Blue 7-4
149: Jerry McGinty (Blue) MD Conor O'Hara (Black) - 17-5, Blue 11-4
165: Alex Lopouchanski (Blue) DEC Tyler Wiederholt (Black) - 5-2, Blue 14-4
174: Randy Meneweather (Blue) TF John Hagey (Black) - 16-1, Blue 19-4
184: Zen Ikehara (Blue) FALL Bridger Barker (Black) - 2:12, Blue 25-4
197: Anthony McLaughlin (Blue) TB2 DEC Parker Hines (Black) - 4-3, Blue 28-4
285: Kerry Powers (Black) DEC Matt Wagner (Blue) - 7-1, Blue 28-7

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