Air Force Academy
Stanford
Falcon Wrestling Falls to #21 Stanford
1/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Air Force's Jerry McGinty was the lone Falcon to tally points in the 31-3 loss to No. 21 Stanford, Friday night, in Palo Alto, Calif. Air Force, now 4-4 overall, looks to bounce back to a winning mark in Sunday's dual against Cal Poly.
The Falcons opened up at 125 with Drew Romero taking on No. 17 Gabriel Townsell of Stanford. Romero and Townsell battled through the first two periods, neck-and-neck, with no more than a two-point scoring margin. While tied at six, Romero returned Townsell to the mat with force leading to an injury timeout for Stanford. Following the break, Romero took the down position and logged a quick escape for a 7-6 lead with a minute left. With 30 seconds remaining, Townsell managed to take Romero down and subsequently to his back for four near fall points, securing a 12-7 victory over Romero.
In the following match, Dylan Hyder met with No. 14 Connor Schram in the 133 class. Schram controlled the offense, scoring three takedowns met with Hyder's escapes. Hyder scored a takedown late in the third period to narrow Schram's lead, 7-6. In an attempt to score the tying take down, Hyder cut the Cardinal wrestler loose, but was unable to score before the final whistle. Schram tacked on an additional riding time point to seal the deal, 8-6.
Following a fall by Stanford's Brandon Kier in the 141 class over Lyle Plummer, senior team captain McGinty took the mat determined to change the pace of battle. McGinty controlled the action, scoring two takedowns for four points in the first period. McGinty held off Palewski's attack and added two escape points to the scorecard. At the final whistle, McGinty outscored Palewski, 6-2, for the Falcons' only points of the dual.
Stanford rallied back with Paul Fox's 16-5 major decision over Dane Robbins in the 157 class. The bonus point victory extended Stanford's team score to 16-3. In the following match, Alex Lopouchanski met with No. 19 Keaton Subjeck. Lopouchanski struck first with a takedown in the first period met with Subjeck's escape. The Cardinal wrestler registered an escape and his first takedown with 15 seconds remaining in the second period to take a 4-2 lead. In the final period, Lopouchanski earned a quick escape and went on the offensive for the winning takedown. Subjeck was able to fend of the attack and hold on for a 4-3 decision win, extending the team score 19-3.
The Cardinal reached the final team score of 31-3 with four consecutive decision wins in the final four weight classes. Michael Billingsley dropped a 10-5 decision to Peter Galli in the 174 class. Zen Ikehara battled hard but came up short in a 2-1 decision loss to Zach Nevills at 184. Parker Hines also battled to a close loss, dropping a 6-5 decision to Josh Marchock at 197. In the final bout of the night, Kerry Powers dropped a 3-1 decision to #13 Nathan Butler, holding the nationally ranked wrestler to a single takedown and negligible riding time.
Air Force continues dual action in California against Cal Poly, Sunday, Jan. 22, in San Luis Obispo. The dual is slated to begin at 12:00 p.m. PT. Live updates will be provided on Trackwrestling.com. Fans can access the live updates by going to goairforcefalcons.com and clicking the live tracking link in the schedule drop down.
AIR FORCE (4-4, 0-2 BIG 12) VS. #21 STANFORD (6-2, 2-0 PAC 12)
125: #17 Gabriel Townsell (STAN) def. Drew Romero (AFA) -12-7, STAN 3-0
133: #14 Connor Schram (STAN) def. Dylan Hyder (AFA) -8-6, STAN 6-0
141: Brandon Kier (STAN) def. Lyle Plummer (AFA) -F (0:54), STAN 12-0
149: Jerry McGinty (AFA) def. Tommy Palewski (STAN) -6-2, STAN 12-3
157: Paul Fox (STAN) def. Dane Robbins (AFA) -MD (16-5), STAN 16-3
165: #19 Keaton Subjeck (STAN) def. Alex Lopouchanski (AFA) -4-3, STAN 19-3
174: Peter Galli (STAN) def. Michael Billingsley (AFA)-10-5, STAN, 22-3
184: Zach Nevills (STAN) def. Zen Ikehara (AFA) -2-1, STAN 25-3
197: Josh Marchock (STAN) def. Parker Hines (AFA) -6-5, STAN 28-3
285: #13 Nathan Butler (STAN) def. Kerry Powers (AFA) -3-1, STAN 31-3
FINAL: #21 STANFORD 31, AIR FORCE 3
Players Mentioned
