Air Force Academy
All Academy Championships
McLaughlin Wins an All-Academy Title
1/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Charleston, S.C. - Junior 197-pounder Anthony McLaughlin went 3-0 en route to his first All-Academy title, leading the Falcons to a third place finish at the 24th-Annual All-Academy Championships, Saturday afternoon in McAlister Field House. Three Falcons made it to the finals while eight earned top-three podium finishes.
Air Force opened the first round firing on all cylinders, posting eight falls and a major decision to go nine-for-nine in first round bonus point wins.
The Falcons were met with more resistance in the semi-finals, dropping five matches to service academy rivals while picking up three wins to advance to the finals. Freshman 125-pounder Tony DeCesare pinned his opponent in the first round, while juniors Alex Mossing and McLaughlin posted decision wins to advance to the finals of their respective weights.
The Falcons returned to their rhythm in the consolation semi-finals. Dane Robbins and Michael Billingsley posted falls, while Garrett O'Shea recorded a technical fall over his VMI opponent. Freshman Matt Wagner notched a major decision to advance, while Zen Ikehara posted a convincing decision win, each advancing to the third place match.
For the second-straight year, all competing Falcons found themselves competing in third-place and finals matches.
Senior Dane Robbins was the first to record a third-place finish with a 3-1 decision over Will Lucie (Army). Alex Lopouchanski followed suit in style, posting an 18-3 technical fall over Nick Remke (Coast Guard). Michael Billingsley continued the Falcons' roll with a 6-1 decision over A.J. Aeberli (Coast Guard), which was punctuated by Zen Ikehara's 2-1 decision over Jon Wagner (Coast Guard). Freshman heavyweight Matt Wagner finished the third-place rounds with a bang, posting a 10-2 major decision over Austin Faunce of Navy.
In finals action, DeCesare gave up a hard loss to Trey Chalifoux of Army, 5-2. The struggle continued as Mossing dropped a major decision to Zachary Davis of Navy, 8-0. Even with the losses, the pair of Falcons accepted their second-place finishes with their heads high.
In Air Force's final bout of the night, McLaughlin met with Rocco Caywood of Army. Caywood, ranked 28th in the NCAA Coaches' poll, struck first to go up by two points with an early takedown.
Showing his grit and ability to battle back from a deficit, McLaughlin started building his comeback. A first round escape yielded his first point. In the second round, Caywood took an injury timeout out, yielding the Cleveland, Ohio, native an escape point to tie the Black Knight. As McLaughlin continued to press the pace in the third round, Caywood appeared to be out-conditioned, taking no shots and getting hit with a stall call to give the Falcon a one-point lead. Looking to seal the deal, McLaughlin committed to his shot and scored a late takedown to extend his lead to 5-2, where he finalized his first All-Academy title.
Air Force, who was one man short of a ten-man roster due to injury, finished third in field with 86 points. Navy took the team title with 118 points, followed by Army with 96.5 points. Navy 174-pounder Jadaen Bernstein earned the outstanding wrestler.
The Falcons return to the Big 12 dual slate as they host West Virginia, Friday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. in Clune Arena.
FINAL RESULTS
125
1st Place - Trey Chalifoux of Army
2nd Place - Tony DeCesare of Air Force
3rd Place - Aslan Kilic of Navy
4th Place - Clifton Conway of Vmi
1st Place Match
Trey Chalifoux (Army) over Tony DeCesare (Air Force) (Dec 5-2)
3rd Place Match
Aslan Kilic (Navy) over Clifton Conway (Vmi) (Fall 4:57)
133
1st Place - Lane Peters of Army
2nd Place - Cody Trybus of Navy
3rd Place - Owen McClave of Coast Guard
4th Place - Hunter Starner of Vmi
1st Place Match
Lane Peters (Army) over Cody Trybus (Navy) (Dec 5-1)
3rd Place Match
Owen McClave (Coast Guard) over Hunter Starner (Vmi) (Dec 6-2)
141
1st Place - Nic Gil of Navy
2nd Place - Austin Harry of Army
3rd Place - Doug Gudenburr of The Citadel
4th Place - Garrett O`Shea of Air Force
1st Place Match
Nic Gil (Navy) over Austin Harry (Army) (Dec 8-1)
3rd Place Match
Doug Gudenburr (The Citadel) over Garrett O`Shea (Air Force) (SV-1 4-2)
149
1st Place - Cory Wilding of Navy
2nd Place - Ty Buckiso of The Citadel
3rd Place - Dane Robbins of Air Force
4th Place - Will Lucie of Army
1st Place Match
Cory Wilding (Navy) over Ty Buckiso (The Citadel) (Dec 4-3)
3rd Place Match
Dane Robbins (Air Force) over Will Lucie (Army) (Dec 3-1)
157
1st Place - Zachary Davis of Navy
2nd Place - Alex Mossing of Air Force
3rd Place - Luke Weiland of Army
4th Place - Chris Sullivan of Coast Guard
1st Place Match
Zachary Davis (Navy) over Alex Mossing (Air Force) (MD 8-0)
3rd Place Match
Luke Weiland (Army) over Chris Sullivan (Coast Guard) (TF-1.5 5:00 (15-0))
165
1st Place - Drew Daniels of Navy
2nd Place - Andrew Mendel of Army
3rd Place - Alex Lopouchanski of Air Force
4th Place - Nick Remke of Coast Guard
1st Place Match
Drew Daniels (Navy) 3-0 over Andrew Mendel (Army) (Dec 9-5)
3rd Place Match
Alex Lopouchanski (Air Force) over Nick Remke (Coast Guard) (TF-1.5 7:00 (18-3))
174
1st Place - Jadaen Bernstein of Navy
2nd Place - Ben Harvey of Army
3rd Place - Michael Billingsley of Air Force
4th Place - A.J. Aeberli of Coast Guard
1st Place Match
Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) over Ben Harvey (Army) (Dec 14-8)
3rd Place Match
Michael Billingsley (Air Force) over A.J. Aeberli (Coast Guard) (Dec 6-1)
184
1st Place - Michael Coleman of Navy
2nd Place - Noah Stewart of Army
3rd Place - Zen Ikehara of Air Force
4th Place - Jon Wagner of Coast Guard
1st Place Match
Michael Coleman (Navy) over Noah Stewart (Army) (Dec 6-1)
3rd Place Match
Zen Ikehara (Air Force) over Jon Wagner (Coast Guard) (Dec 2-1)
197
1st Place - Anthony McLaughlin of Air Force
2nd Place - Rocco Caywood of Army
3rd Place - Sawyer Root of The Citadel
4th Place - Steban Cervantes of Navy
1st Place Match
Anthony McLaughlin (Air Force) over Rocco Caywood (Army) (Dec 5-2)
3rd Place Match
Sawyer Root (The Citadel) over Steban Cervantes (Navy) (Dec 7-5)
285
1st Place - Michael McAleavey of The Citadel
2nd Place - Victor Raigozza of Merchant Marine
3rd Place - Matt Wagner of Air Force
4th Place - Austin Faunce of Navy
1st Place Match
Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) over Victor Raigozza (Merchant Marine) (Fall 1:36)
3rd Place Match
Matt Wagner (Air Force) over Austin Faunce (Navy) (MD 10-2)
TEAM RESULTS
- Navy - 118.0
- Army - 96.5
- Air Force - 87.0
- The Citadel - 50.5
- Coast Guard - 26.0
- VMI - 21.0
- Merchant Marine - 15.5
- Norwich - 5.0
Players Mentioned
