Air Force Downs Washington in Home Finale

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Backed by five event titles and a 1-5 sweep of the still rings standings, the 13th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team closed out the home portion of its 2019 campaign this evening (March 23), with a decisive 396.100-378.750 victory over 17th-ranked Washington at the Academy's Cadet West Gym.

Sophomore Frankie Valentin paced the Falcons with two first-place finishes on Saturday night, winning the still rings (13.850) and vault (14.300 – the 10th-highest total in program history), while leading Air Force to a sweep of the top-five scores on the still rings and four of the top-five marks on the vault. Classmate Ethan Esval scored a 13.550 to finish second on the still rings, while just 0.100 points separated the rest of the Falcons' lineup – freshman Max Stergiades (13.300, third), senior Lukas Texeira (13.250, fourth) and sophomore Zach Polen (13.200, fifth). Air Force earned a 1-2-3 finish on the vault behind Valentin, senior Christian Kalustian (14.050, second) and freshman Collin Hickey (13.950, third), while Texeira earned a fifth-place score of 13.800.

In addition to his top-five marks on the still rings and vault, Texeira captured his fourth high bar title of the season with a mark of 13.950. Kalustian earned runner-up honors on that event (13.300), while freshman Alex Schechtman took fifth with a score of 12.500. Senior Ryan Girouard also paced Air Force to a 1-2 event finish, as he and Esval finished first (12.900) and second (12.750), respectively, on the pommel horse. Sophomore Allen Shadan rounded out the Falcons' list of event winners, as he tied for first on the parallel bars with a score of 13.600. Esval and Schechtman also finished among the top-half of the field on that event, as the pair placed fourth (13.300) and fifth (12.900), respectively.

Hickey was the Falcons' top finisher on the floor exercise, as he recorded a score of 14.050 – the ninth-best total in Academy history – to finish second in the overall standings, while Girouard finished third (14.000) and Valentin (13.700).

With the regular season now complete, the Falcons turn their attention to the championship portion of the 2019 campaign. Air Force will head to Annapolis, Md., next weekend (March 29-30) to defend their team title at the USAG Collegiate National Championships.

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Esval

Ryan Girouard

Collin Hickey

Christian Kalustian

Zach Polen

Alex Schechtman

Allen Shadan

Max Stergiades

Lukas Texeira

Frankie Valentin

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