Wrestling Hits Road for Pair of Big 12 Duals

Utah Valley Wolverines (1-8, 0-5 Big 12)
Thursday, Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. MT
Lockhart Arena | Orem, Utah

Fresno State Bulldogs (7-5, 2-0 Big 12)
Sunday, Feb. 2 | 1 p.m. MT
Save Mart Center | Fresno, Calif.

THIS WEEK: The Air Force Academy wrestling team hits the road for its first away Big 12 Conference duals of the season at Utah Valley Thursday, Jan. 30, followed by at Fresno State, Sunday, Feb. 2. Start time against the Wolverines is set for 7 p.m. MT, while the dual against the Bulldogs starts at 1 p.m. MT.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION: The match-up with UVU can we streamed on the WAC Digital Network (free) or FloWrestling ($), while the FS dual will be streamed on Flo as well. Both duals will have live results on TrackWrestling. All action can also be followed on Twitter, @AF_Wrestle.

LAST TIME OUT: Air Force wrapped up action at the 2020 All Academy Championships, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 25, inside the East Gym. The team score came down to the final bout, but in the end AF finished one point shy of first place, taking second place for the second consecutive year.
Air Force had all 10 wrestlers finish in the top three of their respective weight classes, including three individual champions. The weight class winners for the Falcons were freshman Dylan Martinez at 149 lbs., sophomore Trey Brisker at 157 lbs., and senior Randy Meneweather at 165 lbs. AF then had five wrestlers place runner-up, and two more finish third.

LAST SEASON VERSUS UVU/FS: Air Force defeated both opponents in dual action last season, upending Fresno, 19-15, and later besting UVU, 25-17. AF won six matches against FS, one by major decision, while against UVU, the team's split matches, 5-5, but each of AF's wins yielded bonus points to make the difference in the team score.

ALL-TIME AGAINST OPPONENTS: AF is 2-1 all-time against FS, with the first meeting coming in 2001. The Falcons are 2-0 over Fresno since it re-started its program prior to 2017. Meanwhile against UVU, this will be the 16th time the two opponents will face off. The tally is almost dead even at 8-7 in favor of the Falcons. Each team has practically traded wins since the series began back in 2003 between the old Western Wrestling Conference rivals.

NATIONALLY RANKED FALCONS: Coming into the weekend, Air Force has a pair of its wrestlers gaining recognition in the national polls. At 125 lbs., sophomore Sidney Flores is tabbed as high as 14th overall by WIN Magazine, while at 165 lbs., senior Randy Meneweather is ranked 24th overall by TheOpenMat. Both were also ranked in the initial NCAA Coaches Panel, which is one of the three deciding factors when it comes to NCAA Tournament bids.

PINS ON PINS ON PINS: To this point in the season, Air Force has been one of the most dominant teams on the mats when it comes to pinning opponents. AF has 40 pins against D1 competition, which is tied for the ninth-most of any other D1 team thus far
In addition, junior Cody Surratt has 12 total pins this season, eight of which are against D1 competition, which is good for the sixth-most in the country. The total time of his eight D1 pins is just 9:51.

NEXT UP: The Falcons return home to host a pair of duals, Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 8-9. AF welcomes in national powerhouse and Big 12 rival Oklahoma State on Saturday, followed by a non-conference bout against Cal Poly on Sunday. The dual against OSU will come in the East Gym, while Cal Poly will be in the usual Clune Arena setting.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Trey Brisker

Sidney Flores

Dylan Martinez

Randy Meneweather

Cody Surratt

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