Air Force Boxing Heads to NCBA Western Regional

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Seventeen members of the Air Force boxing team will travel to Reno, Nev., this weekend for the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) Western Regional Championships. The three-day event, which begins with the regional quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12, and runs through Saturday, March 14, will be held at the Circus Circus Casino.

Air Force has claimed 37 of the last 40 team titles at the NCBA Western Regional.

The men will be represented by senior RJ Leon (119 pounds), sophomore Lawrence Barrett (125), sophomore Maksat Omar (132), sophomore Zach Phillips (139), sophomore Ayaz Mustafa (147), senior Devon Smith (156), senior Levi Rate (165), senior Cenada Clifton-Smith (175), senior Austin Dreyer (185), freshman Walker Morris (195) and sophomore Wayne Overman (heavyweight), while sophomore Shay Stayton (112), senior Abigail Aldecoa (125), sophomore Maddie Lloyd (132), junior Isabel Eicher (147), sophomore Sam Thompson (156) and sophomore Ymani Nesmith (165) will account for Air Force's largest contingent of female boxers ever at the regional level.

Over half of the men's lineup has experience at the regional match, with four advancing to the final day during each of the last two years. Leon and Dreyer have both captured the last two regional titles in their respective weight divisions, while the Falcons' lineup also boasts the last two 147-pound regional champions. Smith earned that title last spring after finishing second in the 156-pound championship as a sophomore, while Rate – the region's 156-pound runner-up in 2019 – claimed the 147-pound title in 2018 during a performance that garnered him the Western Regional Outstanding Boxer Award. Clifton-Smith finished first in his weight division during last year's championship, while Barrett was a regional finalist during his first season on the Air Force boxing team.

The top boxers from the Western Regional will advance to the NCBA Championships in Lafayette, La., on April 2-4.

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