Thursday, March 18
St. Louis, Mo.
Session I (9 a.m. MT) Session II (4 p.m. MT)
Air Force Academy
vs
NCAA Championships
Trio of Grapplers Set to Compete at NCAA Championships
3/17/2021 1:51:00 PM | Wrestling
Full Notes (PDF)Live StreamLive ResultsChampionship CentralTournament ScheduleESPN Stream InfoOpening Round BracketsFollow on Twitter
Junior Jared Van Vleet, senior Cody Surratt, and freshman Wyatt Hendrickson lead the Falcons into St. Louis
NCAA Championships
Thursday-Saturday | March 18-20
St. Louis, Mo. | Enterprise Center
THIS WEEK: The Air Force Academy wrestling team sends three grapplers, junior Jared Van Vleet, senior Cody Surratt, and freshman Wyatt Hendrickson, to the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, set to be held Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The three Falcons at a single NCAA Championships are the most for the program since sending four in 2014.
THE SCHEDULE: Action in St. Louis begins at 9 a.m. MT on Thursday with the opening round, while the second round of action is set to start at 4 p.m. MT. The full schedule of events can be found at the link above.
FOLLOWING ALONG: All matches on all eight mats will be streamed live on ESPN 3 and the WatchESPN App. Live results can be tracked on Trackwrestling. All matches will also be updated live via Twitter, @AF_Wrestle. Mat assignments will not be given until the day of.
VAN VLEET SEASON RECAP: Junior Jared Van Vleet finished the season with a 5-5 overall record. He tallied wins over NCAA participants Zach Price (MD) and Mosha Schwartz. He is 2-3 overall against the 133 pound NCAA field. He has been ranked as high as 11th this season.
VAN VLEET MATCHUP: Van Vleet enters NCAAs as the 21st seed, and he will face 12th seeded sophomore Jarrett Trombley of NC State. Trombley finished the season at 7-4 with a fourth place finish at the ACC Tournament. The two have not faced each other in their respective careers.
SURRATT SEASON RECAP: Senior co-captain Cody Surratt put together a 6-5 overall record in his final regular season as a Falcon, including a sixth place finish at Big 12s. He owns wins over fellow qualifiers Jackson Hemauer and Lance Runyon and is 2-5 on the year against NCAA participants. His two tech falls are the fourth-most among 174 pounders. He is one of 18 first time seniors at the 2021 tournament. Surratt has been ranked as high as 25th in national polls.
SURRATT MATCHUP: Surratt enters as the 25th seed at 174 lbs. and will face off with eighth seeded senior Daniel Bullard of NC State. Bullard is the 174 ACC Champion and enters the tournament with an 8-1 record. He was also a 2020 honorable mention All-American. The two have faced off one other time at the 2020 Southern Scuffle, with Bullard taking a 7-2 decision win.
HENDRICKSON SEASON RECAP: Freshman Wyatt Hendrickson had a banner first season in the Silver an Blue, finishing with a 13-3 record and third place finish at Big 12s. The rookie has a 56.25 percent bonus rate, with two majors, a tech, and six pins. The six pins are the second-most by an individual at D1 this season. He is one of 26 true freshman to reach the NCAAs this season. He is 4-2 against the fellow heavyweight qualifiers, including two pins over Brandon Metz, a major over Austin Harris, and decision win over Josh Heindselman. Hendrickson has been ranked as high as 16th by national outlets.
HENDRICKSON MATCHUP: Hendrickson enters the tournament as the 17th seed, and will square up with 16th seeded sophomore Luke Luffman of Illinois. Luffman has an 8-5 record on the season and finished eighth at Big 10s. The two have not faced each other in their respective careers.
AIR FORCE HISTORY AT NCAAs: The Falcons will now have a total of 148 individual appearances in program history, with eight of those achieving All-American status, totaling 11 medals. The most recent All American came in 2003, when heavyweight Kevin Hoy finished runner-up. Air Force also has one National Champion to its name, when Don Henderson won the 1967 title at 145 lbs.
Thursday-Saturday | March 18-20
St. Louis, Mo. | Enterprise Center
THIS WEEK: The Air Force Academy wrestling team sends three grapplers, junior Jared Van Vleet, senior Cody Surratt, and freshman Wyatt Hendrickson, to the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, set to be held Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The three Falcons at a single NCAA Championships are the most for the program since sending four in 2014.
THE SCHEDULE: Action in St. Louis begins at 9 a.m. MT on Thursday with the opening round, while the second round of action is set to start at 4 p.m. MT. The full schedule of events can be found at the link above.
FOLLOWING ALONG: All matches on all eight mats will be streamed live on ESPN 3 and the WatchESPN App. Live results can be tracked on Trackwrestling. All matches will also be updated live via Twitter, @AF_Wrestle. Mat assignments will not be given until the day of.
VAN VLEET SEASON RECAP: Junior Jared Van Vleet finished the season with a 5-5 overall record. He tallied wins over NCAA participants Zach Price (MD) and Mosha Schwartz. He is 2-3 overall against the 133 pound NCAA field. He has been ranked as high as 11th this season.
VAN VLEET MATCHUP: Van Vleet enters NCAAs as the 21st seed, and he will face 12th seeded sophomore Jarrett Trombley of NC State. Trombley finished the season at 7-4 with a fourth place finish at the ACC Tournament. The two have not faced each other in their respective careers.
SURRATT SEASON RECAP: Senior co-captain Cody Surratt put together a 6-5 overall record in his final regular season as a Falcon, including a sixth place finish at Big 12s. He owns wins over fellow qualifiers Jackson Hemauer and Lance Runyon and is 2-5 on the year against NCAA participants. His two tech falls are the fourth-most among 174 pounders. He is one of 18 first time seniors at the 2021 tournament. Surratt has been ranked as high as 25th in national polls.
SURRATT MATCHUP: Surratt enters as the 25th seed at 174 lbs. and will face off with eighth seeded senior Daniel Bullard of NC State. Bullard is the 174 ACC Champion and enters the tournament with an 8-1 record. He was also a 2020 honorable mention All-American. The two have faced off one other time at the 2020 Southern Scuffle, with Bullard taking a 7-2 decision win.
HENDRICKSON SEASON RECAP: Freshman Wyatt Hendrickson had a banner first season in the Silver an Blue, finishing with a 13-3 record and third place finish at Big 12s. The rookie has a 56.25 percent bonus rate, with two majors, a tech, and six pins. The six pins are the second-most by an individual at D1 this season. He is one of 26 true freshman to reach the NCAAs this season. He is 4-2 against the fellow heavyweight qualifiers, including two pins over Brandon Metz, a major over Austin Harris, and decision win over Josh Heindselman. Hendrickson has been ranked as high as 16th by national outlets.
HENDRICKSON MATCHUP: Hendrickson enters the tournament as the 17th seed, and will square up with 16th seeded sophomore Luke Luffman of Illinois. Luffman has an 8-5 record on the season and finished eighth at Big 10s. The two have not faced each other in their respective careers.
AIR FORCE HISTORY AT NCAAs: The Falcons will now have a total of 148 individual appearances in program history, with eight of those achieving All-American status, totaling 11 medals. The most recent All American came in 2003, when heavyweight Kevin Hoy finished runner-up. Air Force also has one National Champion to its name, when Don Henderson won the 1967 title at 145 lbs.
Players Mentioned
Wyatt Hendrickson Visit
Monday, April 07
Sam Barber Interview March 12, 2025
Wednesday, March 12
Sam Barber Interview March 5, 2025
Wednesday, March 05
Sam Barber Interview February 25, 2025
Tuesday, February 25
