Wrestling Concludes Day One of the 2021 NCAA Championships

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Air Force Academy wrestling team concluded action on day one of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Thursday evening, March 18, at the Enterprise Center. AF had three grapplers in action, and a pair have advanced into day two.

Junior Jared Van Vleet at 133 and freshman Wyatt Hendrickson at heavyweight both picked up wins on day one to stay alive in the consolation brackets. Hendrickson won his opening round matchup to become the first AF wrestler to advance to the Round of 16 since 2015.

The rookie came into the tournament seeded 17th, and matched up with 16th seeded Luke Luffman of Illinois. Hendrickson entered NCAAs with the second-most pins in the country with six, and he notched his seventh against Luffman, sticking him in just 2:12. In the Round of 16, he matched up with top seeded Gable Steveson of Minnesota, and fell by tech fall, to drop into the consolations tomorrow. He will square-up with #18 Hunter Catka of Virginia Tech.

Van Vleet, who received the 21st seed, matched up with #12 Jarrett Trombley of NC State. Van Vleet was in it the whole match, but dropped a tight 3-2 decision to fall into the consolations. There, he faced Ty Smith of Big 12 rival Utah Valley and came away with a 4-1 decision victory to get to the second round of consolations. There, he will face #22 Mario Guillen of Ohio.

The third AF wrestler in action was senior co-captain Cody Surratt at 174. He came in seeded 25th and took on #8 Daniel Bullard. He kept the match close the entire time, including riding out the entire third period, but fell 4-0. In the consolations, he matched-up with #24 Jake Allar of Minnesota. With the match tied up into the third, Surratt was on top looking for more riding time. From there, he was reversed and put on his back for a pin.

Surratt finished his AF career with 43 wins, including a team-best 23 in 2019-20. He was also two-time Big 12 placer at 174 lbs. The Wadsworth, Ohio native will graduate in the spring with his degree in management and enter the U.S. Air Force as an Acquisitions Officer.

Day two of the 2021 NCAA Championships will resume tomorrow, March 19, with Session III starting at 9 a.m. MT.

FULL RESULTS
133 - #21 Jared Van Vleet (1-1)
Champ. Rd. 1: L to #12 Jarrett Trombley (NC State) (Dec 3-2)
Consi Rd. 1: W over #28 Ty Smith (Utah Valley) (Dec 4-1)
Consi Rd. 2: #22 Mario Guillen (Ohio)

174 - #25 Cody Surratt (0-2)
Champ. Rd. 1: L to #8 Daniel Bullard (NC State) (Dec 4-0)
Consi Rd. 1: L to #24 Jake Allar (Minnesota) (Pin 5:56)

HWT - #17 Wyatt Hendrickson (1-1)
Champ. Rd. 1: W over #16 Luke Luffman (Illinois) (Pin 2:12)
Champ. Rd. 2: L to #1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) (TF 17-2)
Consi Rd. 2: #18 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech)

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