Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo / Trevor Co
Wrestling Heads to 2021 Big 12 Championships
3/5/2021 10:17:00 AM | Wrestling
The Falcons are looking to make some noise with eight wrestlers pre-seeded
Big 12 Championships
Saturday-Sunday | March 6-7
Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center
THIS WEEK: The Air Force Academy wrestling team sends its top 10 wrestlers to the 2021 Big 12 Championships, held Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The starters at each of the 10 weight classes will fight for a spot on the podium, as well as one of the coveted automatic bids into the NCAA Championships.
THE SCHEDULE: Action in Tulsa begins with prelim and quarterfinal matches starting at 10 a.m MT on Saturday, followed by the evening session of semifinals and consolations starting at 4 p.m. MT. On Sunday, consolations continue at 9 a.m. MT, while the finals will take place at 4 p.m. MT.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION: The first three sessions will streamed online through ESPN+ ($), while the finals will be on ESPN2. Live results will also be available for free through Trackwrestling. Fans can also follow along on Twitter, @AF_Wrestle.
THE FIELD: The Big 12 Championships includes each of the 12 teams in the conference, which are full time Big 12 members #13 Iowa State, #19 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State and West Virginia, along with affiliate members, Fresno State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, #15 Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and #25 Wyoming.
THE SEEDS: Air Force has eight of 10 starters within the top eight of the Big 12 Championships pre-seeds. It is the most pre-seeds for the Falcons in Air Force's Big 12 history.
125: Cody Phippen - 6th
133: Jared Van Vleet - 4th
141: Lenny Petersen - 5th
149: Dylan Martinez - 6th
157: Parker Simington - 8th
165: Vincent Dolce - NR
174: Cody Surratt - 5th
184: Jake Thompson - NR
197: Kayne Hutchison - 8th
HWT: Wyatt Hendrickson - 6th
BIG 12 NCAA ALLOCATIONS: The Big 12 Conference received the second-most NCAA Allocations with 45 across the 10 weight classes. Here's how each weight stacks up:
125: 5 allocations
133: 5 allocations
141: 4 allocations
149: 5 allocations
157: 3 allocation
165: 5 allocations
174: 4 allocations
184: 4 allocations
197: 5 allocations
HWT: 5 allocations
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY: Since joining the league prior to the 2015-16 season, the Falcons have placed nine wrestlers within the top-six of their respective weight classes. Last season, then-freshman Cody Phippen becamse the first AF wrestler to reach the semis at Big12s, doing so at 125. He finished in fifth place.
AF's highest finish as a team was in its innagural season, as the Falcons took ninth. AF will look to smash that all-time placement this weekend.
NATIONALLY RANKED FALCONS: Coming into Big 12s, Air Force has seven wrestlers ranked by national wrestling outlets:
125: Cody Phippen - #26
133: Jared Van Vleet - #11
141: Lenny Petersen - #19
174: Cody Surratt - #25
184: Jake Thompson - #28
197: Kayne Hutchison - #31
HWT: Wyatt Hendrickson - #20
NEXT WEEK: The Falcon wrestlers who qualify for the 2021 NCAA Championships will head to St. Louis, Mo. to compete alongside the nations best, March 18-20.
Saturday-Sunday | March 6-7
Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center
THIS WEEK: The Air Force Academy wrestling team sends its top 10 wrestlers to the 2021 Big 12 Championships, held Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The starters at each of the 10 weight classes will fight for a spot on the podium, as well as one of the coveted automatic bids into the NCAA Championships.
THE SCHEDULE: Action in Tulsa begins with prelim and quarterfinal matches starting at 10 a.m MT on Saturday, followed by the evening session of semifinals and consolations starting at 4 p.m. MT. On Sunday, consolations continue at 9 a.m. MT, while the finals will take place at 4 p.m. MT.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION: The first three sessions will streamed online through ESPN+ ($), while the finals will be on ESPN2. Live results will also be available for free through Trackwrestling. Fans can also follow along on Twitter, @AF_Wrestle.
THE FIELD: The Big 12 Championships includes each of the 12 teams in the conference, which are full time Big 12 members #13 Iowa State, #19 Oklahoma, #6 Oklahoma State and West Virginia, along with affiliate members, Fresno State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, #15 Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and #25 Wyoming.
THE SEEDS: Air Force has eight of 10 starters within the top eight of the Big 12 Championships pre-seeds. It is the most pre-seeds for the Falcons in Air Force's Big 12 history.
125: Cody Phippen - 6th
133: Jared Van Vleet - 4th
141: Lenny Petersen - 5th
149: Dylan Martinez - 6th
157: Parker Simington - 8th
165: Vincent Dolce - NR
174: Cody Surratt - 5th
184: Jake Thompson - NR
197: Kayne Hutchison - 8th
HWT: Wyatt Hendrickson - 6th
BIG 12 NCAA ALLOCATIONS: The Big 12 Conference received the second-most NCAA Allocations with 45 across the 10 weight classes. Here's how each weight stacks up:
125: 5 allocations
133: 5 allocations
141: 4 allocations
149: 5 allocations
157: 3 allocation
165: 5 allocations
174: 4 allocations
184: 4 allocations
197: 5 allocations
HWT: 5 allocations
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY: Since joining the league prior to the 2015-16 season, the Falcons have placed nine wrestlers within the top-six of their respective weight classes. Last season, then-freshman Cody Phippen becamse the first AF wrestler to reach the semis at Big12s, doing so at 125. He finished in fifth place.
AF's highest finish as a team was in its innagural season, as the Falcons took ninth. AF will look to smash that all-time placement this weekend.
NATIONALLY RANKED FALCONS: Coming into Big 12s, Air Force has seven wrestlers ranked by national wrestling outlets:
125: Cody Phippen - #26
133: Jared Van Vleet - #11
141: Lenny Petersen - #19
174: Cody Surratt - #25
184: Jake Thompson - #28
197: Kayne Hutchison - #31
HWT: Wyatt Hendrickson - #20
NEXT WEEK: The Falcon wrestlers who qualify for the 2021 NCAA Championships will head to St. Louis, Mo. to compete alongside the nations best, March 18-20.
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