Friday, January 7
Lancaster, PA
Air Force Academy
vs
David H. Lehman F&M Open
Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R
Strong Air Force Performance Highlighted by Tournament Best Three Champions
1/7/2022 4:28:00 PM | Wrestling
LANCASTER – Falcon wrestling put on an impressive performance at the David H. Lehman F&M Open, concluding the tournament with three champions and six placers, Friday afternoon, on the campus of Franklin & Marshall. The Falcons, who competed alongside American, Army West Point, Brown, Franklin & Marshall, George Mason, Harvard, Lock Haven, Navy, Presbyterian, Sacred Heart and Virginia, had the most champions on the event.
Sophomore standout Wyatt Hendrickson, ranked seventh in the nation, dominated the heavyweight division, posting five-straight pins en route to a decisive title victory against Quinn Miller (Virginia) in the championship bout. Top-seeded Hendrickson, now 11-0 on the season, gave up just three escape points in his five bouts, clocking just 10:52 on the mat for the tournament. Hendrickson has nine pins this season and has won all of his matches with bonus points.
Falcon senior Sidney Flores looked exceptional in his title run through the 133 class, scoring a major decision in his opening match against Army's Daniel Uhorchuk, 9-0. Flores went on to make convincing decision wins through the round of 16 up to the title match where he outscored Army's Mark Montgomery, 10-3 for the title. Flores is now 9-5 on the season.
Air Force sophomore Sam Wolf rounded out Air Force's championship runs with a five-win tear through the 174 division. Wolf, a Junior Pan Am Gold Medalist, opened his run with a 15-0 technical fall against Big 12 foe Andrew Sharer of West Virginia. He took on Navy's Shane Finney in the quarterfinals where wolf outscored the Middie, 7-1. In his finals match, Wolf squared off against Big 12 foe Julien Broderson of Iowa State, where Wolf grinded to a 6-4 sudden victory win over the Cyclone.
Falcon junior Cody Phippen placed third with a 4-1 record on the event, scoring a tech fall in his opener and a 16-8 major decision against Army's 33rd-ranked Corey Shie in the round of 16. He went on to blank Amry's Thomas Deck, 4-0, in the quarterfinals but eventually dropped a close 3-1 decision to No. 7 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) in the semifinals. He took the third-place bout via medical forfeit.
Air Force's senior team captain Jared Van Vleet finished fourth in the 125 division winning his first three bouts via two decisions and a technical fall. Senior teammate Jake Thompson went 5-1 on the day for fifth-place finish at 184. Thompson won two bouts by major decision and pinned Iowa State's Cody Fisher in just 50 seconds. In his fifth-place bout, Thompson imposed his will on Binghamton's Cory Day with a 10-0 major decision.
Air Force's Dylan Martinez finalized the tourney with a 3-2 record in the 149 class. Sophomore 157-pounder Giano Petrucelli posted an 11-2 major decision for his only win of the day. Trey Brisker finished 2-2 on the event, picking up a win against Navy's Adam Davis. Cole Forrester went 1-2 on the event, picking up a major decision against Army's Thomas Goodbee.
Air Force proved dominant against service academy opponents, winning 16-of-20 service academy matches on the tournament.
"The guys are bought in and today they showed it to the field," head coach Sam Barber said. "We've been working on wrestling from three positions and we saw that improvement today. It's nice to finish with more champions than any other team and especially nice to take Army and Navy guys down the way we did today. We're where we need to be at this station of the season and the guys are hungry to keep getting better as we move into a tough Big 12 dual schedule."
Next up, Air Force returns to the dual slate to take on Big 12 foe Utah Valley (5-3, 0-2 Big 12), Saturday, January 15. Action is slated for a 7 p.m. MT start in Lockhart Arena. The Falcons make their return to Clune Arena as they host Big 12 newcomers California Baptist on Saturday, January 27.
Sophomore standout Wyatt Hendrickson, ranked seventh in the nation, dominated the heavyweight division, posting five-straight pins en route to a decisive title victory against Quinn Miller (Virginia) in the championship bout. Top-seeded Hendrickson, now 11-0 on the season, gave up just three escape points in his five bouts, clocking just 10:52 on the mat for the tournament. Hendrickson has nine pins this season and has won all of his matches with bonus points.
Falcon senior Sidney Flores looked exceptional in his title run through the 133 class, scoring a major decision in his opening match against Army's Daniel Uhorchuk, 9-0. Flores went on to make convincing decision wins through the round of 16 up to the title match where he outscored Army's Mark Montgomery, 10-3 for the title. Flores is now 9-5 on the season.
Air Force sophomore Sam Wolf rounded out Air Force's championship runs with a five-win tear through the 174 division. Wolf, a Junior Pan Am Gold Medalist, opened his run with a 15-0 technical fall against Big 12 foe Andrew Sharer of West Virginia. He took on Navy's Shane Finney in the quarterfinals where wolf outscored the Middie, 7-1. In his finals match, Wolf squared off against Big 12 foe Julien Broderson of Iowa State, where Wolf grinded to a 6-4 sudden victory win over the Cyclone.
Falcon junior Cody Phippen placed third with a 4-1 record on the event, scoring a tech fall in his opener and a 16-8 major decision against Army's 33rd-ranked Corey Shie in the round of 16. He went on to blank Amry's Thomas Deck, 4-0, in the quarterfinals but eventually dropped a close 3-1 decision to No. 7 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) in the semifinals. He took the third-place bout via medical forfeit.
Air Force's senior team captain Jared Van Vleet finished fourth in the 125 division winning his first three bouts via two decisions and a technical fall. Senior teammate Jake Thompson went 5-1 on the day for fifth-place finish at 184. Thompson won two bouts by major decision and pinned Iowa State's Cody Fisher in just 50 seconds. In his fifth-place bout, Thompson imposed his will on Binghamton's Cory Day with a 10-0 major decision.
Air Force's Dylan Martinez finalized the tourney with a 3-2 record in the 149 class. Sophomore 157-pounder Giano Petrucelli posted an 11-2 major decision for his only win of the day. Trey Brisker finished 2-2 on the event, picking up a win against Navy's Adam Davis. Cole Forrester went 1-2 on the event, picking up a major decision against Army's Thomas Goodbee.
Air Force proved dominant against service academy opponents, winning 16-of-20 service academy matches on the tournament.
"The guys are bought in and today they showed it to the field," head coach Sam Barber said. "We've been working on wrestling from three positions and we saw that improvement today. It's nice to finish with more champions than any other team and especially nice to take Army and Navy guys down the way we did today. We're where we need to be at this station of the season and the guys are hungry to keep getting better as we move into a tough Big 12 dual schedule."
Next up, Air Force returns to the dual slate to take on Big 12 foe Utah Valley (5-3, 0-2 Big 12), Saturday, January 15. Action is slated for a 7 p.m. MT start in Lockhart Arena. The Falcons make their return to Clune Arena as they host Big 12 newcomers California Baptist on Saturday, January 27.
Players Mentioned
157
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
184/197
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
157/165
/ Wrestling
125/133
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
184
/ WrestlingSam Barber Interview - December 2nd, 2025
Tuesday, December 02
Sam Barber Interview November 25, 2025
Tuesday, November 25
Sam Barber Interview - November 18th, 2025
Tuesday, November 18
Wyatt Hendrickson Visit
Monday, April 07
