Hendrickson Dominates to a Title at the Navy Classic, Eight Falcons Place

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Air Force heavyweight and team captain Wyatt Hendrickson won a title for the Falcons at the 44^th Annual Navy Classic, Saturday afternoon, in Wesley A. Brown Field House at the U.S. Naval Academy. Eight Falcons placed in their respective divisions, highlighted by three finalists and an AF freshman's upset win against a nationally ranked wrestler.

"If you take the results we saw last week and compare them to what we saw today, we're seeing the formation of a quality lineup for Air Force wrestling," head coach Sam Barber said. "The men have continued to show progress in their growth and improvement, and they are getting better every time they take the mat."

Hendrickson, the sixth-ranked wrestler in the nation, continued his dominant ways in the heavyweight division as he imposed his will to the title with a pair of a falls, a technical fall, and a commanding 4-1 win in the finals. The Newton, Kansas, native spent just 5:09 total time on the mats in his first three matches, posting an impressive 17-1 technical fall in just 73 seconds of the quarterfinals match. Hendrickson squared off against Navy's Grady Griess for the title where he overwhelmed the Middie for a convincing 4-1 decision and a quality display of riding ability.

Air Force freshman 125-pounder Tucker Owens put his name on the map after upending Lock Haven's No. 12 Anthony Noto in the semifinals, 6-5. Last season, Noto won the 2022 Mid-American Conference championship and the received the conference's Freshman of the Year nod. Owens finished second in the division after a narrow 3-1 loss to Michigan State's Tristan Lujan who scored a takedown in the waning seconds of the championship match. Owens has now placed in both of his varsity tournament appearances.

The Falcons' senior 133-pounder Cody Phippen had a standout day with two bonus point wins en route the finals where he was narrowly outscored by nationally ranked Boo Dyrden of Nebraska. Phippen posted a clean 15-0 technical fall in his opening bout and followed up with an impressive 13-0 major decision in the semifinals. Phippen's second-place finish came down to a Dryden escape in the second tiebreaker round, where the score was finalized at 3-2 TB2 in favor of the Husker.

"Our guys have high expectations," Barber continued. "We wrestled well but we also set the bar high for ourselves, and I think the team feels like we didn't reach our full potential today. We're going to take today's wins and losses with our heads held high and continue to work towards executing the goals we set for ourselves."

The Falcons finished fourth in the field with 101.5 team points. No. 16 Nebraska won the team title with 171.5 team points.

Other Falcons to earn place-winning finishes were Giano Petrucelli (165/6^th), Noah Blake (184/6^th), Quinn Melofchik (125/8^th) Garrett Kuchan (141/8th), and Dylan Martinez (149/T-8^th).

On a second battlefront, a contingent of Falcons concluded Nebraska-Kearney's Younes Hospitality Open, Saturday evening. Gage Musser led the Falcons with a second-place finish in the 174 class (elite division). Jack Ganos (165) finished tied for fourth in the elite division due to match limit being reached. Nick Krug finished sixth in the 133 elite division. In the amateur division, freshmen Kole Biscoe (141) and Drake Buchanan (184) finished second and third, respectively.

Hendrickson Dominates to a Title at the Navy Classic, Eight Falcons Place

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Players Mentioned

Kole Biscoe

Noah Blake

Drake Buchanan

Jack Ganos

Wyatt Hendrickson

Nick Krug

Garrett Kuchan

Dylan Martinez

Quinn Melofchik

Gage Musser

Tucker Owens

Giano Petrucelli

Cody Phippen

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