Saturday, November 5
USAFA, CO
6:00 PM
Air Force Academy
vs
Western Colorado
Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R
Falcon Wrestling Opens 2022-23 Campaign Against Western Colorado
11/4/2022 12:10:00 PM | Wrestling
Air Force (0-0) vs. Western Colorado (2-0)
6 p.m., Saturday, November 5
Clune Arena, USAFA, CO
GET TICKETS
THIS WEEK
The Falcons host Western Colorado in Clune Arena in the first action of the season. On Sunday, a contingent of wrestlers will travel to the Colorado-Mines Rookie Open in Golden, Colorado, to compete for individual titles. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
PROJECTED LINEUP
125: Quinn Melofchik (AF) vs. Patrick Allis (WCU)
133: Cody Phippen (AF) vs. Alex Alvarez (WCU)
141: Garrett Kuchan (AF) vs. Dean Noble (WCU)
149: Bryce Shelton or Josh Miller (AF) vs. Jason Hanenberg (WCU)
157: Garrett Bowers (AF) vs. Walker Heckendorf (WCU)
165: Giano Petrucelli (AF) vs. Cole Mortensen (WCU)
174: Sam Wolf (AF) vs. Cole Hernandez (WCU)
184: Noah Blake (AF) vs. Cole Gray (WCU)
197: Cal Sund (AF) vs. Porter Fox (WCU)
285: #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) vs. Open
FOLLOW ALONG
The dual will be live streamed by FloWrestling and live results will be provided via TrackWrestling.com. Follow the Falcons' Twitter page @AF_Wrestle for live updates.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Falcons appeared in two team tournament rankings, checking in at No. 27 on WrestleStat and No. 33 in WIN Magazine. Individually, Falcon junior heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson remained amongst the best in the nation over the off-season, ranking No. 6 in both WrestleStat and WIN.
LEAD FROM THE FRONT
Air Force has elected juniors Sam Wolf and Wyatt Hendrickson as captains for the 2022-23 campaign. Wolf boasts a gold medal for Team USA at the 2021 Junior Pan Am Games and was a NCAA Tournament alternate at 174 pounds. Hendrickson became AF's first-ever Big 12 Champion last season and was tabbed the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler of 2021-22.
WELCOME BACK
Air Force returns five of their primary starters from last season to the dual meet lineup; Cody Phippen, Dylan Martinez, Giano Petrucelli, Sam Wolf, and Wyatt Hendrickson. There are 24 returners from last season's roster, and nine graduated seniors are off into the wild blue yonder.
THE NEW GUYS
AF has announced the addition of 14 freshmen to the 2022-23 roster. The class of 2026 hails from across 10 states and includes six wrestlers from the USAFA Prep School. Logan Attisano, Brenden Barnes, Kole Biscoe, Drake Buchanan, Seamus Casey, Joe Fernau, Nicholas Gonzalez, Gavin Gross, Peyton Hahn, Ryker Johnecheck, Regan LeFevre, Tucker Owens, Bryce Shelton, and Aiden Warren are now part of the Band of Birds.
AT THE HELM
Sam Barber enters his ninth season at the helm of the Air Force wrestling program in 2022-23. Before taking over the head coaching duties, Barber spent the previous five years as a full-time assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Falcons after serving as a volunteer assistant during the 2008-09 season.
Barber has coached 21 national qualifiers at USAFA while also making his mark as a recruiter rounding up some of the nation's top recruits, landing top-30 recruiting classes in seven of 10 seasons at the helm, including two in the top-20. In addition to success on the mat, Barber has also been a mentor for the Falcons in the classroom, as he has guided nine Falcons to become NWCA Scholar All-Americans, while his athletes have been named to academic all-conference teams 73 times.
UP NEXT
The team splits into two contingencies top compete on two fronts on November 12. Falcons will travel to Laramie, Wyoming, to compete in the Cowboy Open while their teammates travel to Appalachian State's Mountaineer Open in Boone, North Carolina.
6 p.m., Saturday, November 5
Clune Arena, USAFA, CO
GET TICKETS
THIS WEEK
The Falcons host Western Colorado in Clune Arena in the first action of the season. On Sunday, a contingent of wrestlers will travel to the Colorado-Mines Rookie Open in Golden, Colorado, to compete for individual titles. Action is slated to begin at 9 a.m.
PROJECTED LINEUP
125: Quinn Melofchik (AF) vs. Patrick Allis (WCU)
133: Cody Phippen (AF) vs. Alex Alvarez (WCU)
141: Garrett Kuchan (AF) vs. Dean Noble (WCU)
149: Bryce Shelton or Josh Miller (AF) vs. Jason Hanenberg (WCU)
157: Garrett Bowers (AF) vs. Walker Heckendorf (WCU)
165: Giano Petrucelli (AF) vs. Cole Mortensen (WCU)
174: Sam Wolf (AF) vs. Cole Hernandez (WCU)
184: Noah Blake (AF) vs. Cole Gray (WCU)
197: Cal Sund (AF) vs. Porter Fox (WCU)
285: #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) vs. Open
FOLLOW ALONG
The dual will be live streamed by FloWrestling and live results will be provided via TrackWrestling.com. Follow the Falcons' Twitter page @AF_Wrestle for live updates.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Falcons appeared in two team tournament rankings, checking in at No. 27 on WrestleStat and No. 33 in WIN Magazine. Individually, Falcon junior heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson remained amongst the best in the nation over the off-season, ranking No. 6 in both WrestleStat and WIN.
LEAD FROM THE FRONT
Air Force has elected juniors Sam Wolf and Wyatt Hendrickson as captains for the 2022-23 campaign. Wolf boasts a gold medal for Team USA at the 2021 Junior Pan Am Games and was a NCAA Tournament alternate at 174 pounds. Hendrickson became AF's first-ever Big 12 Champion last season and was tabbed the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler of 2021-22.
WELCOME BACK
Air Force returns five of their primary starters from last season to the dual meet lineup; Cody Phippen, Dylan Martinez, Giano Petrucelli, Sam Wolf, and Wyatt Hendrickson. There are 24 returners from last season's roster, and nine graduated seniors are off into the wild blue yonder.
THE NEW GUYS
AF has announced the addition of 14 freshmen to the 2022-23 roster. The class of 2026 hails from across 10 states and includes six wrestlers from the USAFA Prep School. Logan Attisano, Brenden Barnes, Kole Biscoe, Drake Buchanan, Seamus Casey, Joe Fernau, Nicholas Gonzalez, Gavin Gross, Peyton Hahn, Ryker Johnecheck, Regan LeFevre, Tucker Owens, Bryce Shelton, and Aiden Warren are now part of the Band of Birds.
AT THE HELM
Sam Barber enters his ninth season at the helm of the Air Force wrestling program in 2022-23. Before taking over the head coaching duties, Barber spent the previous five years as a full-time assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Falcons after serving as a volunteer assistant during the 2008-09 season.
Barber has coached 21 national qualifiers at USAFA while also making his mark as a recruiter rounding up some of the nation's top recruits, landing top-30 recruiting classes in seven of 10 seasons at the helm, including two in the top-20. In addition to success on the mat, Barber has also been a mentor for the Falcons in the classroom, as he has guided nine Falcons to become NWCA Scholar All-Americans, while his athletes have been named to academic all-conference teams 73 times.
UP NEXT
The team splits into two contingencies top compete on two fronts on November 12. Falcons will travel to Laramie, Wyoming, to compete in the Cowboy Open while their teammates travel to Appalachian State's Mountaineer Open in Boone, North Carolina.
Wyatt Hendrickson Visit
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Sam Barber Interview March 12, 2025
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