Falcons Finish Third at Academy Championships

FRISCO, Texas – The Air Force men's gymnastics team registered a season-high 379.900 to finish third at the All-Academy Championships this evening (Feb. 12) in Frisco, Texas. Senior Collin Hickey, sophomore Oliver Zavel and classmate Garrett Braunton combined for eight top-five placements during the annual competition against their academy counterparts from Army West Point and Navy.

The seventh-ranked Midshipmen won the three-team meet at The Ford Center with a score of 393.500, while just over a point separated the 10th-ranked Black Knights (381.250, second) and 13th-ranked Falcons (379.900, third) for the remaining two spots.

Zavel and Hickey posted team-leading scores of 14.100 to tie for third on the vault, while Braunton earned that same placement on the still rings (13.450) and added a runner-up tally of 13.550 on the parallel bars. Zavel joined Braunton among the top three on the parallel bars (season-best 13.450, third), while the trio also claimed top-five marks on the pommel horse (Braunton, season-debut 12.950/fourth), high bar (Zavel, season-best 12.850/fourth tie) and floor exercise (Hickey, season-best 13.550/fifth tie).

Zavel had a strong night for the Falcons, as he combined for a 79.250 to finish second in his collegiate all-around debut. In addition to leading the team on the vault and high bar, the sophomore also garnered the Falcons' No. 2 scores on the parallel bars, floor exercise (season-best 13.450/seventh), pommel horse (career-best 12.650/sixth tie) and still rings (season-best 12.750/ninth).

Several freshmen had strong showings in their first All-Academy meet. Charlie Miles was the Falcons' No. 2 gymnast on the high bar after scoring a career-best 12.750 (seventh) and earned a top-10 finish on the parallel bars (12.650, eighth), while Erich Upton registered the Falcons' second-highest score on the vault (13.800, eighth tie) and added top-10 finishes on the parallel bars (12.900, sixth) and high bar (12.450, 10th). Fellow freshman Bryan Woffinden scored a 12.600 in his collegiate debut to tie for eighth on the pommel horse with senior Noah Everett.

The Falcons return to action next Sunday (Feb. 20), when they travel to Berkeley for a MPSF dual with Cal.

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