Record-Setting Day Leads Air Force Over Army

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Highlighted by a pair of Academy records and a season-high team score of 398.800, the 13th-ranked Air Force men's gymnastics team easily knocked off service academy rival – and 10th-ranked – Army West Point (387.500) this afternoon (March 12) during a triangular meet at the Academy that included third-ranked Nebraska (410.500).

Improving their season score by more than 18 points and tallying the highest team score since the end of the 2019 regular season, the Falcons had a stellar afternoon during their first home competition since the season opener in January.

The Falcons kicked off the meet with a strong performance on the floor exercise, as they recorded the first 70-point tally in Academy history with a combined score of 70.250. Sophomore Oliver Zavel led the way for Air Force, as he improved his career best by nearly a point to finish third with a score of 14.450 – and account for the second-highest score in program history. Senior Collin Hickey equaled the Academy's sixth-best tally with a career-high 14.250 to finish fourth, while freshman Erich Upton added nearly a point to his previous best to tie for eighth – and debut in ninth on the program's all-time standings with a 14.100. Sophomore Jake Sampier also reached the 14-point plateau during the competition, as he tallied a career-best 14.000 to move into 11th on the Academy's all-time list.

Sophomore Garrett Braunton claimed an event title for Air Force on the still rings, as he produced a career-best tally of 14.300 to win the 16-gymnast event by 0.55 points. Braunton, the second Falcon to earn an event title this season, also moved into a tie for seventh on the program's all-time standings – a placement he shares with his older brother Fletcher (2017).

In addition to his victory on the still rings, Braunton also led Air Force to an Academy record-matching score of 71.350 on the vault. Scoring a career-best 14.450 to finish sixth in the meet and move into seventh on the program's all-time standings, the sophomore was one of two Falcons to finish within the top half of the field and impact Air Force's Top 10 in that event, as freshman Bryan Woffinden matched his career-high score of 14.350 – the ninth-highest tally in Air Force history – to finish eighth in the event. All five Air Force vaulters broke 14 in the meet, as Hickey (season-best 14.300), Zavel (career-best 14.150) and Upton (career-best 14.100) rounded out the lineup with top-20 all-time performances.

Woffinden accounted for the team's highest finishes on the pommel horse (13.050) and parallel bars (13.250) after recording career-best marks to place fifth on both, while senior Noah Everett joined the freshman among the top half of the two event standings with a sixth-place 12.950 on the pommel horse and a seventh-place score of 13.050 on the parallel bars – a finish he shared with Zavel.

Upton rounded out the Falcons' list of event leaders, as he tallied a personal-best 13.050 to finish fifth on the high bar, while Braunton added sixth-place finishes on the parallel bars (13.200) and high bar (12.900) to register the first 80-point all-around of his career (80.600) during a runner-up performance.

The Falcons close out the regular season next Saturday (March 19), when they host Illinois, Navy and Rocky Mountain Pride at 1:00 p.m. (MT), inside Cadet West Gym. During the meet, Air Force will honor its senior class – Everett, Hickey, Beckett Andersen and Colin Douglas.

Players Mentioned

Beckett Andersen

Garrett Braunton

Colin Douglas

Noah Everett

Collin Hickey

Jake Sampier

Erich Upton

Bryan Woffinden

Oliver Zavel

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