Wyatt Hendrickson Brings Home Big 12 Title, Falcons finish with Three Placers

TULSA – Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson commanded his way through the heavyweight division of the 2022 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, becoming the Falcons' first-ever Big 12 Champion, Sunday evening at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hendrickson, who was crowned the Outstanding Wrestler, is one of two Falcons to clinch a spot in the 2022 NCAA Tournament in the wake of the league championship.

Missouri won the team race with 131.5 points while Oklahoma State (113) and Iowa State (110) finished second and third, respectively. The Falcons finished 10th with 45 points, placing ahead of Northern Colorado and Utah Valley.

Hendrickson met with Oklahoma State's Luke Surber in the finals. Surber put the top-seeded Falcon on his heels early, scoring a take down and a pair of near fall points within the first 22 seconds of the match. Calm, cool, and collected— Hendrickson started chopping away at the Cowboy, scoring a quick escape, a takedown and a four-point near fall by the close of the first period, leading Surber 7-4 heading in the second period.

The remainder of the championship bout was all Hendrickson as added four more points via two-point near fall and a takedown in the second period while only conceding an escape point. In the third period, starting on bottom, Hendrickson scored a reversal and added another takedown to she score sheet by the final whistle. When it was all said and done, a riding time point was added and Hendrickson defeated Surber by a major decision, 16-6.

Hendrickson heads to the NCAA Tournament at 24-0; 21 of those wins coming with bonus points.

Senior 133-pounder Sidney Flores earned his first Big 12 podium finish, placing fourth after going 1-1 on day two action. Flores started the day with a bang as he battled six-seed Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) to a third-period pin (5:58), to earn his way into the third-place bout against Iowa State's fifth-seeded Ramzan Attasauov. The Cyclone was able to hold off Flores' onslaught, besting the Falcon by decision, 8-5.

Falcon 149-pounder Dylan Martinez opened day two action against Northern Iowa's Colin Realbuto. The Panther scored a 13-4 major decision over Martinez, sending the Falcon to the fifth-place bout against fourth-seeded Josh Edmond of Missouri. Martinez lost by major decision to the Tiger, 17-8, but secured his first career Big 12 podium finish.

In a ninth-place bracket established for the 174-class, Sam Wolf won a pair of matches against Kekana Fouret (Utah Valley) and Riley Habisch (North Dakota State). In the match against Fouret, Wolf was up 3-0 in the third period before the Wolverine suffered and injury and retired from the match. IN the ninth-place bout Wolf imposed his will on Habisch, scoring five takedowns and a reversal to win by major decision, 13-5. The wins could help determine the fate of Wolf's NCAA at-large bid.

"I'm really proud of the effort by all of our guys this weekend," head coach Sam Barber said. "I'm proud of the growth; it really shows you can come to the U.S. Air Force Academy and pursue excellence in all the things you, and Wyatt Hendrickson really is testament to that. He puts in the work on and off the mat and that's the kind of guys we want here at the Academy. We're proud to see Sidney Flores and Dylan Martinez win their medals, they've overcome a lot in the time that they've been here. To see Sidney punch his ticket to the NCAA tournament after all the ups and downs is truly special. Also the leadership from our teammates and especially our team captain, Jared Van Vleet; he is a rock for this team and his energy, passion, and commitment to the program paid dividends for Air Force at the Big 12 Championships."

Next up, Hendrickson and Flores will await seedings while others await the news of potential at-large bids for the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, slated for March 17-19, in Detroit, Michigan.