Friday, January 13
USAFA, CO
6:00 PM
Air Force Academy
9
vs
36
#4 Missouri
Photo by: Mary Ginsbach
Air Force Splits Double-Header against No. 4 Missouri and No. 24 Cal Poly
1/13/2023 10:37:00 PM | Wrestling
USAF ACADEMY – Air Force knocked off 24th-ranked Cal Poly and fell to No. 4 Missouri in a Friday night double-header in Clune Arena. The Falcons' dual record improves to 3-1 with a 1-1 mark in the Big 12 in the wake of the event. Missouri, the 2022 Big 12 Champions, improve to 5-2 with a perfect mark against Big 12 teams (4-0), while Cal Poly drops to 3-5 overall.
The highlight of the night came in the form of two wins against ranked Cal Poly opponents by the Falcons' Tucker Owens (125) and Giano Petrucelli (165). Air Force led the Mustangs in the team score from wire to wire.
Freshman 125-pounder Owens opened the Cal Poly dual against No. 23 Antonio Lorenzo. A hard-fought battle against a stingy top-rider went to sudden victory where Owens was first to attack and deliver the match-winning points against the 2022 NCAA qualifier. The win marked Owens' 17th of the season.
Falcon senior No. 21 Cody Phippen kept the momentum in AF's favor with a convincing 7-2 decision over Ethan Rotondo to give the Falcons a 6-0 team score lead. Poly's Lawrence Saenz struck back in the 141 division with a 6-2 decision win over Garrett Kuchan.
Air Force senior 149-punder Dylan Martinez put AF back in the win column with a commanding 12-1 major decision over Tiger Ortiz. Going tit-for-tat, Luka Wick (Cal Poly) posted an 8-5 decision over Jack Ganos in Ganos' second match of the evening.
Air Force junior 165-punder Giano Petrucelli responded in a big way, battling from behind to knock off two-time NCAA qualifier No. 31 Legend Lamer in sudden victory, 5-3.
The Mustang's Brawley Lamer, brother to Legend, kept Cal Poly in the battle with a 3-0 decision win over sophomore 174-pounder Gage Musser to bring the team score to 13-9, still in favor of the Falcons. At 184, Noah Blake got out in front of Jarad Priest early and held of the Mustang's late attack to secure a 7-5 decision win.
Air Force, now up by a two-match spread, sent forth Calvin Sund to seal the deal. Sund battled hard to the bitter end but ultimately dropped a 5-3 decision to put Poly in striking distance of a team win.
Much to the chagrin of Cal Poly, No. 7 Wyatt Hendrickson stood between Trevor Tinker and a Mustang team win. Hendrickson dominated in typical fashion, scoring 12 points before pinning Tinker at the 2:02 mark. The win marked the 15th for Hendrickson and his ninth pin this season. Hendrickson spent a total of 2:58 on the mats between the two duals.
Sund and Hendrickson were the only Falcons to put up points against the powerhouse Tigers. Sund was the first to put points on the board with a 3-2 decision win over Mizzou's Jesse Cassatt. Hendrickson followed up with a pin in 58 seconds against a scrappy Cole Gripka.
Mizzou outscored Air Force 36-9 on the team scorecard, posting bonus point wins in the first four bouts and in seven bouts total. The stacked Tigers recorded three major decisions, three technical falls, a pin and a decision in the 10-bout dual. Jack Ganos did his part in denying No. 11 Jarrett Jacques bonus points in the 157 class.
"I was pleased with our efforts against a really tough Missouri team," head coach Sam Barber began. "We got the chance to wrestle some of our guys who haven't seen that kind of high-powered dual action yet, and especially some of our freshmen who got to experience what it's like to wrestle some of the best guys in the Big 12 and in the country. It put us in a good position to go back-to-back duals against another top-25 team in Cal Poly. We took them on with our starting bunch and we had a lot of great energy—up and down the lineup the energy was high and the guys were excited to get that result. All 10 guys showed up and fought hard and got us a top-25 win. We don't get a lot of those big wins, so it's a big deal for this program and the guys can see the result of the effort they are putting in."
Next up, the Falcons take on CSU Bakersfield in a Sunday afternoon dual in Clune Arena. Action against the Roadrunners begins at 1 p.m. A live stream will be provided on Flo Wrestling with live results available on Track Wrestling. Fans can also get live match updates on Twitter by following @AF_Wrestle.
#28 Air Force (2-1, 1-1 BIG 12) vs. #4 Missouri (5-2, 4-0 BIG 12)
125: #12 Noah Surtin (UM) TF Quinn Melofchik (AF), 17-0 (3:56) | UM 5, AF 0
133: #HM Connor Brown (UM) MD Nick Krug (AF), 12-4 | UM 9, AF 0
141: #8 Allan Hart (UM) MD Joe Fernau (AF), 14-4 | UM 13, AF 0
149: #9 Brock Mauller (UM) MD Bryce Shelton (AF), 15-4 | UM 17, AF 0
157: #11 Jarrett Jacques (UM) Dec. Jack Ganos (AF), 6-1 | UM 20, AF 0
165: #1 Keegan O'Toole (UM) TF Seamus Casey (AF), 20-5 (6:31) | UM 25, AF 0
174: #9 Peyton Mocco (UM) TF Gage Musser (AF), 20-5 | UM 30, AF 0
184: Colton Hawks (UM) Fall Andrew Wenzel (AF), (3:05) | UM 36, AF 0
197: Calvin Sund (AF) Dec. Jesse Cassatt (UM), 3-2 | UM 36, AF 3
285: #7 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) Fall Cole Gripka (UM) (0:56) | UM 36, AF 9
Final: #4 Missouri 36, #28 Air Force 9
#28 Air Force (3-1, 1-1 BIG 12) vs. #24 Cal Poly (3-5, 0-0 PAC 12)
125: Tucker Owens (AF) Dec. #23 Antonio Lorenzo (POLY), 3-2 SV1 | AF 3, POLY 0
133: #21 Cody Phippen (AF) Dec. Ethan Rotondo (POLY), 7-2 | AF 6, POLY 0
141: Lawrence Saenz (POLY) Dec. Garrett Kuchan (AF), 6-2 | AF 6, POLY 3
149: Dylan Martinez (AF) MD Tiger Ortiz (POLY), 12-1 | AF 10, POLY 3
157: Luka Wick (POLY) Dec. Jack Ganos (AF), 8-5 | AF 10, POLY 6
165: Giano Petrucelli (AF) Dec. #31 Legend Lamer (POLY), 5-3 SV1 | AF 13, POLY 6
174: Brawley Lamer (POLY) Dec. Gage Musser (AF), 3-0 | AF 13, POLY 9
184: Noah Blake (AF) Dec. Jarad Priest (POLY), 7-5 | AF 16, POLY 9
197: Wesley Wilson (POLY) Dec. Calvin Sund (AF), 5-3 | AF 16, POLY 12
285: #7 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) Fall Trevor Tinker (POLY) (2:02) | AF 22, POLY 12
Final: #28 Air Force 22, #24 Cal Poly 12
The highlight of the night came in the form of two wins against ranked Cal Poly opponents by the Falcons' Tucker Owens (125) and Giano Petrucelli (165). Air Force led the Mustangs in the team score from wire to wire.
Freshman 125-pounder Owens opened the Cal Poly dual against No. 23 Antonio Lorenzo. A hard-fought battle against a stingy top-rider went to sudden victory where Owens was first to attack and deliver the match-winning points against the 2022 NCAA qualifier. The win marked Owens' 17th of the season.
Falcon senior No. 21 Cody Phippen kept the momentum in AF's favor with a convincing 7-2 decision over Ethan Rotondo to give the Falcons a 6-0 team score lead. Poly's Lawrence Saenz struck back in the 141 division with a 6-2 decision win over Garrett Kuchan.
Air Force senior 149-punder Dylan Martinez put AF back in the win column with a commanding 12-1 major decision over Tiger Ortiz. Going tit-for-tat, Luka Wick (Cal Poly) posted an 8-5 decision over Jack Ganos in Ganos' second match of the evening.
Air Force junior 165-punder Giano Petrucelli responded in a big way, battling from behind to knock off two-time NCAA qualifier No. 31 Legend Lamer in sudden victory, 5-3.
The Mustang's Brawley Lamer, brother to Legend, kept Cal Poly in the battle with a 3-0 decision win over sophomore 174-pounder Gage Musser to bring the team score to 13-9, still in favor of the Falcons. At 184, Noah Blake got out in front of Jarad Priest early and held of the Mustang's late attack to secure a 7-5 decision win.
Air Force, now up by a two-match spread, sent forth Calvin Sund to seal the deal. Sund battled hard to the bitter end but ultimately dropped a 5-3 decision to put Poly in striking distance of a team win.
Much to the chagrin of Cal Poly, No. 7 Wyatt Hendrickson stood between Trevor Tinker and a Mustang team win. Hendrickson dominated in typical fashion, scoring 12 points before pinning Tinker at the 2:02 mark. The win marked the 15th for Hendrickson and his ninth pin this season. Hendrickson spent a total of 2:58 on the mats between the two duals.
Sund and Hendrickson were the only Falcons to put up points against the powerhouse Tigers. Sund was the first to put points on the board with a 3-2 decision win over Mizzou's Jesse Cassatt. Hendrickson followed up with a pin in 58 seconds against a scrappy Cole Gripka.
Mizzou outscored Air Force 36-9 on the team scorecard, posting bonus point wins in the first four bouts and in seven bouts total. The stacked Tigers recorded three major decisions, three technical falls, a pin and a decision in the 10-bout dual. Jack Ganos did his part in denying No. 11 Jarrett Jacques bonus points in the 157 class.
"I was pleased with our efforts against a really tough Missouri team," head coach Sam Barber began. "We got the chance to wrestle some of our guys who haven't seen that kind of high-powered dual action yet, and especially some of our freshmen who got to experience what it's like to wrestle some of the best guys in the Big 12 and in the country. It put us in a good position to go back-to-back duals against another top-25 team in Cal Poly. We took them on with our starting bunch and we had a lot of great energy—up and down the lineup the energy was high and the guys were excited to get that result. All 10 guys showed up and fought hard and got us a top-25 win. We don't get a lot of those big wins, so it's a big deal for this program and the guys can see the result of the effort they are putting in."
Next up, the Falcons take on CSU Bakersfield in a Sunday afternoon dual in Clune Arena. Action against the Roadrunners begins at 1 p.m. A live stream will be provided on Flo Wrestling with live results available on Track Wrestling. Fans can also get live match updates on Twitter by following @AF_Wrestle.
#28 Air Force (2-1, 1-1 BIG 12) vs. #4 Missouri (5-2, 4-0 BIG 12)
125: #12 Noah Surtin (UM) TF Quinn Melofchik (AF), 17-0 (3:56) | UM 5, AF 0
133: #HM Connor Brown (UM) MD Nick Krug (AF), 12-4 | UM 9, AF 0
141: #8 Allan Hart (UM) MD Joe Fernau (AF), 14-4 | UM 13, AF 0
149: #9 Brock Mauller (UM) MD Bryce Shelton (AF), 15-4 | UM 17, AF 0
157: #11 Jarrett Jacques (UM) Dec. Jack Ganos (AF), 6-1 | UM 20, AF 0
165: #1 Keegan O'Toole (UM) TF Seamus Casey (AF), 20-5 (6:31) | UM 25, AF 0
174: #9 Peyton Mocco (UM) TF Gage Musser (AF), 20-5 | UM 30, AF 0
184: Colton Hawks (UM) Fall Andrew Wenzel (AF), (3:05) | UM 36, AF 0
197: Calvin Sund (AF) Dec. Jesse Cassatt (UM), 3-2 | UM 36, AF 3
285: #7 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) Fall Cole Gripka (UM) (0:56) | UM 36, AF 9
Final: #4 Missouri 36, #28 Air Force 9
#28 Air Force (3-1, 1-1 BIG 12) vs. #24 Cal Poly (3-5, 0-0 PAC 12)
125: Tucker Owens (AF) Dec. #23 Antonio Lorenzo (POLY), 3-2 SV1 | AF 3, POLY 0
133: #21 Cody Phippen (AF) Dec. Ethan Rotondo (POLY), 7-2 | AF 6, POLY 0
141: Lawrence Saenz (POLY) Dec. Garrett Kuchan (AF), 6-2 | AF 6, POLY 3
149: Dylan Martinez (AF) MD Tiger Ortiz (POLY), 12-1 | AF 10, POLY 3
157: Luka Wick (POLY) Dec. Jack Ganos (AF), 8-5 | AF 10, POLY 6
165: Giano Petrucelli (AF) Dec. #31 Legend Lamer (POLY), 5-3 SV1 | AF 13, POLY 6
174: Brawley Lamer (POLY) Dec. Gage Musser (AF), 3-0 | AF 13, POLY 9
184: Noah Blake (AF) Dec. Jarad Priest (POLY), 7-5 | AF 16, POLY 9
197: Wesley Wilson (POLY) Dec. Calvin Sund (AF), 5-3 | AF 16, POLY 12
285: #7 Wyatt Hendrickson (AF) Fall Trevor Tinker (POLY) (2:02) | AF 22, POLY 12
Final: #28 Air Force 22, #24 Cal Poly 12
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling
165
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
165
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
133/141
/ Wrestling
133/141
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149
/ Wrestling
125
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
157/165
/ Wrestling
125/133
/ Wrestling
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184
/ Wrestling
184
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