Saturday, November 11
Boone, NC
7:00 AM
Air Force Academy
vs
Mountaineer Invitational
Wrestling Travels to Appalachian State for Mountaineer Invitational
11/10/2023 1:42:00 PM | Wrestling
Appalachian State Mountaineer Invite
9 a.m. ET, Saturday, November 11
Varsity Gym – Boone, N.C.
Air Force Wrestling will compete at the Mountaineer Invitational on Saturday in Varsity Gym, with doors opening at 8 a.m. ET and competition beginning at 9 a.m.
Wrestlers from App State, Air Force, Gardner-Webb, Lander, North Carolina, Presbyterian, and Virginia are expected to participate. There will be brackets in each weight class for an Invitational division and Open division.
Live scoring will be available through FloArena, and tickets are $10 for spectators. A live stream is not available for the event.
INDIVIDUAL AIR FORCE COMPETITORS
125: Tucker Owens
133: Gavin Caprella
133: Cole Biscoe
141: Garrett Kuchan
149: Alec Viduya
149: Bryce Shelton
157: Brooks Gable
157: Gavin Gross
165: Giano Petrucelli
174: Noah Blake
184: Gage Musser
184: Sam Wolf
197: Garrett Henigin
197: Calvin Sund
285: Antonio Ramos
LAST TIME AT THE APP STATE INVITE
Air Force was in midseason form at Appalachian State's Mountaineer Invite, battling to a stellar finish in their first all-Division I competition of the season. Falcons knocked off five nationally ranked wrestlers to win three titles and finish with nine placers on the day.
Graduate 133-pounder Cody Phippen was the talk of the tournament as he knocked off No. 31 Jackson Disario of Stanford by fall (4:00) and continued his roll into the finals where he bested No. 14 Sean Carter of App State, 9-3. Phippen went 3-0 on the day, adding a major decision to his jacket in his opening bout.
Team captain Sam Wolf battled his way to the title in the 174 class with three decision wins and a major decision in the opening round. Wolf met with Stanford's 11th-ranked Tyler Eischens in the title bout, outscoring the Cardinal wrestler, 5-3.
Other placers included Tucker Owens (125) and Garrett Kuchan (141) who finished fourth in their respective classes. Owens went 3-2 on the day with a pair of decisions and one major decision. Kuchan went 3-1 with a major decision and a pair of decision wins.
At 165, junior Falcons Giano Petrucelli went 2-2 on the day to finish fifth place. Petrucelli showed a lot of promise, coming up short by narrow margins in overtime to nationally ranked opponents. Teammates Noah Blake (184) and Cal Sund (197) also finished fifth in the respective divisions with 2-2 records on the tournament. Sund won his fifth-place bout over Blake Schaffer by fall (2:44).
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Four Falcons cracked into the nation's Top-33 at the beginning of the season. Hendrickson leads the team at No. 2 in Intermat and FloWrestling. In the FloWrestling rankings, Sam Wolf checks in at No. 16, Tucker Owens at No. 21, and Giano Petrucelli at No. 26.
As a team, the Falcons are ranked 20th in the team tournament rankings by FloWrestling, and 23rd by Intermat.
COMING UP
Next weekend on November 18, the Falcons compete on two fronts as the main contingency heads to Annapolis, Maryland, to battle for titles at the Navy Classic. A second contingent will head to Nebraska-Kearney to compete for titles at the UNK-Younes Hospitality Open.
ON THE RADAR
Air Force senior Wyatt Hendrickson has accomplished another extraordinary feat for the Academy as he was selected to compete at the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic—a program-first selection for Air Force Wrestling.
The 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Cliff Keen will take place on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 7:00 pm (ET) at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State. This event can be viewed only on FloWrestling and will feature 10 highly ranked Div. I folkstyle matchups along with four cross-divisional women's freestyle matches. Hendrickson will meet with top-ranked Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State.
9 a.m. ET, Saturday, November 11
Varsity Gym – Boone, N.C.
Air Force Wrestling will compete at the Mountaineer Invitational on Saturday in Varsity Gym, with doors opening at 8 a.m. ET and competition beginning at 9 a.m.
Wrestlers from App State, Air Force, Gardner-Webb, Lander, North Carolina, Presbyterian, and Virginia are expected to participate. There will be brackets in each weight class for an Invitational division and Open division.
Live scoring will be available through FloArena, and tickets are $10 for spectators. A live stream is not available for the event.
INDIVIDUAL AIR FORCE COMPETITORS
125: Tucker Owens
133: Gavin Caprella
133: Cole Biscoe
141: Garrett Kuchan
149: Alec Viduya
149: Bryce Shelton
157: Brooks Gable
157: Gavin Gross
165: Giano Petrucelli
174: Noah Blake
184: Gage Musser
184: Sam Wolf
197: Garrett Henigin
197: Calvin Sund
285: Antonio Ramos
LAST TIME AT THE APP STATE INVITE
Air Force was in midseason form at Appalachian State's Mountaineer Invite, battling to a stellar finish in their first all-Division I competition of the season. Falcons knocked off five nationally ranked wrestlers to win three titles and finish with nine placers on the day.
Graduate 133-pounder Cody Phippen was the talk of the tournament as he knocked off No. 31 Jackson Disario of Stanford by fall (4:00) and continued his roll into the finals where he bested No. 14 Sean Carter of App State, 9-3. Phippen went 3-0 on the day, adding a major decision to his jacket in his opening bout.
Team captain Sam Wolf battled his way to the title in the 174 class with three decision wins and a major decision in the opening round. Wolf met with Stanford's 11th-ranked Tyler Eischens in the title bout, outscoring the Cardinal wrestler, 5-3.
Other placers included Tucker Owens (125) and Garrett Kuchan (141) who finished fourth in their respective classes. Owens went 3-2 on the day with a pair of decisions and one major decision. Kuchan went 3-1 with a major decision and a pair of decision wins.
At 165, junior Falcons Giano Petrucelli went 2-2 on the day to finish fifth place. Petrucelli showed a lot of promise, coming up short by narrow margins in overtime to nationally ranked opponents. Teammates Noah Blake (184) and Cal Sund (197) also finished fifth in the respective divisions with 2-2 records on the tournament. Sund won his fifth-place bout over Blake Schaffer by fall (2:44).
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Four Falcons cracked into the nation's Top-33 at the beginning of the season. Hendrickson leads the team at No. 2 in Intermat and FloWrestling. In the FloWrestling rankings, Sam Wolf checks in at No. 16, Tucker Owens at No. 21, and Giano Petrucelli at No. 26.
As a team, the Falcons are ranked 20th in the team tournament rankings by FloWrestling, and 23rd by Intermat.
COMING UP
Next weekend on November 18, the Falcons compete on two fronts as the main contingency heads to Annapolis, Maryland, to battle for titles at the Navy Classic. A second contingent will head to Nebraska-Kearney to compete for titles at the UNK-Younes Hospitality Open.
ON THE RADAR
Air Force senior Wyatt Hendrickson has accomplished another extraordinary feat for the Academy as he was selected to compete at the prestigious NWCA All-Star Classic—a program-first selection for Air Force Wrestling.
The 2023 NWCA All-Star Classic presented by Cliff Keen will take place on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 7:00 pm (ET) at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State. This event can be viewed only on FloWrestling and will feature 10 highly ranked Div. I folkstyle matchups along with four cross-divisional women's freestyle matches. Hendrickson will meet with top-ranked Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State.
Players Mentioned
174
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
165/174
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
197
/ Wrestling
133/141
/ Wrestling
174
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
157/165
/ Wrestling
125/133
/ Wrestling
HWT
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
184
/ Wrestling
141
/ Wrestling
174
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