Saturday, November 4
USAFA, CO
6:00 PM
Air Force Academy
27
vs
13
Western Colorado
Photo by: Mary Ginsbach
Air Force Dominates in Home Opening Double Header
11/4/2023 10:02:00 PM | Wrestling
USAF ACADEMY – Air Force was dominant in a pair of dual meet wins against Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo, Saturday evening in Clune Arena. The 20th-ranked Falcons bested the Mountaineers, 27-13, and rumbled past the Thunderwolves, 35-3.
Air Force hosted Western Colorado in the official season opener, posting bonus point victories across five classes. Returning NCAA qualifier No. 21 Tucker Owens got the Falcons off to a quick start with an 18-1 technical fall. Seniors Garrett Kuchan (141), No. 26 Giano Petrucelli, and No. 16 Sam Wolf (184) posted bonus point wins in their respective weight classes—setting the tone for the underclassmen.
The highlight of the dual was a pin in the heavyweight division as freshman Anthony Ramos imposed his will on Tommy Tatham with a first period fall (2:35). Calvin Sund rounded out the AF scoring with a convincing 8-1 decision in the 197 division.
In the second meet of the night, Air Force barraged the Thunderwolves with eight-straight wins out of the opening whistle while conceding zero points in the first three bouts. Nicholas Gonzalez blanked his opponent with a 14-0 major decision. Brenden Barnes followed up with a monster performance, posting a 20-0 technical fall over Brandon Bigler. At 141, freshman Trason Oehnme blanked his opponent, 5-0, in his collegiate dual meet debut.
Bryce Shelton (149) and Gage Musser (184) posted convincing major decisions in the respective divisions, while Drake Buchanan (174) and Brooks Gable (157) finished with decision victories.
In the final bout of the night, freshman big man Antonio Ramos stunned again as he outworked his opponent to exhaustion leading to a fall in the third period.
"The home opener is always an important one for us," head coach Sam Barber said. "We like having Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo in our gym because they always bring a hard and gritty fight, and it gives us an opportunity to gauge where we're at. We're going to use tonight to grow and get better heading into our tournament schedule next week."
Next up, the Falcons travel to Boone, North Carolina, to battle for titles at the Mountaineer Invitational, hosted by Appalachian State on Saturday November 11. The Falcons had three individual champions at last season's App State tournament.
Nov. 4 -- #20 Air Force 27, Western Colorado 13
125: #21Tucker Owens (AF) TF Roberto Estrada (WCU), 18-1 (3:51) | AF 5, WCU 0
133: Patrick Allis (WCU) Dec. Kole Biscoe (AF), 7-6 | AF 5, WCU 3
141: Garrett Kuchan (AF) MD Byrd McCarley (WCU), 17-6 | AF 9, WCU 3
149: Dean Noble (WCU) MD Alec Viduya (AF), 9-1 | AF 9, WCU 7
157: Ryan Wilson (WCU) Dec. Gavin Gross (AF), 4-2 | WCU 10, AF 9
165: #26 Giano Petrucelli (AF) TF Ryan Dirksen (WCU), 20-4 (4:53) | AF 14, WCU 10
174: Cole Hernandez (WCU) Dec. Noah Blake (AF), 9-6 | AF 14, WCU 13
184: #16 Sam Wolf (AF) MD Cole Gray (WCU), 12-2 | AF 18, WCU 13
197: Cal Sund (AF) Dec. Sage Harrison (WCU), 8-1 | AF 21, WCU 13
285: Antonio Ramos (AF) Fall Tommy Tatham (WCU), (2:35) | AF 27, WCU 13
Nov. 4 -- #20 Air Force 35, CSU-Pueblo 3
125: Nick Gonzalez (AF) MD Dominick Castro (CSUP), 14-0 | AF 4, CSUP 0
133: Brenden Barnes (AF) TF Brandon Bigler (CSUP), 20-0 (3:32) | AF 9, CSUP 0
141: Trason Oehme (AF) Dec. Michael Atencio (CSUP), 5-0 | AF 12, CSUP 0
149: Bryce Shelton (AF) MD Anthony Nicholas (CSUP), 14-3 | AF 16, CSUP 0
157: Brooks Gable (AF) Dec. Cyruss Meeks (CSUP), 4-1 SV1 | AF 19, CSUP 0
165: #26 Giano Petrucelli (AF) Dec. Elijah Valdez (CSUP), 5-1 | AF 22, CSUP 0
174: Drake Buchanan (AF) Dec. Tytus Coombs (CSUP), 18-13 | AF 25, CSUP 0
184: Gage Musser (AF) MD Donn Greer (CSUP), 14-2 | AF 29, CSUP 0
197: Ben Gould (CSUP) Dec. Garrett Henigin (AF), 7-5 | AF 29, CSUP 3
285: Antonio Ramos (AF) Over Josiah Aldinger (CSUP) (DQ, 6:25) | AF 35, CSUP 3
Air Force hosted Western Colorado in the official season opener, posting bonus point victories across five classes. Returning NCAA qualifier No. 21 Tucker Owens got the Falcons off to a quick start with an 18-1 technical fall. Seniors Garrett Kuchan (141), No. 26 Giano Petrucelli, and No. 16 Sam Wolf (184) posted bonus point wins in their respective weight classes—setting the tone for the underclassmen.
The highlight of the dual was a pin in the heavyweight division as freshman Anthony Ramos imposed his will on Tommy Tatham with a first period fall (2:35). Calvin Sund rounded out the AF scoring with a convincing 8-1 decision in the 197 division.
In the second meet of the night, Air Force barraged the Thunderwolves with eight-straight wins out of the opening whistle while conceding zero points in the first three bouts. Nicholas Gonzalez blanked his opponent with a 14-0 major decision. Brenden Barnes followed up with a monster performance, posting a 20-0 technical fall over Brandon Bigler. At 141, freshman Trason Oehnme blanked his opponent, 5-0, in his collegiate dual meet debut.
Bryce Shelton (149) and Gage Musser (184) posted convincing major decisions in the respective divisions, while Drake Buchanan (174) and Brooks Gable (157) finished with decision victories.
In the final bout of the night, freshman big man Antonio Ramos stunned again as he outworked his opponent to exhaustion leading to a fall in the third period.
"The home opener is always an important one for us," head coach Sam Barber said. "We like having Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo in our gym because they always bring a hard and gritty fight, and it gives us an opportunity to gauge where we're at. We're going to use tonight to grow and get better heading into our tournament schedule next week."
Next up, the Falcons travel to Boone, North Carolina, to battle for titles at the Mountaineer Invitational, hosted by Appalachian State on Saturday November 11. The Falcons had three individual champions at last season's App State tournament.
Nov. 4 -- #20 Air Force 27, Western Colorado 13
125: #21Tucker Owens (AF) TF Roberto Estrada (WCU), 18-1 (3:51) | AF 5, WCU 0
133: Patrick Allis (WCU) Dec. Kole Biscoe (AF), 7-6 | AF 5, WCU 3
141: Garrett Kuchan (AF) MD Byrd McCarley (WCU), 17-6 | AF 9, WCU 3
149: Dean Noble (WCU) MD Alec Viduya (AF), 9-1 | AF 9, WCU 7
157: Ryan Wilson (WCU) Dec. Gavin Gross (AF), 4-2 | WCU 10, AF 9
165: #26 Giano Petrucelli (AF) TF Ryan Dirksen (WCU), 20-4 (4:53) | AF 14, WCU 10
174: Cole Hernandez (WCU) Dec. Noah Blake (AF), 9-6 | AF 14, WCU 13
184: #16 Sam Wolf (AF) MD Cole Gray (WCU), 12-2 | AF 18, WCU 13
197: Cal Sund (AF) Dec. Sage Harrison (WCU), 8-1 | AF 21, WCU 13
285: Antonio Ramos (AF) Fall Tommy Tatham (WCU), (2:35) | AF 27, WCU 13
Nov. 4 -- #20 Air Force 35, CSU-Pueblo 3
125: Nick Gonzalez (AF) MD Dominick Castro (CSUP), 14-0 | AF 4, CSUP 0
133: Brenden Barnes (AF) TF Brandon Bigler (CSUP), 20-0 (3:32) | AF 9, CSUP 0
141: Trason Oehme (AF) Dec. Michael Atencio (CSUP), 5-0 | AF 12, CSUP 0
149: Bryce Shelton (AF) MD Anthony Nicholas (CSUP), 14-3 | AF 16, CSUP 0
157: Brooks Gable (AF) Dec. Cyruss Meeks (CSUP), 4-1 SV1 | AF 19, CSUP 0
165: #26 Giano Petrucelli (AF) Dec. Elijah Valdez (CSUP), 5-1 | AF 22, CSUP 0
174: Drake Buchanan (AF) Dec. Tytus Coombs (CSUP), 18-13 | AF 25, CSUP 0
184: Gage Musser (AF) MD Donn Greer (CSUP), 14-2 | AF 29, CSUP 0
197: Ben Gould (CSUP) Dec. Garrett Henigin (AF), 7-5 | AF 29, CSUP 3
285: Antonio Ramos (AF) Over Josiah Aldinger (CSUP) (DQ, 6:25) | AF 35, CSUP 3
Players Mentioned
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133/141
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174
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157/165
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