Sam Wolf Leads the Falcons in CKLV Action
12/1/2023 9:18:00 PM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS – At the conclusion of the first day of the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, two Falcons posted three top-10 upset victories in the opening sessions. Senior co-team captain Sam Wolf is the second Falcon to make a CKLV semifinals appearance in two seasons.
Wolf, a 174-pounder in his first three seasons at Air Force, made a statement in the 184-division with a pair of convincing wins against All-Americans No. 3 Chris Foca (Cornell) and No. 8 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State). In his opening bout against Foca, Wolf scored the first and only takedown of the match, adding a second-period reversal to push him to victory and the quarterfinals, 7-5. In the quarters, Wolf met with six-seed Hoffman. The pair took a staunch hand-fight battle to sudden victory knotted at one with an escape each. Wolf dug deep and scored the sudden victory takedown to best the Buckeye, 4-1.
Giano Petrucelli, the 19th-ranked 165-pounder in the nation and 12th-seed in the tournament, had a stellar first session. In his opening bout, Petrucelli posted a major decision over Chance McLane (Arizona State), 8-0. The Falcon senior followed up with an upset victory over No. 9 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) in the round of 16. Petrucelli avenged a loss from earlier this season with a 12-9 decision over the Cornhusker. In his quarter-final bout, Petrucelli met with third-seed Izzak Olejnik of Oklahoma State, the No. 4 165-pounder in the nation. Olejnik outscored Petrucelli, 8-1, sending the Falcon to the consolation side of the bracket. In the following match, Petrucelli fell to No. 29 Hunter Garvin (Stanford), 14-4, and was eliminated from the tournament.
Freshman heavyweight Antonio Ramos opened his first CKLV with sparks, pinning Adrian Sans (Hofstra) in the second period (3:27). The pin marks Ramos' fourth this season. His tournament ended against top-ranked wrestlers No. 10 Grady Griess and No. 25 Seth Nevills in the following two bouts.
Sophomore Tucker Owens posted a win in the consolation bracket, besting Max Brewster (Arizona State) by perfect technical fall, 15-0. Owens was unable to battle back into the second day following a loss to Brendan McCrone.
Brendan Barnes, Bryce Shelton, Brooke Gable, Noah Blake, and Calvin Sund also made appearances in the nation's toughest tournament.
Session III action is slated to begin at 9 a.m. MT, Saturday morning. Wolf will take on No. 9 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State).
Wolf, a 174-pounder in his first three seasons at Air Force, made a statement in the 184-division with a pair of convincing wins against All-Americans No. 3 Chris Foca (Cornell) and No. 8 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State). In his opening bout against Foca, Wolf scored the first and only takedown of the match, adding a second-period reversal to push him to victory and the quarterfinals, 7-5. In the quarters, Wolf met with six-seed Hoffman. The pair took a staunch hand-fight battle to sudden victory knotted at one with an escape each. Wolf dug deep and scored the sudden victory takedown to best the Buckeye, 4-1.
Giano Petrucelli, the 19th-ranked 165-pounder in the nation and 12th-seed in the tournament, had a stellar first session. In his opening bout, Petrucelli posted a major decision over Chance McLane (Arizona State), 8-0. The Falcon senior followed up with an upset victory over No. 9 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) in the round of 16. Petrucelli avenged a loss from earlier this season with a 12-9 decision over the Cornhusker. In his quarter-final bout, Petrucelli met with third-seed Izzak Olejnik of Oklahoma State, the No. 4 165-pounder in the nation. Olejnik outscored Petrucelli, 8-1, sending the Falcon to the consolation side of the bracket. In the following match, Petrucelli fell to No. 29 Hunter Garvin (Stanford), 14-4, and was eliminated from the tournament.
Freshman heavyweight Antonio Ramos opened his first CKLV with sparks, pinning Adrian Sans (Hofstra) in the second period (3:27). The pin marks Ramos' fourth this season. His tournament ended against top-ranked wrestlers No. 10 Grady Griess and No. 25 Seth Nevills in the following two bouts.
Sophomore Tucker Owens posted a win in the consolation bracket, besting Max Brewster (Arizona State) by perfect technical fall, 15-0. Owens was unable to battle back into the second day following a loss to Brendan McCrone.
Brendan Barnes, Bryce Shelton, Brooke Gable, Noah Blake, and Calvin Sund also made appearances in the nation's toughest tournament.
Session III action is slated to begin at 9 a.m. MT, Saturday morning. Wolf will take on No. 9 Will Feldkamp (Iowa State).
Players Mentioned
174
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157/165
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HWT
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184
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174
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