Air Force Wrestling Concludes Cleveland State Open with Six Placers

CLEVELAND – Falcon freshman Brian Burburija led the charge at the Cleveland State Open, registering a runner-up finish in the 197-pound division as one-of-six Falcon placers at the open, Saturday afternoon, in Woodling Gymnasium. Air Force showed promise in the predominantly B1G field, highlighted by four freshmen placers.

Burburija, the No. 1 seed who was previously ranked as high as No. 30 in the nation, had an impressive showing as he posted a 4-1 record on the day with two wins coming by major decision. Burburija had a gritty performance to start the day, besting Michigan's Hayden Walter 4-1 in sudden victory. Burburija's next two wins were by major decision, tallying 18 points in the two matches while only conceding a single escape point.

The freshman continued his roll into the semifinals where he bested Iowa State's Sawyer Bartelt, 5-4. Bartelt, also a freshman, was ranked the No. 1 (Flo) 215-pound high school wrestler in the nation last year. In the finals, it was Michigan State's Kael Wisler to knock off Burburija, 13-8. Burburija has finished in the top three in all three tournament appearances this season.

Air Force senior team captain Gage Musser led from the front, posting a 3-1 record en route to a third-place finish. Musser was flawless in his first two matches as he posted a major decision in the round of 16 and a 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals— Musser conceded no points in those matches. Musser met with Ohio State's Rocco Welsh in the semifinals. Rocco, a true freshman NCAA Championship runner-up in 2024, bested Musser by technical fall. Moving on to the third-place bout, Musser got back to his winning ways with a gritty 4-2 decision win over Central Michigan's Wyatt Ferguson.

Sophomore 133-pounder Bubba Wright and freshman 141-pounder Carter Nogle both registered fifth place finishes.

Wright was on a war path, going 4-1 on the day with three of those wins coming with bonus points, two by fall. Wright pinned Michigan State's Drew Hansen in the third period and Cleveland State's Parker Pikor in the second period. He posted a dominant 11-1 major decision over Billy Smith (unattached). In the fifth-place bout, Wright bested Pitt's Colyn Limbert, 5-1.

Nogle also brought the thunder upon his opponents, winning three bouts by fall with a fastest pin of 1:39. Nogle finished the day with a 5-1 record.

Sophomore Gavin Caprella and freshman Andrew Harmon battled to sixth place finishes in the 133 and 165 divisions, respectively.

Harmon went 5-1 on the day with his highlight performance coming against Kent State's Ethan Barr who he bested by major decision, 10-1. Caprella went 3-2 on the day, posting two bonus point wins over Cooper Rider (Purdue) and Kolten Barker (Ohio). Caprella pinned Rider in 3:57 and imposed his will on Barker with a 15-3 major decision.

Next up, Air Force will have a week off from competition before hosting CSU Pueblo in dual meet action on Tuesday (Dec. 17). Action is slated for 1 p.m. MT in Clune Arena.

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