Air Force Battles Tough, Falls to No. 5 Oklahoma State, 34-6

USAF ACADEMY – The Falcons hosted Big 12 perennial powerhouse No. 5 Oklahoma State, falling 33-6, Friday evening in the Historic Clune Arena. Testament the growth of the sport, the Falcons and Cowboys brought in a Clune Arena wrestling attendance record 2,243 fans.

Oklahoma State brandished five wrestlers in the national top-10 rankings, winning eight weight classes on the dual.

Air Force picked up wins in the 125 and 141 divisions behind team captain No.33 C1C Tucker Owens and C3C Carter Nogle, respectively. Owens bested Penn State transfer and R-Sr. Gary Steen in a gritty 4-2 decision bout. Nogle followed up with a decisive 6-4 win over R.-Fr. JJ McComas.

Highlight efforts came from C2C Gavin Caprella who narrowly lost to 2024 National Champion Richard Figueroa in an 8-6 decision. Co-team captain C1C Bryce Shelton's match with Cutter Sheets came down to a final-second video review; Shelton coming up shy of the match-winning takedown.

In a special night at Clune Arena, Air Force celebrated 2024 Academy graduate and Oklahoma State's Hodge Trophy Winner and 2025 National Champion, Lieutenant Wyatt Hendrickson alongside a host of Air Force Wrestling alumni. Hendrickson serves an Air Force officer in the AF World Class Athlete Program.

AF Wrestling Alum

Next up, a contingent of Falcon wrestlers will compete at the Roadrunner Open on Sunday, November 23. Tournament action kicks off at 9 am PT in the Icardo Center.

Nov. 21 – #5 Oklahoma State 34, Air Force 6
165: #2 LaDarion Lockett (Oklahoma State) over Sebastian Martinez (Air Force) (Fall 6:36)
174: #6 Alex Facundo (Oklahoma State) over Gunner Cramblett (Air Force) (TF 21-6 4:29)
184: #9 Zack Ryder (Oklahoma State) over Brian Burburija (Air Force) (MD 12-3)
197: #9 Cody Merrill (Oklahoma State) over Karson Tompkins (Air Force) (MD 15-2)
285: #8 Konner Doucet (Oklahoma State) over Rylan Kuhn (Air Force) (TF 22-6 6:23)
125: #33 Tucker Owens (Air Force) over Gary Steen (Oklahoma State) (Dec 4-2)
133: #17 Richard Figueroa (Oklahoma State) over Gavin Caprella (Air Force) (Dec 8-6)
141: Carter Nogle (Air Force) over JJ McComas (Oklahoma State) (Dec 6-4)
149: Cutter Sheets (Oklahoma State) over Bryce Shelton (Air Force) (Dec 5-2)
157: Kody Routledge (Oklahoma State) over EJ Beloncik (Air Force) (MD 15-6)

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