Wrestling Concludes Action at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

LAS VEGAS – Air Force wrestlers left it all on the mat at the 43^rd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Friday evening, at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. All Falcons were eliminated in the first day of action at one of the nation's most competitive tournaments.

C3C 141-pounder Carter Nogle had the highlight moment for Air Force, knocking off service academy rival No. 18 Caedyn Ricciardi of Navy. Nogle, leading wire-to-wire, built an 8-1 lead before sticking the Midshipman's back to the mat in the third period (6:20). The win came in the wake of Nogle's Round of 32 win over Gabriel Bouyssou of Cornell, 13-7.

Freshman standout No. 29 Karson Tompkins picked up three bonus point wins on the day. Tompkins posted a major decision over Cal Poly's Cole Jackson, 11-0. He dropped to the consolation bracket in the ensuing match, losing to No. 21 Rune Lawrence (WVU), 4-1. Bouncing back, Tompkins picked up a fall (1:56) over Angel Cervantes (CSUB), and followed up with a technical fall (16-1) over Columbia's Adam Haselius. No. 30 Ben Vandia of Purdue ended Tompkins tournament run with a 10-7 decision.

Senior team captain Tucker Owens (125), C4C Rylan Kuhn (285), C2C Gavin Caprella (133), and C3C Brian Burburija (184) each picked up a win in the consolation brackets. Owens and Kuhn won by fall, while Caprella and Burburija won by technical fall.

Next up, Air Force will take the fight to Clinton, South Carolina, for a trio of duals against host Presbyterian, Davidson, and Franklin & Marshall, on December 18. Dual action in Templeton Gymnasium kicks off at 9 a.m. ET and will run to completion.

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