Falcons With a Strong Showing at F&M Open, Concludes with Six Placers

LANCASTER, Pa. – Air Force wrestling was exceptional at the David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open, concluding the open with six place winners, Friday afternoon in Alumni Sports and Fitness Center.
The finish marked the most placers for the Falcons at an F&M showing, while AF wrestlers picked up over 40 totals wins.

Senior team captain Tucker Owens claimed third place in the 125-division, going 4-1 on the tournament while knocking off a pair of NCAA qualifiers from last season. Owens picked up a technical fall and major decision in his first two bouts, outscoring his opponents, 32-2. He picked up a 4-1 SV1 win in the quarterfinals but fell in the semis against Davis Motkya (Penn) by the same score. Owens was dominant in the third-place bout, besting NCAA qualifier Sulayman Bah (Columbia), 10-3. Owens improved to a 15-4 record this season, earning a place-winning finish in his third tournament in as many tries.

Junior heavyweight Antonio Ramos had strong showing, going 3-1 en route to finish third place. Ramos was dominant in his opening bouts, winning the Round of 32 by major decision (10-0), and the Round of 16 by fall (4:03). Ramos continued his roll by gritting out a 14-13 SV1 win against Army's Brenton Russell to advance to the semifinals. After dropping a 6-1 loss in the semis, Ramos claimed third place via medical forfeit.

Sophomore 184-pounder Brian Burburija went 3-2 to finish at fourth place. Burburija's first win was a commanding 16-0 technical fall followed by a pin against Princeton's Xavier Giles (5:30) in the quarter finals. 184-pound teammate Josh Cordio went 2-2 in the same division, picking up a fall against Lock Haven's Cael Black and a decision win over F&M's Pantaleo Varga.

Junior 197-pounder Owen Heiser claimed fifth place on a 3-2 run through the division. All three of Heiser's wins were by technical fall, outscoring opponents 54-9 across the three bouts. Heiser has 10 wins this season, nine of them with bonus points. Freshman teammate Karson Tompkins also competed in the 197 bracket as the No. 1 seed. Tompkins got out to a strong start with a 6-0 decision win in the Round of 32 and a 53-second fall in the Round of 16. After a loss in the quarter finals, Tompkins was unable to battle on.

Sophomore standout 141-pounder Carter Nogle was impressive in his path to fifth place. Of his four wins, three came with bonus points highlighted by a commanding 17-7 major decision over Army's Conor Collins in the fifth-place bout. In his first two matches, he won by 17-1 technical fall and a first period pin (2:19). Nogle has 13 wins this season, 10 of those wins came with bonus points.

Sophomore 165-pounder Logan Fowler exceptional in his fifth-place finish, picking up five wins in his division highlighted by a ranked win against two-time NCAA qualifier No. 27 Cesar Alvan of Columbia. Fowler tallied two major decisions and a fall en route to fifth. In his five wins, he outscored all opponents, 41-1.

Junior 133-pounder Gavin Caprella had a strong showing but finished just outside of the podium. In his three wins, two came by overwhelming technical falls where he outscored his opponents, 32-0.

Senior team captain Bryce Shelton went 4-2 on the tournament, finishing just shy of a podium finish in the 149 division. Two of his four wins were major decisions. Shelton matched out before he could battle for a placed finish.

Freshman heavyweight Rylan Kuhn picked up three wins on the day, all in the bonus points highlighted by a pair of first-period falls. Kuhn has 12 wins this season.

Next up, The Falcons get back to Big 12 dual action as the team heads to Norman, Oklahoma, to take on the Sooners on Friday, January 16. Action at McCasland Field House is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

Falcons With a Strong Showing at F&M Open, Concludes with Six Placers

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brian Burburija

Gavin Caprella

Josh Cordio

Logan Fowler

Owen Heiser

Rylan Kuhn

Carter Nogle

Tucker Owens

Antonio Ramos

Bryce Shelton

Karson Tompkins

Footer