Air Force Rallies to Beat California Baptist, 19-16

USAF ACADEMY – Falcon wrestling battled from an eight-point deficit to a 19-16 comeback win against California Baptist in Big 12 Conference dual action, Sunday afternoon, in the historic Clune Arena. The win marks Air Force's first conference victory and first win since December 18.

C1C Tucker Owens got the Falcons off to a hot start when he picked up his second win of the weekend with a decisive 11-1 major decision over Cooper Shore in the 125 division. Owens, ranked 15^th in the RPI rankings, secured his ninth win in dual meets and 18^th win of the season.

CBU got traction in the 133 division as No. 31 Richard Murillo battled from an early deficit to best AF's Bubba Wright, 12-7.

Falcon 141-pounder Carter Nogle, coming in hot off an upset win over No. 18 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), capped a successful weekend with a commanding 10-1 major decision over Jesse Vasquez for his ninth dual meet win and 17^th win this season. Vasquez, an NCAA qualifier with Arizona State, came in confident off a big win on Friday where he upended No. 20 Pierson Manville (ASU). Nogle's win propelled the Falcons to an 8-2 advantage heading into the 149 bout.

The Lancers rallied with wins at 149, 157, 165, and 174. Senior team captain Bryce Shelton, slated to be a pilot upon graduation, was unable to get to his offense in the 149 class. Lincoln Gregersen, in his first week starting at 157, had a strong showing in a narrow 5-4 loss to Drayden Morton. Gregersen battled back from a five-point deficit to finish on top, just shy of the winning points.

CBU scored a major decision at 165 and built their largest lead of the dual an SV1 loss at 174.

Determined to get the Falcons back to their winning ways, Brian Burburija relentlessly attacked David Alsono to post a 17-2 technical fall over three full periods. Burburija improved to 11 wins on the season. With the score at 16-13 in favor of the Lancers, No. 30 Karson Tompkins blanked Eli Sheeren, 2-0, to secure the tie.

With the fate of the dual in his hands, freshman heavyweight Rylan Kuhn would not be denied. Kuhn scored an early takedown in period one and added an escape point in period two. Kuhn held off the advancing Matthew Buck to secure the win.

Feb. 15 – Air Force 19, California Baptist 16
125: Tucker Owens (AF) over Cooper Shore (CBU) (MD 11-1)
133: #31 Richard Murillo (CBU) over Bubba Wright (AF) (Dec 12-7)
141: Carter Nogle (AF) over Jesse Vasquez (CBU) (MD 10-1)
149: Paul Kelly (CBU) over Bryce Shelton (AF) (Dec 4-0)
157: Drayden Morton (CBU) over Lincoln Gregersen (AF) (Dec 5-4)
165: Gabriel Schumm (CBU) over Logan Fowler (AF) (MD 13-3)
174: Timothy Cowan (CBU) over Mike Avelar (AF) (SV-1 4-1)
184: Brian Burburija (AF) over David Alonso (CBU) (TF 17-2 7:00)
197: #30 Karson Tompkins (AF) over Eli Sheeren (CBU) (Dec 2-0)
285: Rylan Kuhn (AF) over Tristan Kemp (CBU) (Dec 4-2)

Next up, Air Force welcomes Big 12 rival Northern Colorado to Clune Arena for Senior Day on Sunday, February 22. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. Prior to the meet, the Falcons will honor six seniors; team captains Tucker Owens and Bryce Shelton, along with Brenden Barnes, Nick Gonzalez, Drake Buchanan and Luke Maki.

Air Force Rallies to Beat California Baptist, 19-16

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Players Mentioned

Mike Avelar

Brenden Barnes

Drake Buchanan

Brian Burburija

Logan Fowler

Lincoln Gregersen

Rylan Kuhn

Luke Maki

Carter Nogle

Tucker Owens

Bryce Shelton

Karson Tompkins

Bubba Wright

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