Three Falcon boxers crowned national champs

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Three members of the Air Force Academy boxing team were crowned national champions April 8 as the Falcons wrapped up competition at the 2006 National Collegiate Boxing Association Championships.

Air Force entered the final night of competition in fourth place, following a disappointing semifinal round. Although they had just three finalists competing in the main ring, the Falcons went three-for-three, picking up crucial points in the team standings.

Junior Willie Lloyd showed why he was the defending national champion, taking an impressive decision from Jason Morris of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the 112-pound championship bout. Lloyd, who defeated Morris in the regional finals two weeks ago, played it close in the first two rounds. At the start of the third round, Lloyd turned up the pressure and dominated the contest, using two standing eight-counts to secure the judges’ votes.

Classmate Ezekiel Ignaco claimed his first national title at 119 pounds by decisioning Army’s Scott Yeung. The championship bout was a rematch from the Falcons’ trip to West Point last year, where Ignaco took a decision from Yeung when both were contending in the 125-pound weight class.

After facing a dominating foe in the semifinal round, Ignaco was met with a tentative, counter-punching Yeung. Slowly picking apart his opponent and landing the big shots, Ignaco earned the needed points for the decisive victory.

The Falcons were forced to wait until the night’s final bout, the heavyweight contest, to learn their fate. That bout would determine their team’s finish.

Junior Ian Tuznik took the pressure in stride and rallied for his first national title in a dominating referee-stopped contest (third round) over Navy’s Dave Paddock. Using several hard-hitting jabs, the focused Tuznik took the fight to Paddock and never allowed his opponent to find his rhythm.

For the second straight year, the slimmest of margins separated the Falcons from the national team title. Air Force combined for 32 points, just one point shy of first-time champion UNLV (33 points).

The Falcons tied with service academy rival Army in points, but Air Force earned the tie-breaker with three individual champions compared to Army’s two. Navy, the 2005 champion, finished fourth, while host Nevada and Lock Haven rounded out the top six.

In addition to its three national champions, Air Force claimed five other NCBA All-Americans. Jeremy Homan (125-lbs.), Luis Pena (139), Clifford Moore (156), Joe Conrad (165) and John Quinn (195) all claimed third-place honors following their finishes in the semifinal round of competition.

“I am very proud of this young group,” head coach Eddie Weichers said. “Yes, it’s disappointing that we weren’t able to bring the championship back to the Academy, but I can’t say enough about these guys.”

He said that this experience will pay dividends in the future, as Air Force only loses three of its boxers to graduation.

“They have shown a ton of promise,” Weichers said. “This is a great, great group of guys to build on for the future.”