Airmen earn silver, bronze in wrestling championship

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Travis Edwards
  • 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNEWS) --  Two Air Force members came away with medals April 7, after a double-elimination wrestling tournament held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The U.S. Open National Wrestling Championship, held in Las Vegas for the 17th time, is where America's best wrestlers compete for the national title, including members from all services.

Coming out with a silver medal in Greco-Roman-style wrestling was Justin Millard, who wrestles in the 84-kilogram (184-pound) division. The Airman was undefeated throughout the tournament until the last bout. Millard took second place in the Armed Forces Tournament March 21-25 at Fort Carson, Colo.

"I've been wrestling all my life and some in college; from there I enlisted into the Air Force and applied for the [World-Class Athlete Program] under wrestling," Millard said.

Millard was accepted into the two-year program and has been wrestling since.

When Millard is not wrestling for the Air Force, he is a senior airman firefighter from Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

"[Millard] not only beat out the first place winner from last year, he also beat the number one ranked person to win in his division," said Rich Estrella, the Air Force team's coach.

The other Air Force medal received was the bronze in Greco-Roman, obtained by Jacob Hey, a staff sergeant from Scott AFB, Ill. Hey competes in the 66 kilogram (145-pound) division, and he placed second in Freestyle wrestling and third in Greco-Roman at the Armed Forces tournament.

They were able to accomplish this through an 8-week course at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

"We only get eight weeks to train and prepare our wrestlers before we get to come out and compete," Mr. Estrella said "Most of the teams we play against have been training all year and for some of our guys to make it to the top three shows a lot of determination and experience on their part."

"All the players, coaches and I want to thank all the duty sections for letting their Airmen come out, train and compete in the Nationals. Without them we wouldn't have been able to do it," he added.

One person Mr. Estrella pointed out was 1st Lt. Brenden McLean. This was McLean's first time wrestling for the Air Force team and he was able to take 8th place overall for his 96-kilogram (211-pound) weight class. He also took second in his weight class at the Armed Forces Tournament.

The coach said he was not surprised on how well they did this year. During preparation he saw every member of their team giving 110 percent to training. But, what he was surprised about was the amount of new people who wanted to showcase their talents this year.

There are nine new Airmen on the Air Force roster this year giving the team a total of 19 competitors -- two are female.

For more information on Air Force sports and the WCAP program, visit www.usafsports.com.

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