Falcon wrestlers fall to Northern Colorado

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Dropping the last three bouts of the meet, the Air Force Academy wrestling team fell, 26-15, to Northern Colorado University on Feb. 8. With the loss, the Falcons drop to 4-4, while the Bears improve to 4-6 overall.

Air Force’s Bridger Lord faced Nathan Gerrard in a 149-pound bout. Gerrard scored first with a takedown near the end the first period for a 2-0 lead. Gerrard scored an escape to start the second period and notched another takedown to go up 5-0 at the end of the second. With Lord starting the third period in the down position, he came up with a reversal to get on the scoreboard. Gerrard responded with a reversal of his own to take a 7-2 lead and added 1 minute 33 seconds of riding time to get the 8-2 decision.

The 157-pound bout featured Anthony Dorward against the Bears’ Mikell Surber. Surber scored the first takedown to take a 2-0 lead, but Dorward managed to get an escape. Another Surber takedown resulted in a 4-1 lead at the end of the first period. Surber started the second period with an escape, but neither wrestler was able to get a takedown. Dorward cut into the deficit with an escape of his own to begin the third, but Surber recorded another takedown to take a 7-2 lead. An extra point for riding time gave Surber the 8-2 decision.

Falcon Beau Tresemer bested John White at 165 pounds. After battling evenly for the first two and a half minutes, Tresemer scored a huge takedown and registered a pin, his 11th of the season, in a time of 2 minutes 57 seconds.

Air Force’s Jacob Lynes went up against Caleb Van Vorst at 174 pounds, and trailed 2-0 early in the match after a Van Vorst takedown. He registered an escape to end the first period trailing just 2-1. Lynes gave up another point in the second with an illegal move but rode Van Vorst for the entire second period. Lynes started the third period on top and allowed an escape by Van Vorst, but immediately notched a takedown to come within point. A stalling warning against Van Vorst tied the score at 4-4, and Lynes added a point at the end of the third period with 2 minutes 59 seconds of riding time to take the 5-4 decision.

With the Falcons up 9-6, Luke Lefever took on Cole Allison at 184 pounds. A takedown by Allison midway through the first period resulted in a fall in a time of 1 minute 41 seconds as Northern Colorado went back on top, 12-9.

The Falcon’s Brenden McLean was the first to score in the 197-pound bout, getting a takedown against Tim Sexton with seven seconds left in the first period. He went up 3-0 with an escape to start the second, and the rest of the period went by without a score. Sexton scored an escape to start the third period, but McLean notched another takedown to take the 5-1 lead. A 3-point near fall gave McLean an 8-1 decision and the Falcons tied up the match at 12-12.

The heavyweight match saw Air Force’s Trey McLean face Sam Safken. After a scoreless first period, Safken notched an escape to start the second to take a 1-0 advantage. McLean responded with a takedown with 45 seconds left in the second to go up 2-1, but allowed another escape by Safken. Choosing the down position to start the third period, McLean scored an escape and takedown to go up 5-2. Safken managed another escape, but with 1 minute 49 seconds of riding time, McLean took the 6-3 decision.

The 125-pound match pitted Zachary Valdez against the Bear’s Blayze Bahe. After a scoreless opening period, Bahe rode Valdez for the entire second period. He then scored an escape to start the third period and held on for the 2-0 decision after adding a point for riding time.

With the match tied at 15-15, Air Force’s Matt Benza scored an early takedown against Kyle Kaiser in the 133-pound bout. A pair of near falls increased Benza’s lead to 7-0 at the end of the first period. An escape at the beginning of the second period, along with a subsequent takedown and 2-point near fall gave Benza the 12-0 advantage to finish the second. However, Kaiser responded in the third period with a huge takedown, pinning Benza at the 5-minute 46-second mark to give the Bears a 21-15 lead.

The meet wrapped up with the 141-pounders as the Falcon’s Jake Kriegbaum took on Kenny Hashimoto. Hashimoto scored the first points of the match with a takedown, but Kriegbaum responded with an escape. Another Hashimoto takedown gave him a 4-1 advantage to end the first period. Kriegbaum opened the second period with a reversal to cut the deficit to 4-3, but Hashimoto came through with a reversal of his own. Three near falls through the remainder of the period gave Hashimoto a 15-3 lead going into the final period. Although Kriegbaum opened the third period on top, Hashimoto notched yet another reversal to go on top 17-3. A 3-point near fall with just 36 seconds remaining gave Hashimoto the 20-3 tech fall, as Northern Colorado held on for the 26-15 win.

The Falcons will compete against the Colorado School of Mines here Feb 11.