The Air Force wrestlers took the mats at a high pace and with with intensity, winning the first four matches of the dual and putting the Mustang's on their heels early. Junior 125-pounder registered four takedowns in his 11-5 decision in the opening bout against Cal Poly's Isaac Blackburn.
Dylan Hyder, who is now 4-3 in dual action, held Yoshito Funakoshi to no points in his 6-0 decision victory at 133, extending the Falcons to a 6-0 lead. Sophomore John Twomey continued the Falcons' roll with a 4-0 shutout over Colton Schilling, who was 12-6 prior to the dual. Senior team captain Jerry McGinty extended the Falcons lead, 12-0, after rallying for a third period takedown to edge by Joshy Cortez with a 3-1 decision for his 14th win on the season.
Cal Poly battled back, rattling off two consecutive victories in the 157 and 165 classes. Senior 157-pounder Colt Shorts of Cal Poly, who is ranked 19th in the country, posted a 10-0 major decision over Dane Robbins in the 157 class. Tyler Wiederholt, a freshman 165-pounder filling in for Alex Lopouchanski, dropped a 5-3 decision to Luke Wilson.
With the team score at 12-7 in favor of the Falcons, junior Michael Billingsley took the mat against Travis Berridge determined to put a stop to Mustang`s advance. With the score knotted at one in the third period, Billingsley made a reversal in the waning seconds of the bout, propelling him to a 3-1 lead where he rode Berridge out until the final whistle.
The Mustangs would see their final victory of the afternoon with Mitch Woods' 5-4 decision over Zen Ikehara in the 184 class. Woods' win lifted Cal Poly to within five points of the Falcons' lead.
Senior team captain Parker Hines took the mat against J.T. Goodwin in the 197 class with the chance to put the dual away. A late boost of energy by Hines led to a tiebreaking takedown to propel the Falcon to an 8-6 lead at the final whistle. Hines was awarded a riding time point, extending the final score to 9-6 and securing the dual for Air Force.
Freshman heavyweight Kerry Powers led the Falcons to a high-note finish with a 2-1 decision over Spencer Empey by way of an escape and riding time point at the final whistle. The win propelled Air Force to a 21-10 final score of the Mustangs.
Air Force returns to the mats at the All Academy Championships, Sunday, Jan. 22, hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Md. Action is slated to start at 10:00 a.m. ET. Eight service academy teams will be competing for individual titles and a team title at the event. Live scoring will be provided by FloArena and a live streaming for the tournament will be broadcast by PatriotLeague.TV.
Results:
125: Drew Romero (AFA) def. Isaac Blackburn (CP) -11-5, AFA 3-0
133: Dylan Hyder (AFA) def. Yoshito Funakoshi (CP) -6-0, AFA 6-0
141: John Twomey (AFA) def. Colton Schilling (CP) -4-0, AFA 9-0
149: Jerry McGinty (AFA) def. Joshy Cortez (CP) -3-1, AFA 12-0
157: Colt Shorts (CP) def. Dane Robbins (AFA) -MD (10-0), AFA 12-4
165: Luke Wilson (CP) def. Tyler Wiederholt (AFA) -5-3, AFA 12-7
174: Michael Billingsley (AFA) def. Travis Berridge (CP) -3-1, AFA 15-7
184: Mitch Woods (CP) def. Zen Ikehara (AFA) -5-4, AFA 15-10
197: Parker Hines (AFA) def. J.T. Goodwin (CP) -9-6, AFA 18-10
285: Kerry Powers (AFA) def. Spencer Empey (CP) -2-1, AFA 21-10
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