Air Force Academy

USAFA, Colo. -
Dropping the last three bouts of the meet, the Air Force wrestling team fell, 26-15, to Northern Colorado Thursday evening at the Cadet East Gym. With the loss, the Falcons fall to 4-4, while the Bears improve to 4-6 overall.
The match opened at 149 pounds, where Air Force's Bridger Lord (So., Missoula, Mont.) faced Nathan Gerrard. Gerrard got on board first with a takedown near the end the first period and took 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 1:33 of riding time to take the 8-2 decision.
The 157-pound bout featured Air Force freshman Anthony Dorward (Seattle, Wash.) 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 as the Bears took a 6-0 lead.
Junior Beau Tresemer (Norman, Okla.) represented the Falcons at 165 pounds, facing John White. 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 2:57.
Air Force freshman Jacob Lynes (Ponca City, Okla.) 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 topand allowed an escape by Van Vorst, but immediately notched a takedown to come within one 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 2:59 of riding time to take the 5-4 decision.
With the Falcons up 9-6, senior co-captain Luke Lefever (La Crosse, Wis.) took on Cole Allison at 184 pounds. A takedown by Allison midway through the first period resulted in a fall in a time of 1:41, as Northern Colorado went back on top, 12-9.
Junior Brenden McLean (Grants Pass, Ore.) 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 three-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 freshman Trey McLean (Grants Pass, Ore.) 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 1:49 of riding time, McLean took the 6-3 decision.
The 125-pound match pitted Zachary Valdez (Fr., Parker, Colo.) against 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 junior Matt Benza (Tamaqua, Pa.) scored an early takedown against Kyle Kaiser in the 133 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 two-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 5:46 mark to give the Bears a 21-15 lead.
The meet wrapped up with the 141-pounders as freshman Jake Kriegbaum (Abilene, Kan.) 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 three-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 remain home this weekend, Friday, Feb. 11, as they host Colorado School of Mines in dual action. The meet is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Cadet East Gym.
Northern Colorado 26, Air Force 15149 Nathan Gerrard (UNC) dec. Bridger Lord, 8-2157 Mikell Surber (UNC) dec. Anthony Dorward, 8-2165 Beau Tresemer (AF) win by fall John White, 2:57174 Jacob Lynes (AF) dec. Caleb Van Vorst, 5-4184 Cole Allison (UNC) win by fall Luke Lefever, 1:41197 Brenden McLean (AF) dec. Tim Sexton, 8-1HWT Trey McLean (AF) dec. Sam Safken, 6-3125 Blayze Bahe (UNC) dec. Zachary Valdez, 2-0133 Kyle Kaiser (UNC) win by fall Matt Benza, 5:46141 Kenny Hashimoto (UNC) tech. fall Jake Kriegbaum, 20-3 (6:24)