Air Force Academy

The Air Force wrestling team heads to St. Louis, Mo., this week, March 17-19, for the 2005 NCAA Championships. Competing this year for Air Force at the national meet are 125-pounder Brandon Strong, Matt Benza at 133 pounds, Jake Kriegbaum at 141 pounds and 197-pounder Brenden McLean.


Last Time Out...
With two individual champions leading the way, the Falcons finished third at the 2005 West Regional Championships.

Brandon Strong (125) and Matt Benza (133) each won their respective weight classes to lead the way for Air Force, earning automatic bids to the national championships. In addition, freshman Jake Kriegbaum earned an at-large bid to the championships with a second-place finish at 141 pounds, while 197-pounder Brenden McLean was named an alternate with a third-place finish at the Regional.


West Regional Champs...
Juniors Brandon Strong and Matt Benza became the fifth and sixth Air Force wrestlers to capture West Regional individual titles with their wins on March 5. Scott Frohardt, winner at 149 pounds in 2001 and 2002, is the only two-time champion, while Terry Parham, Kevin Hoy and Heath McKim each added West Regional titles in their careers.


Last Year At The NCAA Championships...
Air Force sent two wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in 2004, then-sophomore Brandon Strong (133) and freshman Chris Nissen (149). Both grapplers, competing in their first national meet, went 0-2 on the weekend.


We're Sending More...
Air Force's four national qualifiers this season are the most since the 2001-02 season, when four Falcons made it to the national championships. That year, three of the four NCAA qualifiers--Scott Frohardt, Terry Parham and Kevin Hoy--earned All-America recognition.


On A Roll...
Brandon Strong is on quite a hot streak, winning 13 matches in a row. His last loss was a 6-3 decision to Jesse Miramontes of Cal State-Fullerton, who was then ranked 19th in the country, at the Las Vegas Invitational in early December. Meanwhile, Brenden McLean has turned it on to finish the season, winning 16 of his last 20 matches, including an upset of then 12th-ranked B.J. Padden of Nebraska.


Strong Earns National Ranking...
Junior Brandon Strong has received his second national ranking of the season, as he is rated the 19th-best 125-pounder in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine. Strong's previous national ranking came on Dec. 20, when he was rated 19th at 133 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News.


All-Time AF All-Americans...
This year, Brandon Strong, Matt Benza, Jake Kriegbaum and Brenden McLean will all hope to join the ranks of such decorated individuals as Don Henderson, Terry Isaacson, Kirt Donaldson, Ken Donaldson, Bob Orwig, Terry Parham, Scott Frohardt and Kevin Hoy----Air Force's All-American wrestlers. Among the group of eight All-Americans are one national champion (Henderson), three NCAA runners-up (Isaacson, Ken Donaldson and Hoy) and two multiple All-America performers (Isaacson and Hoy).