Air Force Academy

Sept. 15, 2008

USAFA, Colo. - Five home matches, as well as a number of prestigious tournaments including the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Midlands Championships and All-Academy Championships, highlight the Air Force wrestling schedule for the 2008-09 season, released by head coach Joel Sharratt.

"Our schedule will feature a nationally competitive schedule with some outstanding home events," said Sharratt. "Thanks to the help of our marketing and events staff, we will host five home duals in Clune Arena, in addition to our Blue-Silver match. We are excited to host Northern Iowa, a strong conference rival, in January, and wrestle Northern Colorado in February."

For the first time, all of the Falcons' home events, including the Blue-Silver Intrasquad Match on Nov. 2, will be held in Clune Arena. Air Force's first home dual is set for Jan. 16, when the Falcons host the Pac-10's Stanford. The next day, the Falcons host Northern Iowa, which has won 23 straight titles in the West Region. It marks the first head-to-head match-up between the conference rivals since the Western Wrestling Conference was formed in 2006.

Air Force also hosts WWC opponents North Dakota State and South Dakota State on Jan. 30 and 31, respectively, before wrapping up its home slate with a contest against another conference foe, Northern Colorado, on Feb. 12.

The Falcons open the season on Nov. 15 at the annual Cowboy Open, hosted by Wyoming, before heading to the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb., on Nov. 22. Air Force will then compete at two of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Dec. 5-6, and the Midlands Championships, Dec. 29-30. Meanwhile, the Falcons will also send a group to the Fort Hays Open on Dec. 6 to help even more wrestlers gain valuable experience.

Air Force returns once again this year to the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Jan. 3, which often features many of the top collegiate teams in the country. The Falcons then head out to California for dual meets with Cal Baptist, Cal State Fullerton and San Francisco State Jan. 10-11.

The final two dual meets of the season are on the road, as the Falcons travel to conference rivals Wyoming (Feb. 19) and Utah Valley (Feb. 20). Northern Colorado will host this year's Western Wrestling Conference Championships on March 7, with the top performers earning bids to the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 19-21 in St. Louis, Mo.

"A strong incoming class and the departure of six seniors will make the Blue-Silver match on Nov. 2 a very competitive event to kick things off," said Sharratt. "This schedule will provide our seasoned veterans like Tyler French, Stephen Crozier and Jordan Tribble the challenges needed to prepare for March and allow our other men the opportunity to develop to their full potential throughout the season."