Dec. 1, 2011
Weekly Release #3 
The Air Force wrestling team will send a group of wrestlers to the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend, Dec. 2-3. The Falcons will also compete at the annual FHSU-Bob Smith Open, hosted by Fort Hays State on Dec. 3.
ABOUT THE CKLV INVITATIONAL...
The 30th-annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is being held this year at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Teams from 34 schools are scheduled to participate in this year's competition. Included in this year's field are eight teams that are ranked in this week's NWCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll and five teams from the Western Wrestling Conference (Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming).
Action begins Friday at 9:00 a.m. (PT), while quarterfinals and consolation rounds 2 & 3 are scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Saturday's action begins at 9:00 a.m., with the championship finals scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. For complete information on the tournament, visit cklvwrestle.com.
LAST YEAR AT THE CKLV INVITATIONAL...
Six Falcons competed at the 2010 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, with sophomore Cole VonOhlen leading the way. VonOhlen posted a 5-2 record on the weekend to finish seventh, becoming the first Air Force wrestler to place at the CKLV Invitational since 2005. Each Falcon competing in the tournament registered at least one victory, including freshman Josh Kreimier (149), who notched a 2-2 ledger in the tournament.
ABOUT THE FHSU-BOB SMITH OPEN...
The annual FHSU-Bob Smith Open will be held at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The four wrestlers in each of 10 weight classes will be awarded during the day's competition. Action is slated to begin at 9:00 a.m. (CT) Saturday. Fans can check for updates on the event by visiting fhsuathletics.com.
LAST YEAR AT THE FHSU-BOB SMITH OPEN...
Air Force finished with six placewinners at the 2010 FHSU-Bob Smith Open, led by freshman Greg Rinker, who captured first place at 125 pounds, putting together a 5-0 record for the weekend.
THIS WEEK'S LINEUPS...
This weekend, seven Falcons are slated to compete at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, while 20 other Air Force wrestlers will attend the FHSU-Bob Smith Open. Listed below are the tentative lineups for this weekend:
CKLV Invitational
125 Greg Rinker, So.
141 Tyler Untrauer, Sr.
149 #5 Cole VonOhlen, Jr.
157 Josh Kreimier, So.
174 Clayton Gable, Jr.
197 Josh Mohr, Jr.
HWT Jared Erickson, Jr.
FHSU-Bob Smith Open
133 Dylan Hyder, Fr.
Ty Jones, Fr.
141 Cody Hancock, Fr.
Carter McElhany, Fr.
149 Daniel Baucke, So.
157 Elijah Levee, Fr.
Garrett Manley, So.
Gabe Martinez, Jr.
Alec Williams, Sr.
165 Dan Barringer, So.
Colby Kluesner, So.
174 Vance Hawk, So.
Rafael Magana, Jr.
Chris Morales, So.
184 Devin Hightower, So.
Greg Isley, So.
197 Jack Carda, Fr.
Cody Davis, So.
Brook Gosch, So.
Evan Gros, So.
LAST TIME OUT...
The Falcons finished with 12 placewinners at the UNK Holiday Inn Open on Nov. 19, with individual champions Cole VonOhlen, Jared Erickson and Dylan Hyder leading the way.
VonOhlen (149) and Erickson (HWT) each posted 3-0 records on the day to claim titles in the Elite Division, while Hyder registered a 5-0 ledger to take first place at 133 pounds in the Amateur Division.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS...
Air Force is led by undefeated junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, who is ranked fifth in the nation at 149 pounds with a perfect 8-0 record. Meanwhile, freshman Carter McElhany, who has wrestled in three tournaments this season, has a team-best nine wins on the season.
Meanwhile, 14 different Falcons have registered falls, led by VonOhlen and freshman Dylan Hyder with three falls each. Freshman Elijah Levee has the fastest fall of the early season, recording a fall in a time of 1:27.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS...
Junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds, is currently ranked in the top 10 nationally in several wrestling publications at 149 pounds. VonOhlen is rated fifth in the nation by Intermat Amateur Wrestling News, WrestlingReport.com, W.I.N. Magazine and DI College Wrestling, and seventh by The Open Mat.
UP NEXT...
The Falcons return to action on Dec. 18, as they head to Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions.
