Air Force Academy

Las Vegas, Nev. - Senior co-captain Beau Tresemer (Norman, Okla.) led a group of nine Air Force wrestlers Friday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, being held at the Cashman Center. Tresemer, who went 3-1 on the opening day of the tournament, will continue tomorrow in the consolation semifinals at 165 pounds.


Tresemer opened the day with a 4-2 decision over Tyler Tisdell of George Mason before registering a 5-2 decision against Stanford's Ray Blake. He then won his third decision of the afternoon, this time defeating Deonte Penn of Edinboro to move into the quarterfinals. It was there that Tresemer dropped his first bout of the day, losing a 15-2 decision to Michigan's Ryan Churella, currently ranked third in the nation. Now, Tresemer moves to the consolation semifinals, where he will face Cal State Fullerton's Risto Marttinen.

Picking up a pair of victories for the Falcons on Friday was 16th-ranked Matt Benza (Sr., Tamaqua, Pa.), competing at 133 pounds. Benza, seeded 12th in the tournament, was upset by Buffalo's Mark Budd, who recorded a fall at the seven-minute mark. Benza rebounded in the next two rounds, winning a 9-2 decision over Dan Appello of Brown and a 12-9 decision over Western Wyoming's Nick Mamalis. However, his run at the Las Vegas Invitational ended with a loss to Virginia's Eric Albright, when he was pinned in three minutes.

Four other Air Force wrestlers registered wins in the tournament, as seniors Adam Swift (Strongsville, Ohio), Zane Hershey (Hugoton, Kan.) and Kurt Skarstedt (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and junior Peter Bozynski (Birmingham, Mich.) all went 1-2 in their respective weight classes, each dropping their first and third matches.

At 174 pounds, Swift defeated Columbia's Matthew Porter, 9-4, after falling to fourth-seed Donny Reynolds of Illinois. After an early fall to fifth-seeded KC Walsh of Boise State at 184 pounds, Hershey picked up a 4-2 decision over Stanford's Ryan Hagen. Skarstedt, competing at 197 pounds, was awarded a 7-1 decision against Greg Thompson of Lassen College, after dropping a 6-3 decision to start the day. Finally, heavyweight Bozynski, who dropped a 5-2 decision in the opening round, picked up a default victory over 17th-ranked Kyle Massey of Wisconsin.