UNC Bears Wrestling Picks Up Four Wins Against Air Force

Wednesday, February 17

Greeley, Colo.

7:00 PM

University of Northern Colorado

Air Force Academy

2/17/2016 9:33:00 PM | Wrestling

The Bears earned four wins on the night against the Falcons, but fell 19-12

GREELEY, Colo. – Northern Colorado Wrestling finished out their dual schedule on Wednesday evening, taking a loss to the Air Force Falcons, 19-12. UNC picked up four wins on the night, keeping five of their losses to mere decisions.

"Tonight was bit disappointing and definitely a tough loss," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "I don't think we wrestled our best, but it puts things in perspective as far as where we're at and where we need to go. We've been trying to hit our stride all year and I still don't think we're there, but we do expect to be there in two and a half weeks."

After dropping the first two matches of the dual, Ben Polkowske got things going for the Bears, picking up a decision win at 141 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Polkowske started the second period on top, and worked for a huge four-point nearfall before giving up the escape. An escape and takedown in the third period along with the riding time advantage point would give Polkowske the 8-2 win, putting three team points on the board for UNC.

Timmy Box kept it going at 149 pounds, picking up another decision win. Box started the match off fast, getting a takedown just 11 seconds in. He started the second period off quickly as well with an escape after only four seconds, but a takedown by his opponent would tie it up 3-3 to go into the final period. An escape to start it put it back in Box's favor, but a huge takedown and immediate four-point nearfall secured the win for the Bear, 9-4.

At 157 pounds, Eleazar De Luca tacked on another UNC win, defeating Zach Stepan 4-3. The close match got rolling with a takedown by De Luca, but he was unable to hold Stepan down, giving up the escape to make it 2-1 to close out the first period. De Luca opted to start the second period down, and picked up a reversal to extend his lead by two. An escape for Stepan in the second and another one to start the third kept the match close, but De Luca held on picking up only one stalling warning to win, giving the Bears the lead in the dual, 9-7.

The Bears dropped the next three matches, but Trent Noon picked up big points at 197 pounds, earning his second win over Parker Hines this season. Noon got a takedown early in the match, but an escape for Hines would make it 2-1 to close out the first period. Starting the second period down, Noon would manage an escape of his own, plus a takedown, to extend his lead to 5-2 to enter the final period. Hines closed the gap to a 5-5 tie to kick off the third period, but a reversal and the riding time advantage point would keep Noon in the lead with an 8-6 decision finish.

The Bears have the next two and a half weeks off to prepare for the Big 12 Conference Championships, which will take place in Kansas City, Missouri on March 5-6.

For more information on the Bears this season, check out UNCBears.com, visit their official Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter at @UNCBearsWrestle.

Northern Colorado (12) vs Air Force (19)
125: Drew Romero (AF) over Jesse Reed, MD 14-4 (UNC 0, AF 4)
133: Josh Martinez (AF) over Rico Montoya, Dec. 7-4 (UNC 0, AF 7)
141: Benjamin Polkowske over Dylan Hyder (AF), Dec. 8-2 (UNC 3, AF 7)
149: Timmy Box over Jerry McGinty (AF), Dec. 9-4 (UNC 6, AF 7)
157: Eleazar De Luca over Zach Stepan (AF), Dec. 4-3 (UNC 9, AF 7)
165: Alex Lopouchanski (AF) over Keilan Torres, Dec. 3-2 (UNC 9, AF 10)
174: Adam Jackson (AF) over Tanner Davis, Dec. 6-3 (UNC 9, AF 13)
184: Zen Ikehara (AF) over Horacio Vialpando, Dec. 3-1 (UNC 9, AF 16)
197: No. 13 Trent Noon over Parker Hines (AF), Dec. 8-6 (UNC 12, AF 16)
HWT: Marcus Malecek (AF) over Jack Kuck, Dec. 3-0 (UNC 12, AF 19)