Wrestlers Shock Air Force, 40-6

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Any Air Force Academy cadet knows what a sonic boom sounds like. In its 40-6 victory over Air Force at the Lone Star Duals, Columbia unleashed not one but several sonic booms -- or their wrestling equivalents -- in an impressive performance.

The Lions took a quick 6-0 lead when the Falcons' Zach Valdez suffered a concussion in his 125-pound bout with Jeff Sato (Pismo Beach, Calif.) and was forced to take a medical default. Air Force came back on Brandon Strong's 7-5 decision over Matt DeLorenzo (Wantagh, N.Y.) at 133.

Sophomore Dean Kinports (La Mesa, Calif.) sounded the first sonic boom when he blasted Clint Sponseller at 141 with a 16-1 technical fall. Sophomore Ricky Turk (Crestline, Calif.) followed with a pin in 1:11 at 149, putting Columbia up, 17-3.

The beat continued at 157 and 165 as Devin Mesanko (Toms River, N.J.) and Matt Palmer (Germantown, Md.) posted major decisions. Then Sven Hafemeister (Leipzig, Germany) pinned Jacob Lillich in fewer than two minutes.

Columbia won two of the final three bouts, Nick Sommerfeld's (Transfer, Pa.) 4-3 decision at 184 and Bart Seemen's (Suffern, N.Y.) pin at heavyweight, to close out a surprisingly-easy victory.

It was hardly what head coach Brendan Buckley expected. "Air Force is actually a very good team," he said. "I expected a closer match."

Columbia 40, Air Force 6

125 - Jeff Sato, CU, won by medical default over Zach Valdez, 0:15

133 - Brandon Strong, AF, dec. Matt DeLorenzo, 7-5

141 - Dean Kinports, CU, won technical fall over Clint Sponseller, 16-1, 6:20

149 - Ricky Turk, CU, pinned Josh Peterson, 1:11

157 - Devin Mesanko, CU, dec. Jon Koch, 13-2

165 - Matt Palmer, CU, dec. Beau Tresemert, 14-5

174 - Sven Hafemeister, CU, pinned Jacob Lillich, 1:43

184 - Nick Sommerfeld, CU, dec. Zane Hershey, 4-3

197 - Brenden McLean, AF, dec. Jed Wade, 4-3

Hwt - Bart Seemen, CU, pinned Kurt Skarstedt, 2:56

January 8, 2005, Lone Star Duals, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Wrestlers Shock Air Force, 40-6

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