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News | March 29, 2015

U.S. Army caps strong weekend by winning 14th straight freestyle title at Armed Forces Championships

By Craig Sesker USA Wrestling

FORT CARSON, Colo. – Shon Lewis is never one to hide his emotions.

And he wasn’t holding back at the Armed Forced Championships on Saturday.

The U.S. Army coach excitedly jumped to his feet, pumped his fist and screamed for joy before locking wrestler William Simpson in a celebratory bear hug.

Simpson rallied from an 8-0 deficit to eventually earn a dramatic fall over Marines wrestler Aaron Kalil in their freestyle match at 61 kg/134 lbs. on Saturday morning.

“That was awesome – it was a big win for us,” Lewis said. “It was really exciting the way he came back. That’s what this event is all about. This is great competition, it really is.”

Simpson’s win provided a huge spark for the U.S. Army team, which earned its 14th consecutive Armed Forces freestyle title at the Special Events Center at the U.S. Army’s Fort Carson post.

“That was a pretty crazy match obviously,” Simpson said of his win over Kalil. “I just had to keep getting after it and keep wrestling. I just had to keep giving 100 percent. I knew if I could eliminate the mistakes I was making I could get back in the match. I got down 8-0, but I knew I still had time to come back.”

The Army team defeated the Navy (35-4), the Marines (22-14) and the Air Force (27-12) in the freestyle competition on Saturday. The Navy, Marines and Air Force teams each went 1-2. The Marines were second, Air Force third and Navy fourth, based on classification points.

The U.S. Army won their 14th straight Armed Forces team title in Greco-Roman on Friday.

Air Force’s Cole VonOhlen earned a wild 16-6 win over Bryce Saddoris of the Marines at 65 kg/143 lbs. VonOhlen led 9-0 early and was a point away from a technical fall before Saddoris responded to cut the lead to 9-6 after the first period.

VonOhlen then regained control with a succession of leg laces to earn the win over Saddoris, a 2014 World Team member in Greco-Roman who went 3-0 in the Armed Forces Greco competition Friday.

VonOhlen won his other bouts by fall on Saturday.

“It was a really awesome experience,” VonOhlen said. “The dual format with all the services really makes for a fun environment. Everybody is out here to brawl and get after it for their services. It’s a pretty cool event.”

Army’s Leigh Jaynes-Provisor won by fall over Melissa Apodaca of the Marines at 58 kg/128 lbs. in the first women’s freestyle match ever held at the Armed Forces Championships.

“Winning is great, and that’s what the Army trains me to do,” Jaynes-Provisor said. “It’s hard to lose when you have such great support from your team.

“This is a milestone achievement for the Armed Forces and women’s wrestling.”

This event will set the U.S. team to compete in the CISM World Military Games in Mungyeong, Korea, Oct. 6-10. 

Armed Forces Championships
May 27-28, Fort Carson, Colo. 

FREESTYLE DUAL MEETS

ARMY 35, NAVY 4
57 kg/126 lbs – Max Nowry (Army) def. Angel Oliveras (Navy), tech fall 12-0
61 kg/134 lbs – William Simpson (Army) def. Sheldon Wilder (Navy), fall 1:43
65 kg/143 lbs – Warren Stewart (Army) def. Adam Montoya (Navy), tech fall 12-2
70 kg/154 lbs – Vlad Dombrosky (Army) def. Blake Borges (Navy), tech fall 12-1
74 kg/163 lbs – Moza Fay (Army) def. Ronnie Latmer (Navy), fall 0:24
86 kg/190 lbs – Victor Terrell (Army) def. James Souza (Navy), tech fall 12-1
97 kg/214 lbs – Meza Endhyr (Army) def. Keenan Feldpausch (Navy), tech fall 14-6
125 kg/276 lbs – Sean Owen (Army) def. Teddy Gardner (Navy), fall 0:53

AIR FORCE 19, MARINES 18
57 kg – Rueben Navejas (Marines) def. Jeffrey Warra (Air Force), tech fall 11-0
61 kg – Aaron Kalil (Marines) def. Tyler Knepper (Air Force), tech fall 10-0
65 kg – Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) def. Bryce Saddoris (Marines), tech fall 16-6
70 kg – Robby Neill (Marines) def. Ryan Vottero (Air Force), tech fall 14-3
74 kg – Tyler Westlund (Air Force) def. Michael Brant (Marines), fall 3:38
86 kg – Brandon Johnson (Air Force) def. Dan Matthews (Marines), tech fall 11-0
97 kg – Eric Lapotsky (Air Force) def. Dustin Lewis (Marines), fall 2:32
125 kg – David Arendt (Marines) WIN by forfeit 

ARMY 22, MARINES 14
57 kg – Max Nowry (Army) def. Rueben Navejas (Marines), 9-2
61 kg – William Simpson (Army) def. Aaron Kalil (Marines), fall 5:32
65 kg – Bryce Saddoris (Marines) def. Warren Stewart (Army), tech fall 16-4
70 kg – Vlad Dombrosky (Army) def. Robby Neill (Marines), tech fall 13-0
74 kg – Moza Fay (Army) def. Michael Brant (Marines), tech fall 11-0
86 kg – Victor Terrell (Army) def. Dan Matthews (Marines), tech fall 10-0
97 kg – Dustin Lewis (Marines) def. Meza Endhyr (Army), inj 1:13
125 kg – David Arendt (Marines) def. Sean Owen (Army), tech fall 12-1

NAVY 22, AIR FORCE 15
57 kg – Jeffrey Warra (Air Force) def. Angel Oliveras (Navy), fall 4:39
61 kg – Sheldon Wilder (Navy) def. Tyler Knepper (Air Force), tech fall 13-0
65 kg – Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) def. Adam Montoya (Navy), fall 0:41
70 kg – Blake Borges (Navy) def. Ryan Vottero (Air Force), 11-6
74 kg – Ronnie Latmer (Navy) def. Tyler Westlund (Air Force), inj. 3:00
86 kg – James Souza (navy) def. Brandon Johnson (Air Force), fall 2:54
97 kg – Eric Lapotsky (Air Force) def. Keenan Feldpausch (Navy), tech fall 10-0
125 kg – Teddy Gardner (Navy) def. Joel Bane (Air Force), fall 0:41

ARMY 27, AIR FORCE 12
57 kg – Max Nowry (Army) def. Jeffrey Warra (Air Force), tech fall 12-1
61 kg – William Simpson (Army) def. Tyler Knepper (Air Force), fall 2:47
65 kg – Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) def. Warren Stewart (Army), fall 1:59
70 kg – Vlad Dombrosky (Army) def. Ryan Vottero (Air Force), tech fall 12-1
74 kg – Moza Fay (Army) WIN by forfeit 
86 kg – Victor Terrell (Army) def. Brandon Johnson (Air Force), tech fall 10-0
97 kg – Eric Lapotsky (Air Force) WIN by forfeit 
125 kg – Shawn Owen (Army) WIN by forfeit

MARINES 31, NAVY 5
57 kg – Rueben Navejas (Marines) def. Angel Oliveras (Navy), tech fall 10-0
61 kg – Aaron Kalil (Marines) def. Sheldon Wilder (Navy), 5-3
65 kg – Bryce Saddoris (Marines) def. Adrian Montoya (Navy), fall 0:26
70 kg – Robby Neill (Marines) def. Blake Borges (Navy),  6-0
74 kg – Michael Brant (Marines) def. Ronnie Latmer (Navy), fall 4:00
86 kg – James Souza (Navy) def. Dan Matthews (Marines), tech fall 11-1
97 kg – Dustin Lewis (Marines) def. Keenan Feldpausch (Navy), fall 0:35
125 kg – David Arendt (Marines) def. Teddy Gardner (Navy), fall 1:17

INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS

57 kg
Gold – Max Nowry (Army)
Silver – Rueben Navejas (Marines)

61 kg
Gold – William Simpson (Army)
Silver – Aaron Kalil (Marines)

65 kg
Gold – Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)
Silver – Bryce Saddoris (Marines)

70 kg
Gold – Vlad Dombrosky (Army)
Silver – Robby Neill (Marines)

74 kg
Gold – Moza Fay (Army)

86 kg
Gold – Victor Terrell (Army)
Silver – James Souza (Navy)

97 kg
Gold – Eric Lapotsky (Air Force)
Silver – Dustin Lewis (Marines)

125 kg
Gold – David Arendt (Marines)
Silver – Sean Owen (Army)

WOMEN’S FREESTYLE RESULT

58 kg/128 lbs – Leigh Jaynes-Provisor (Army) def. Melissa Apodaca (Marines), fall