Grand Canyon set to dual Air Force

Grand Canyon	Air Force

Sunday, Jan. 14 12:00 p.m.

Location:Clune Arena, Colorado Springs, Colo.

PHOENIX - One week removed from a runner-up finish in the bronze pool of the Virginia Duals, Grand Canyon will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. for a dual with the Air Force Falcons on Sunday. GCU and Air Force also met up in competition last season with the Falcons prevailing. Outside of tournament play, Grand Canyon is coming off of a lop-sided dual victory over Embry-Riddle and a tightly-contested loss to Lock Haven. The match is set to get underway from Clune Arena at 12:00 p.m.

Over the course of last weekend at the Virginia Duals,GCU made its presence known at the tournament as Zackary Velasquez took down the No. 9 wrestler in the country from Rider on the first day. Grand Canyon ended up in the bronze pool for the remainder of the tournament, posting a 23-12 win over The Citadel. In the bronze pool championship match, the Lopes squared off against George Mason for the second time this season. GCU dropped the match to the Patriots 18-13 to finish as runner-up in the pool. At the heavyweight spot, Daniel Chaid finished a perfect 4-0 through the tournament for Grand Canyon. Chaid claimed three matches via decision (Chattanooga, Rider, George Mason) and one by major decision (The Citadel). The redshirt sophomore has now won six consecutive matches and improves to 6-2 on the year.

Following Sunday's dual with Air Force, the Lopes will head to Illinois next weekend for a pair of duals with Davidson and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

Scouting Air Force
The Falcons are coming off of a successful showing at the Borah Duals, hosted by Western State University.Air Force posted a perfect 3-0 record at the tournament, winning duals over CSU-Pueblo (41-6), Western State (23-10) and Colorado Mesa (27-12). Air Force outscored its opponents 91-28 over the course of the tournament. Prior to last weekend's tournament, the Falcons lost to Minnesota and Wyoming while defeating UW-La Crosse. Minnesota is the only common opponent on GCU and Air Force's schedule, with both teams losing to the Golden Gophers. At the 133-pound weight class, Josh Martinez comes in as the Falcon's top-ranked wrestler, ranking as high as No. 16 in the major national polls. Martinez is 2-0 in duals this year and 14-5 individually. He was the 133-pound champion in the Elite Division of the Cowboy Open in early November. Parker Hines, at 197 pounds, is also receiving national attention with a ranking as high as No. 18.

GCU Probable Starters
125: Trayton Libolt
133: Jauquin Olivas
141: Uzo Owuama
149: Blake Monty
157: Zack Velasquez
165: Casey Larson / Bobby Reece
174: Kenny Moore
184: Austin Trujillo
197: Austin Gaun
285: Daniel Chaid

Grand Canyon

Air Force

Sunday, Jan. 14
12:00 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austin Trujillo

Zackary Velasquez

Grand Canyon University Athletics