Wing Open Season Kicks Off Thursday for Air Force Boxing
This is the 50th year of Wing Open action at the Academy.
Feb. 5, 2008
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - An exciting month of Academy boxing action kicks off on Thursday (Feb. 7), as Air Force opens competition for the 50th Wing Open Tournament. Three preliminary bouts will be contested in the Cadet Gym's Upper Boxing Room, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
All three bouts will be in the 156-pound weight class. Senior Ryan Price will face freshman Nick Holland, while freshman Martynas Smitas will toe the line with sophomore John Doeseckle. Senior Daryn Nelson will wrap up the evening against freshman Cameron Carter.
The Wing Open, which began in 1958 with just four bouts, has grown into one of the most anticipated events on the Academy calendar. Proving how fierce competition during the Wing Open Championships is, over the past 49 years, only 11 Falcons have claimed four consecutive Wing Open titles.
The champions of the Wing Open will form the core of the team that will represent the Academy in national competition. The weight divisions begin at 112 pounds and continue through 125, 132, 139, 147, 156, 165, 175, 185, 195 and heavyweight. Although the championship is a culmination of a year of hard work and dedication for the winning boxers, it is also the start of a second season of competition. The 12 Wing Open victors, or "The Dirty Dozen", form the nucleus of the Academy team that will compete at the regional and national meets.
The winners will advance to the quarterfinal round of competition on Thursday, Feb. 14. The quarterfinal and semifinal (Feb. 20) bouts will whittle down the field to the final 24 contenders that will take to the ring in Clune Arena on March 2.
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