Walker Morris Joins Elite Company with Fourth Wing Open Title

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – With the fourth Wing Open championship of his career, Air Force senior Walker Morris joined an elite list of contenders this evening (March 2) and highlighted a successful night of hard-hitting competition for the boxing team at the 66th-annual Wing Open Championships.
 
The senior became the 18th member of the men's team – and 19th overall – to claim a Wing Open title every year. Morris, the reigning NCBA 185-pound national champion, finished his historic Wing Open quad with two titles at 185 pounds (2020, 2021) and two titles at 195 pounds (2022, 2023).
 
In additional, Morris and classmate Allyah Marlett received the night's Outstanding Boxer award. Neither recipient needed the full six minutes to secure their title – with Morris using less than one round to force the referee to halt his 195-pound contest with freshman Seth Misukanis. Marlett, unopposed at 165 pounds last year and competing under the lights of Clune Arena for the first time, struck quickly in her contest with freshman Malaika Ndifang and caused the officials to call the bout during the second break.
 
After winning the 147-pound titles as a sophomore and junior, senior Tyler Dalzell claimed his third-straight Wing Open title with the first 156-pound championship of his career. Coming out quick in his championship bout with freshman Neo Takazawa, Dalzell maintained the upper hand throughout the six-minute fight to claim the unanimous decision.
 
Junior Angelo Ganac earned his second Wing Open title, but first in the 185-pound weight division, during the penultimate bout of the night. Ganac, who won last year's title at 195 pounds, used a strong third round to secure the unanimous decision over classmate and two-time finalist Joe Wilson (185 pounds in 2022, 175 pounds in 2021). Fellow junior Leo Camacho, the 119-pound champion one year ago, added the 125-pound title to his resume this year, as he forced the referee to stop his contest with freshman Duong Tran with less than 20 seconds left on the clock.
 
In the only rematch on the card, senior Hannah Schuster successfully defended her 156-pound title over sophomore Shelby Paul by a 5-0 margin. Junior Mack Lucas repeated as the women's 147-pound champion after a unanimous victory over sophomore Lexi Lee, while sophomore Luke Kohout – a finalist from one year ago – claimed his first title with the men's 147-pound victory over freshman Jake Edwards.
 
Four first-time champions were also crowned tonight, including senior Jordan Dutcher, a 2022 finalist and 2021 semifinalist, who earned a split decision victory over classmate Garrett Kim in the 132-pound final. Sophomore Canaan Ray earned his first title with a unanimous decision over junior Andrew Ison in the 165-pound championship, while freshmen Alexandra Waller and Ale Tirado-Elias claimed unanimous decisions in their first Wing Open championships. Waller defeated classmate Charlotte McPhee-Gillum by a 5-0 mark in the 112-pound final, while Tirado-Elias earned the same decision to claim the 125-pound title over fellow freshman Emma Teo.
 
In addition to the 12 victors from tonight's competition, seven Falcons – junior Madigan Starr (women's 119 pounds), sophomore Andrew Lu (men's 119 pounds), freshman Chinonye Mbanugo (women's 132 pounds), sophomore Billie Botes (women's 139 pounds), junior Nile Owens (men's 139 pounds), junior Jacob Mendoza (men's 175 pounds), junior Victor Benitez (men's heavyweight) – claimed the title of Wing Open Champion after earning the championship earlier in the tournament or by being unopposed.
 
The winners of tonight's competition will form the core of the Air Force team that will head to Concord, Calif., next weekend (March 10-12) for the Western Regional of the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) Championships.