Results

RENO, Nev. (Dec. 18, 2016) – Cole Mendenhall (149) and Archie Colgan (157) each won their respective division titles at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday. Drew Templeman (133), Bryce Meredith (141) and Branson Ashworth (165) each made it the finals in their respective weight classes, but ultimately took runner-up honors. As a result of the dominating individual performances, the Pokes, which are the 25th ranked squad according to InterMat's tournament team standings, finished with 122.5 points for third place.

"I liked the way we wrestled to begin with and it's no doubt great to have five guys in the finals," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "For the most part, I thought those guys took advantage of the opportunities that were in front of them. We earned a lot of bonus points early on, which was great to see. I would have liked if we had at least a few of our wrestlers work their way through the consolations, especially since I know that we have a number of them that are definitely capable of doing just that and placing."

No. 1 Oklahoma State claimed the team title with 144.5 total points with Michigan State just pushing past UW for second place with 129 points. Wyoming once again completed the tournament ahead of a couple teams including No. 14 Stanford, who took sixth (64.5) with and No. 15 Arizona State claiming 13th with 25.5 team points.

"I'm proud of Cole (Mendenhall) and Archie (Colgan)," Branch added. "They each had a solid day and earned their titles. We know that the opportunities now are limited. With our remaining schedule, we have nothing but duals left so we will need to make it an entire team effort. It was a good way to end the semester but we will be right back to work after the holidays."

Templeman seemed to find his groove early on Sunday as he opened the tournament with a 4-2 decision over Juaquin Olivas. He then pinned (1:16) Trevor Williams in the round of 16 before claiming his first and only major (12-0) of the day when he faced Austin Reed in the quarterfinals. Templeman added a 4-3 decision over Austin Eicher of Michigan State to advance to the first place bout. In the finals, No. 15 Connor Schram of Stanford and Templeman were scoreless after the first period. Schram escaped early in the second to take a 1-0 lead only to see Templeman use an escape in the third to tie it up at one. Schram recorded a takedown in the first overtime to secure the 3-1 decision over Templeman.

Meredith had no trouble getting to the finals on Sunday in Reno. The junior began the day with a pin (0:38) over Ian Barreda and a tech fall of Cal Poly's Connor Pollock. He added another fall when he faced Alex Rich of Oregon State in the round of 16 before an additional tech fall of Daniel Salazar in the quarterfinals. Meredith used a riding time point and an escape for a 2-0 decision win in the semifinals to advance to the 141-pound finals to face Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State. Lewallen recorded a takedown of Meredith right away in the first period only to see Meredith climb his way back and earn two escapes to tie the score at two in the second period. Lewallen scored another takedown in the second to take a 4-2 advantage. Lewallen eventually claimed the title with a 7-3 decision over Meredith. Meredith's impressive day ended with a 5-1 record that included four bonus-point wins.

Mendenhall made quick work of the first two opponents he saw. He pinned both Killian Vendler (3:27) and Alex Colpo (3:28) to shoot to the quarterfinals. Mendenhall then majored (17-3) Drake Randall (MSU-Northern) before a 4-3 decision over Christian Pagdialo (Arizona State) in the semifinals. In the 149-pound finals against Nick Trimble of Michigan State, Mendenhall got on the board right away with a takedown in the first period. He showed no mercy and claimed the title with a fall (3:41) to keep intact his perfect record in Reno on Sunday.

Colgan recorded two extra-point wins on his way to the finals of the 157-pound weight class. He pinned (1:01) Josh Beckler to begin the tournament and added a major of Joe Granger in the quarterfinals. Colgan earned an impressive 9-4 decision of Davey Dolan in the semifinals. In a defensive bout between Colgan and Colt Shorts in the 157-pound finals, Colgan earned an escape at the beginning of the second period and continued to hold a 1-0 lead before Shorts leveled the score at one with an escape of his own. With 15 seconds left, Colgan recorded a takedown late in the third to claim his first Reno Tournament of Champions title.

Ashworth picked up where he left off the last time he was in the state of Nevada, at the Cliff Keen Invite. He pinned he first two opponents with ease and added a major of Jacobi Jones in the quarterfinals. Ashworth earned a 7-2 decision of Demetrious Romero in the semifinals before facing Michigan State's Drew Hughes in the finals. No points were awarded until the first overtime between Hughes and Ashworth in the 165-pound finals. With five seconds remaining Hughes secured the takedown to just push past Ashworth. Ashworth finished the day with a 4-1 record that included three bonus-point wins.

There were a number of Pokes that worked their way through the consolation bracket on Sunday. Luke Paine recorded two majors on his way to a 4-2 record in Reno. Jake Elliott also went 4-2 on the day, and included one pin. Gunnar Woodburn was impressive with three pins for his three wins, while Kyle Pope added two tech falls and a 3-2 overall record in Reno. Chaz Polson went 2-2 in Reno with one major decision. In the upper weights, Nate Shaw went 1-2, as Brandon Tribble and Hunter Mullins manned the heavyweight class with 2-2 and 0-2 records, respectively.

Wyoming RTOC Results

125, Gunnar Woodburn-3-2

Woodburn fall (4:21) Aram Villegas (unattached)

Eli Hale (Oklahoma State) dec. Woodburn, 7-1

Woodburn fall (4:56) DeVaughn Sapien (unattached- Clackamas)

Woodburn fall (6:16) Josiah Seaton (CSU-Pueblo)

Logan Griffin (Michigan State) fall (2:40) Woodburn

133, Drew Templeman-4-1

Templeman dec. Juaquin Olivas (Colorado Mesa), 4-2

Templeman fall (1:16) Trevor Williams (unattached)

Templeman maj. dec. Austin Reed (unattached-Clackamas), 12-0

Templeman dec. Austin Eicher (Michigan State), 4-3

No. 15 Connor Schram (Stanford) dec. Templeman, 3-1 SV

141, Bryce Meredith-5-1

Meredith fall (0:38) Ian Barreda (Gateway Bible)

Meredith tech. fall Connor Pollock (Cal Poly), 17-1

Meredith fall (0:47) Alex Rich (Oregon State)

Meredith tech. fall Daniel Salazar (Colo. Mesa), 16-1

Meredith dec. Requir Van Der Merwe (unattached-Stanford), 2-0

Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) dec. Meredith, 7-3

141, Ben Hornickle-0-2

Colt Schilling (Cal Poly) fall (2:18) Hornickle

Karrel Estel (unattached) inj. default Hornickle

149, Cole Mendenhall-5-0

Mendenhall fall (3:27) Killian Vendler (unattached)

Mendenhall fall (3:28) Alex Colpo (unattached)

Mendenhall maj. dec. Drake Randall (MSU-Northern), 17-3

Mendenhall dec. Christian Pagdialo (Arizona State), 4-0

Mendenhall fall (3:41) Nick Trimble (Michigan State)

157, Archie Colgan-5-0

Colgan fall (1:01) Josh Beckler (Clackamas)

Colgan dec. Austin Thompson (Michigan State), 7-2

Colgan maj. dec. Joe Granger (Cal Poly), 13-5

Colgan dec. Davey Dolan (Oklahoma State), 9-4

Colgan dec. Colt Shorts (Cal Poly), 3-1

157, Jake Elliott-4-2

Colt Shorts (Cal Poly) fall (2:36) Elliott

Elliott dec. John Leal (Clackamas), 4-2

Elliott fall (3:08) Cole Hornbrook (SW Oregon CC)

Elliott dec. Alexiz Martinez (Gateway Bible), 7-1

Elliott dec. Wyatt Sheets (unattached-Oklahoma State), 7-6 TB2

Austin Thompson (Michigan State) dec. Elliott, 7-4

165, Branson Ashworth-4-1

Ashworth fall (1:07) Joe Dematteo (Oregon State)

Ashworth fall (3:51) Jason Berquist (unattached-Cal Poly)

Ashworth maj. dec. Jacobi Jones (CSU-Pueblo), 8-0

Ashworth dec. Demetrious Romero (Boise State), 7-2

Drew Hughes (Michigan State) dec. Ashworth, 2-0 SV

174, Chaz Polson-2-2

Polson maj. dec. Drew Barnes (Michigan State), 15-3

Austin Dewey (Boise State) fall (6:09) Polson

Polson dec. Colt Doyle (Clackamas), 8-3

Andrew Morgan (unattached-Campbell) fall (5:03) Polson

174, Kyle Pope-3-2

Pope dec. Kieffer Taylor (unattached), 5-3

Pope tech fall Dominic Merlo (Simpson), 18-3

Travis Berridge (Cal Poly) dec. Pope, 7-6 TB2

Pope tech. fall Drew Barnes (Michigan State), 18-3 (2:41)

Adrian Lyons-Lopez (SW Oregon CC) fall (6:19) Pope

184, Luke Paine-4-2

Paine dec. Bob Coleman (Oregon State), 5-2

Austin Gaun (Colo. Mesa) dec. Paine, 6-1

Paine maj. dec. Josh Weinstein (Arizona State), 10-2

Paine dec. Javaughn Perkins (CSU-Pueblo), 5-3

Paine maj. dec. Andrew Tausch (Clackamas), 18-4

Mitch Woods (Cal Poly) dec. Paine, 5-1

197, Nate Shaw-1-2

Shaw dec. Harley Diluo (Boise State), 10-6

Sullivan Culley (Arizona State) dec. Shaw, 7-3

Wyatt Westfall (SW Oregon CC) dec. Shaw, 3-2

285, Brandon Tribble-2-2

Joey Alvarez (Clackamas) dec. Tribble, 3-2

Tribble dec. Trevor Rasmussen (Stanford), 8-4

Tribble maj. dec. Eric Fan (unattached-Eastern Oregon), 12-0

Jordan Karst (unattached-Utah Valley) dec. Tribble, 11-4

285, Hunter Mullins-0-2

Sean Molle (Simon Fraser) dec. Mullins, 6-0

Christian Rebottaro (unattached-Michigan State) dec. Mullins, 3-1