RENO, Nev. (Dec. 15, 2019) – It was a banner day for the Wyoming wrestling team Sunday at the Reno Tournament of Champions as the Cowboys took first place as a team with 155.5 points and crowned three individual champions on the day.
Montorie Bridges at 133 pounds, Dewey Krueger at 157 and Tate Samuelson at 184 were the three champions for the Pokes. Krueger was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament, becoming the third consecutive Cowboy to receive the honor at Reno. It also marks UW's fifth-straight season with a top-four team finish at the Tournament of Champions.
"I was about to leave, honestly, I didn't know what was going on" said Krueger afterwards.
"They called my name over, and I was like 'dang.' I had a good tournament and had fun. This was probably the most fun I had wrestling, I enjoy wrestling and it feels good to have it pay off a little bit."
UW also got three second-place finishes at the event as Jaron Jensen (149), Cole Moody (165) and Hayden Hastings (174) all came up just short in the finals. Casey Randles took third at 165 pounds while Stephen Buchanan was fourth at 197 and Chase Zollmann took fifth at 141 pounds to round-out the podium finishes for the Cowboys.
Bridges opened up his tournament with back-to-back falls as he defeated Blaysen Terukina of Menlo late in his opening match of the day and then pinned Colorado Mes'as Dylan Keeney with a minute left in the first period. In the quarters, Bridges escaped with a 1-0 win over Warner Pacific's Austin Wallace-Lister before winning 4-2 in the semifinals over Oregon State's Devan Turner. In the championship match, Bridges controlled Campbell's Noah Gonser, 4-1 to take home the title.
"Reno is a good tournament and a good tournament for our team," said Bridges.
"We won as a team, so that was a big part to finish our semester out strong. It was good for us to put ourselves into position to be better, wrestle better and get better."
Krueger opened his day with back-to-back bonus-point victories as well as he began with a 15-1 major decision over Cal Poly's Max Anderson. In the next round, Kruger tech-falled Highline's John Sowers, 20-2. In the quarterfinals, Krueger defeated Matthew Olguin of Fresno State, 4-2 before surviving a 4-3 contest against Grand View's Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer. In the finals, Krueger defeated Oregon State's Hunter Willits, 3-1 in thrilling fashion, getting a Sudden Victory takedown to take the title.
At 184, Samuelson opened his tournament with a first period fall of Western Wyoming's Jace Anderson. Samuelson then blanked Campbell's Calib Hopkins, 3-0 before advancing past Grand View's Kenderick Jones, 3-2. In the semis, Samuelson defeated Anthony Orozco of Menlo, 6-1 before taking out Oregon State's Colt Doyle in the finals, 3-1 to earn Wyoming's third individual title. Samuelson's win over Doyle came in the final seconds of Sudden Victory, much like Krueger's win early in the night.
"I came out a little timid, but still got the first place finish. I've still got some room to improve but still happy about tonight." Said Samuelson.
Jaron Jensen, who competed for the first time as a ranked wrestler Sunday, had a solid day as he recorded a pair of tech fall wins, defeating Campbell's Zachary Barnes, 15-0 and Warner Pacific's Zach Sias, 16-1. Jensen also got a pin at 3:42 in his second round match over Umpqua's Titus Mejia. After picking up back-to-back decisions, 6-4 and 10-4, Jensen was defeated in the finals by Stanford's Jaden Abas, 10-6.
At 165 pounds, Moody began the T.O.C. with three consecutive bonus-point victories as he pinned Utah Valley's Corbin Smith early in the second period. In the round of 16, Moody got a 14-2 major decision over Cal Poly's Dylan Miracle and then dispatched of Northern Colorado's Austin Matthews in the quarterfinals in just 2:21. In the semifinals, Moody earned an 8-2 decision over Fresno State's Ricky Padilla before coming up short in the championship bout, 10-5 against Campbell's Quentin Perez.
Hastings rolled along to five wins at 174 as he opened the day with a 9-0 major over UNC's Xavier Vasquez. Hastings then pinned Menlo's Jordan Bernal in just 1:33 before winning 6-1 over CSU Bakersfield's Albert Urias, 6-1. In the quarters, Hastings pinned Cal Baptist's Jacob Cooper in just 54 seconds before getting a 9-4 win in the semis over Abner Romero. Hastings had to bow-out before the finals match due to an injury as Baker's Lucas Lovvorn took the 174-pound title.
The Pokes will now be off for two weeks before returning to action Dec. 29 for the South Beach Duals down in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The Cowboys will face Cornell and Old Dominion Sunday at the event and will face Michigan State and North Carolina State Monday, Dec. 30.
Reno Tournament of Champions
Dec. 15, 2019 | Reno Events Center | Reno, Nev.
Round of 64
141: Trevor Jeffries (WYO) dec. Matthew Hofenbredle (SW Oregon) 6-2
149: Jaron Jensen (WYO) TF Zachary Barnes (Campbell) 15-0
174: Hayden Hastings (WYO) MD Xavier Vasquez (UNC) 9-0
HWT: Cortez Rodelo (WPU) Fall Brian Andrews (WYO) 1:53
Consolation of Round of 32
Andrews (WYO) Fall Christian Robertson (Oregon St) 1:58
Round of 32
125: Antonio Lorenzo (Cal Poly) dec. Doyle Trout (WYO) 6-4
133: Montorie Bridges (WYO) Fall Blaysen Terukina (Menlo) 6:15
141: Chase Zollmann (WYO) dec. Adam Velasquez (Cal Baptist) 3-1
141: Jeffries (WYO) MD Peyton Bell (Oregon St) 12-3
149: Jensen (WYO) Fall Titus Meja (Umpqua) 3:42
157: Logan Jensen (WYO) dec. Spencer Heywood (UVU) 7-6
157: Dewey Krueger (WYO) MD Max Anderson (Cal Poly) 15-1
165: Casey Randles (WYO) dec. Beau Colombini (Fresno) 10-3
165: Cole Moody (WYO) Fall Corbin Smith (UVU) 3:43
174: Hastings (WYO) Fall Jordan Bernal (Menlo) 1:33
184: Tate Samuelson (WYO) Fall Jace Anderson (Western Wyo) 2:14
197: Stephen Buchanan (WYO) MD Jacob Good (Arizona St) 17-4
Consolation of Round of 16 #1
125: Trout (WYO) dec. Kade Uyesaka (Oregon St) 7-3
HWT: Andrews (WYO) TF Tarik Sutkovic (Clackamas) 16-1
Round of 16
133: Bridges (WYO) Fall Dylan Keeney (Colo. Mesa) 2:00
141: Zollmann (WYO) MD Kyle Kintz (Colo. Mesa) 9-0
141: Kyle Parco (Fresno) dec. Jeffries (WYO) 10-4
149: J. Jensen (WYO) TF Zach Sias (WPU) 16-1
157: Jacob Swift (N. Idaho) dec. L. Jensen (WYO) 5-4
157: Krueger (WYO) TF John Sowers (Highline) 20-2
165: Randles (WYO) Fall Kyle Caldwell (Grand View) 5:17
165: Moody (WYO) MD Dylan Miracle (Cal Poly) 14-2
174: Hastings (WYO) dec. Albert Urias (CSU Bakersfield) 6-1
184: Samuelson (WYO) dec. Calib Hopkins (Campbell) 3-0
197: Buchanan (WYO) Fall Danny Salas (Fresno) 6:01
Consolation of Round of 16 #2
125: Trout (WYO) dec. Logan Ashton (Stanford) 4-3
141: Jeffries (WYO) MD Conner Noonan (Oregon St) 11-2
157: L. Jensen (WYO) dec. Zach Rowe (CBU) 4-2
HWT: Andrews (WYO) Fall Gunner Gardner (Hastings) 1:25
Quarterfinals
133: Bridges (WYO) dec. Austin Wallace (WPU) 1-0
141: Joshua Heil (Campbell) dec. Zollmann (WYO) 2-1
149: J. Jensen (WYO) dec. Daxton Gordon (Oregon St) 6-4 SV
157: Krueger (WYO) dec. Matthew Olguin (Fresno St) 4-2
165: Randles (WYO) MD Macoy Flanagan (UNC) 10-2
165: Moody (WYO) Fall Austin Matthews (UNC) 2:21
174: Hastings (WYO) Fall Jacob Cooper (CBU) 0:54
184: Samuelson (WYO) dec. Kenderick Jones (Grand View) 3-2
197: Buchanan (WYO) Fall Jayden Woodruff (UVU) 6:15
Consolation of Round of 8 #1
125: Joel Avila (SW Ore.) dec. Trout (WYO) 4-3
141: Eric Reyes (Menlo) dec. Jeffries (WYO) 5-3
157: Robert Garcia (Oregon St) dec. L. Jensen (WYO) 11-5
HWT: Andrews (WYO) dec. Jamarcus Grant (Oregon St.) 4-0
Consolation of Round of 8 #2
141: Zollmann (WYO) MD Grayson Brenna (Grand View) 14-1
HWT: Andrews (WYO) dec. Matt Kent (Grand View) 2-1
Semifinals
133: Bridges (WYO) dec. Devan Turner (Oregon St) 4-2
149: J. Jensen (WYO) dec. Daniel Vazcarra (Cal Poly) 10-4
157: Krueger (WYO) dec. Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Grand View) 4-3
165: Quentin Perez (Campbell) MD Randles (WYO) 14-2
165: Moody (WYO) dec. Ricky Padilla (Fresno St) 8-2
174: Hastings (WYO) dec. Abner Romero (Unattached) 9-4
184: Samuelson (WYO) dec. Anthony Orozco (Menlo) 6-1
197: Cade Belshay (Arizona St) dec. Buchanan (WYO) 8-6
Consolation of 4
141: Zollmann (WYO) dec. Noah Blakley-Beanes (CSU Bakersfield) 5-1
HWT: Brayden Ray (CSU Bakersfield) NC Andrews (WYO)
Fifth Place
141: Zollmann (WYO) dec. Brody Lamb (UNC) 5-3
Third Place
165: Randles (WYO) Fall Jacob Swift (N. Idaho) 2:01
197: Mark Cardwell (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Buchanan (WYO) 11-9
Finals
133: Bridges (WYO) dec. Noah Gonser (Campbell) 4-1
149: Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. J. Jensen (WYO) 10-6
157: Krueger (WYO) dec. Hunter Willits (Oregon St) 3-1 SV
165: Quentin Perez (Campbell) dec. Moody (WYO) 10-5
174: Lucas Lovvorn (Baker) Injury forfeit Hastings (WYO)
184: Samuelson (WYO) dec. Colt Doyle (Oregon St) 3-1 SV
-WYO-
