The Toughest Weight Classes At Reno
The Toughest Weight Classes At Reno
These are the weights we expect to be the toughest at the 2018 Reno Tournament of Champions.
Just in time for the holidays, the Reno Tournament of Champions is coming down the chimney to spread wrestling cheer to all the good sports fans in the world. Below we project what we think will be the toughest, most electric weight classes inside the Reno Events Center at this year's annual slugfest.
Brackets can be found on FloArena.
Reno Tournament of Champions
Thursday, Dec. 20, 12 p.m. ET | Watch LIVE on Flo
125 Pounds
#4 Nick Piccininni, Oklahoma State
#8 Rayvon Foley, Michigan State
#19 Michael McGee, Old Dominion
Cole Verner, Wyoming
Gage Curry, American
Justin Mejia, Fresno State (unattached)
Brandon Kaylor, Oregon State (unattached)
Each weight will be a blast but Reno's 125 stands out as one of the toughest, not just of the TOC but of most tournaments this year.
Nick Piccininni is the most credentialed of the field, with a fourth-place finish at the 2017 NCAAs. Sophomore Rayvon Foley is a strong candidate to join Piccininni, both in the finals of the tournament and on the podium in March.
Michael McGee and Gage Curry are both national qualifiers who are dark horse AA-candidates and landmines for the entire division. Cole Verner is another competitor on whom you should not sleep.
Brandon Kaylor and Justin Mejia are a pair of true freshman with excellent high school accolades who add depth and intrigue to the bracket. Kaylor is a Fargo champ from the state of Washington, while Mejia is a four-time California state champ.
2017's Reno TOC 125-pound championship match, Daton Fix (OK State) vs. Sean Fausz (NC State):
157 Pounds
#4 Larry Early, Old Dominion
#16 Andrew Shomers, Oklahoma State
Paul Fox, Stanford
Jake Tucker, Michigan State
Thanks to his win over NCAA runner-up Hayden Hidlay of NC State, Larry Early enters the Reno TOC as the highest-ranked wrestler in any weight class. He'll have company though, in the form of Oklahoma State's starter and fellow top-20 wrestler Andrew Shomers.
As one of the rare All-Americans in the field, Paul Fox will also be a title threat in this weight class, and Jake Tucker has the potential to cause a few upsets as well.
2017's Reno TOC 157-pound championship match, Joey Lavallee (Mizzou) vs. Hayden Hidlay (NC State):
174 Pounds
Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State
#10 (165) Chandler Rogers, Oklahoma State
#19 Hayden Hastings, Wyoming
Travis Wittlake, Oklahoma State
Drew Hughes, Michigan State
Seldon Wright, Old Dominion
Oklahoma State's entries alone make this weight class a must see. Two-time All-American Joseph Smith is slated to make his return to folkstyle for the first time in nearly a year. He'll probably be joined in the weight class by another two-time All-American, Chandler Rogers, who could be bumping up to 174 for his senior season as Joseph Smith works his way down to 165. Jacobe Smith, another All-American Cowboy, is likely bumping up to 184.
There are a lot of All-Americans in Stillwater and getting them all in the lineup at the same time is a complicated process, so it's still possible we see some other permutation of Oklahoma State weights and wrestlers.
No matter who ends up where, with Wyoming's newly ranked redshirt freshman Hayden Hastings, plus two national qualifiers in Drew Hughes and Seldon Wright, this will certainly be a weight class to watch.
And of course, there is also all-everything blue-chip recruit true freshman Travis Wittlake to consider.
2017's Reno TOC 125-pound championship match, Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) vs. Daniel Leiws (Mizzou):
Additional Notes
133 Pounds
Look for #7 Daton Fix of Oklahoma State to meet American's #19 Josh Terao, a two-time NCAA qualifier, in the finals, although Fix's old teammate, Gary Wayne Harding, who is now at North Carolina, could potentially crash the party.
141 Pounds
Two All-Americans could meet in the finals with Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State and Sa'Derian Perry of Old Dominion in the field. Wyoming's Sam Turner and Brock's teammate Mike Magaldo are also potential finalists. And don't forget Stanford's redshirting freshman Real Woods.
149 Pounds
Oklahoma State's Kaden Gfeller is the only ranked wrestler in the mix, but American's national qualifier Michael Sprague and Cal Baptist's DII champ Daxton Gordon are two more strong candidates for the finals. Respective NAIA and Junior College standouts Chandler Michael of Southern Oregon and Garrett Russell of Umpqua will also look to make some noise in Reno.
165 Pounds
Word is that OK State's Chandler Rogers will likely wrestle up at 174, meaning this weight class is up for grabs. Stanford's redshirting freshman Shane Griffith, who has also won the Princeton and Roadrunner Opens this season, looks to be the favorite.
184 Pounds
Michigan State's Cam Caffey and American's Tanner Harvey are two highly regarded upperweights we might see in the finals. Oklahoma State's redshirting blue-chipper Anthony Montalvo and Utah Valley's undefeated Gary Jantzer, among others, could also make things interesting.
197 Pounds
Dakota Geer, the 18th ranked 184-pounder in the country from Oklahoma State, is registered up at 197 and is the only ranked wrestler in the field, however, Wyoming's Cale Davidson is just one of many who could contend for a title at this weight.
285 Pounds
At #5, Derek White of Oklahoma State is the only ranked competitor expected at heavyweight, and is the favorite to win by a wide margin.