Oklahoma State’s non-starters Lewallen, Rogers, White win Reno Tournament of Champions titles
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State controls Javier Gasca of Michigan State in the Reno Tournament of Champions semifinals. Lewallen went on to win the title. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
The Reno Tournament of Champions college event has been a strong competition for a long time, and will be so into the future. It is traditionally one of the highlight events each December with a variety of teams and strong individuals.
This year, some things came up.
No. 1 Oklahoma State announced prior to the event that it would not be sending its first-team wrestlers. Then came the bad weather, which snarled travel and stranded some key teams. Defending national champion Penn State, which was bringing its big guns, could not get to Reno, due to cancelled flights in Denver. Cary Kolat’s Campbell team, which features some strong individuals, suffered the same fate, unable to connect through Denver. It was that kind of week.
The field that did get to Reno included a regular Reno T of C participant, Wyoming of the Big 12, plus an improving Big Ten team, Michigan State, with numerous programs from the West.
The big story is the depth at Oklahoma State, as three of its non-starters won the respected tournament, Boo Lewallen (141), Jordan Rogers (174) and Derek White (197).
Lewallen, a redshirt freshman behind national champion Dean Heil on the depth chart, defeated 2016 NCAA runner-up Bryce Meredith in the finals 7-3. Lewallen scored an early takedown and never trailed. He was able to score three takedowns in the match, including a clinching takedown late in the third period.
Lewallen did not even score any points for Oklahoma State in the team race, competing as a non-scoring athlete.
Rogers, a senior who is currently behind All-American Kyle Crutchmer on the Cowboy lineup, scored a 6-4 finals victory over Boise State’s Austin Dewey. Rogers was able to break a 4-4 tie to secure the winning points.
White, a redshirt sophomore behind Cowboy starter Preston Weigel on the depth chart, scored a solid 7-3 finals win over J.T. Goodwin of Cal Poly. White had two first-period takedown and added a third-period takedown to take home the gold.
Wyoming had a pair of individual champions, Cole Mendenhall (149) and Archie Colgan (157). Mendenhall, coming up from the bottom, grabbed a headlock to reverse then pin Nick Trimble of Michigan State in 3:41. Colgan scored a takedown with 20 seconds left on the clock to defeat Colt Shorts of Cal Poly, 3-1.
Michigan State’s lone champion came at 165, where Drew Hughes stopped Branson Ashworth of Wyoming, 2-0, with a takedown on the edge in sudden victory overtime.
Oregon State had a pair of champions, Ronnie Bresser, who was wrestling unattached at 125, and Cody Crawford at 285. Bresser scored first and was dominant in a 10-2 major decision over Oklahoma State’s Eli Hale in the finals. Crawford defeated his Beaver teammate David Henry, 3-2 in overtime, scoring an escape and riding out Henry during the tiebreaker.
Connor Schram of Stanford scored a takedown in sudden-victory overtime to defeat Drew Templeman of Wyoming, 2-1 at 133 pounds.
Winning a title for NAIA power Montana State-Northern was Ben Stroh, who defeated Northern Colorado’s Dylan Gabel in the 184-pound finals, 5-2. Stroh closed out the win with a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the match.
RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
At Reno, Nev., December 18
125
1st - Ronnie Bresser (UN-Oregon State) maj. dec. Eli Hale (Oklahoma State), 10-2
3rd – Logan Griffin (Michigan State) dec. Zac Gentzler (Oklahoma State-NS), 2-0
5th – Michael Nguyen (Arizona State) pin Mitch Rogaliner (Michigan State-NS). 2:34
133
1st - Connor Schram (Stanford) dec. Drew Templeman (Wyoming), 3-1, sv
3rd – Mike Magaldo (Oklahoma State) dec. Austin Echer (Michigan State), 8-3
5th – Durban Lloren (UN-Utah Valley) dec. Lincoln Olson (Oklahoma State-NS)
141
1st - Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State-NS) dec. Bryce Meredith (Wyoming), 7-3
3rd – Tristen Moran (Oklahoma State) dec. Joey Palmer (Oregon State), 8-2
5th – Javier Gasca (Michigan State) med. forfeit over Requir Van Der Merwe (Stanford)
149
1st - Cole Mendenhall (Wyoming) pin Nick Trimble (Michigan State), 3:41
3rd – Josh Reyes (Clackamas) dec. Josh Cortez (Cal Poly), 3-1
5th – Geo Martinez (Oklahoma State) forfeit over Christian Pagdialo (Arizona State)
157
1st - Archie Colgan (Wyoming) dec. Colt Shorts (Cal Poly), 3-1
3rd – Davey Dolan (Oklahoma State) pin Paul Fox (Stanford), 0:33
5th – Austin Thompson (MSU) pin Fred Green (Boise State), 0:32
165
1st - Drew Hughes (Michigan State) dec. Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 2-0, sv
3rd – Peter Galli (Stanford) dec. Quinten Perez (UA-Campbell), 9-7
5th – Demetrius Romero (Boise State) maj. dec. Heston Lamons (Oklahoma State), 12-4
174
1st - Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State) dec. Austin Dewey (Boise State), 6-4
3rd – Andrew Morgan (UA-Campbell) dec. Bruno Nicoletti (Colorado Mesa), 12-10
5th – Adrian Lyons-Lopez (SW Oregon CC) med. forfeit over Travis Berridge (Cal Poly)
184
1st - Ben Stroh (MSU-Northern) dec. Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado), 5-2
3rd – A Gaun (CM) maj. dec. Wesley Maskill (Michigan State-NS), 16-7
5th – Gary Jantzer (UA-Utah Valley) dec. Mitch Woods (Cal Poly-NS), 11-4
197
1st - Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. JT Goodwin (Cal Poly), 7-3
3rd – John Morin (Unattached) dec. M. Smith (SF), 8-2
5th – Cory Griego (Oregon State) dec. Cody Johnson (CSU-Pueblo), 4-0
285
1st - Cody Crawford (Oregon State) dec. David Henry (Oregon State-NS), 3-2, ot
3rd – Jordan Karst (UN-Utah Valley) dec. Jacob Cooper (Michigan State), 3-0
5th – Tanner Allen (Oklahoma State) dec. Spencer Empry (Cal Poly), 7-5
The Reno Tournament of Champions college event has been a strong competition for a long time, and will be so into the future. It is traditionally one of the highlight events each December with a variety of teams and strong individuals.
This year, some things came up.
No. 1 Oklahoma State announced prior to the event that it would not be sending its first-team wrestlers. Then came the bad weather, which snarled travel and stranded some key teams. Defending national champion Penn State, which was bringing its big guns, could not get to Reno, due to cancelled flights in Denver. Cary Kolat’s Campbell team, which features some strong individuals, suffered the same fate, unable to connect through Denver. It was that kind of week.
The field that did get to Reno included a regular Reno T of C participant, Wyoming of the Big 12, plus an improving Big Ten team, Michigan State, with numerous programs from the West.
The big story is the depth at Oklahoma State, as three of its non-starters won the respected tournament, Boo Lewallen (141), Jordan Rogers (174) and Derek White (197).
Lewallen, a redshirt freshman behind national champion Dean Heil on the depth chart, defeated 2016 NCAA runner-up Bryce Meredith in the finals 7-3. Lewallen scored an early takedown and never trailed. He was able to score three takedowns in the match, including a clinching takedown late in the third period.
Lewallen did not even score any points for Oklahoma State in the team race, competing as a non-scoring athlete.
Rogers, a senior who is currently behind All-American Kyle Crutchmer on the Cowboy lineup, scored a 6-4 finals victory over Boise State’s Austin Dewey. Rogers was able to break a 4-4 tie to secure the winning points.
White, a redshirt sophomore behind Cowboy starter Preston Weigel on the depth chart, scored a solid 7-3 finals win over J.T. Goodwin of Cal Poly. White had two first-period takedown and added a third-period takedown to take home the gold.
Wyoming had a pair of individual champions, Cole Mendenhall (149) and Archie Colgan (157). Mendenhall, coming up from the bottom, grabbed a headlock to reverse then pin Nick Trimble of Michigan State in 3:41. Colgan scored a takedown with 20 seconds left on the clock to defeat Colt Shorts of Cal Poly, 3-1.
Michigan State’s lone champion came at 165, where Drew Hughes stopped Branson Ashworth of Wyoming, 2-0, with a takedown on the edge in sudden victory overtime.
Oregon State had a pair of champions, Ronnie Bresser, who was wrestling unattached at 125, and Cody Crawford at 285. Bresser scored first and was dominant in a 10-2 major decision over Oklahoma State’s Eli Hale in the finals. Crawford defeated his Beaver teammate David Henry, 3-2 in overtime, scoring an escape and riding out Henry during the tiebreaker.
Connor Schram of Stanford scored a takedown in sudden-victory overtime to defeat Drew Templeman of Wyoming, 2-1 at 133 pounds.
Winning a title for NAIA power Montana State-Northern was Ben Stroh, who defeated Northern Colorado’s Dylan Gabel in the 184-pound finals, 5-2. Stroh closed out the win with a takedown with 30 seconds to go in the match.
RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
At Reno, Nev., December 18
125
1st - Ronnie Bresser (UN-Oregon State) maj. dec. Eli Hale (Oklahoma State), 10-2
3rd – Logan Griffin (Michigan State) dec. Zac Gentzler (Oklahoma State-NS), 2-0
5th – Michael Nguyen (Arizona State) pin Mitch Rogaliner (Michigan State-NS). 2:34
133
1st - Connor Schram (Stanford) dec. Drew Templeman (Wyoming), 3-1, sv
3rd – Mike Magaldo (Oklahoma State) dec. Austin Echer (Michigan State), 8-3
5th – Durban Lloren (UN-Utah Valley) dec. Lincoln Olson (Oklahoma State-NS)
141
1st - Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State-NS) dec. Bryce Meredith (Wyoming), 7-3
3rd – Tristen Moran (Oklahoma State) dec. Joey Palmer (Oregon State), 8-2
5th – Javier Gasca (Michigan State) med. forfeit over Requir Van Der Merwe (Stanford)
149
1st - Cole Mendenhall (Wyoming) pin Nick Trimble (Michigan State), 3:41
3rd – Josh Reyes (Clackamas) dec. Josh Cortez (Cal Poly), 3-1
5th – Geo Martinez (Oklahoma State) forfeit over Christian Pagdialo (Arizona State)
157
1st - Archie Colgan (Wyoming) dec. Colt Shorts (Cal Poly), 3-1
3rd – Davey Dolan (Oklahoma State) pin Paul Fox (Stanford), 0:33
5th – Austin Thompson (MSU) pin Fred Green (Boise State), 0:32
165
1st - Drew Hughes (Michigan State) dec. Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 2-0, sv
3rd – Peter Galli (Stanford) dec. Quinten Perez (UA-Campbell), 9-7
5th – Demetrius Romero (Boise State) maj. dec. Heston Lamons (Oklahoma State), 12-4
174
1st - Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State) dec. Austin Dewey (Boise State), 6-4
3rd – Andrew Morgan (UA-Campbell) dec. Bruno Nicoletti (Colorado Mesa), 12-10
5th – Adrian Lyons-Lopez (SW Oregon CC) med. forfeit over Travis Berridge (Cal Poly)
184
1st - Ben Stroh (MSU-Northern) dec. Dylan Gabel (Northern Colorado), 5-2
3rd – A Gaun (CM) maj. dec. Wesley Maskill (Michigan State-NS), 16-7
5th – Gary Jantzer (UA-Utah Valley) dec. Mitch Woods (Cal Poly-NS), 11-4
197
1st - Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. JT Goodwin (Cal Poly), 7-3
3rd – John Morin (Unattached) dec. M. Smith (SF), 8-2
5th – Cory Griego (Oregon State) dec. Cody Johnson (CSU-Pueblo), 4-0
285
1st - Cody Crawford (Oregon State) dec. David Henry (Oregon State-NS), 3-2, ot
3rd – Jordan Karst (UN-Utah Valley) dec. Jacob Cooper (Michigan State), 3-0
5th – Tanner Allen (Oklahoma State) dec. Spencer Empry (Cal Poly), 7-5
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