Branson Ashworth defeated Chandler Rogers earlier this season (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics)Christmas is just over a week away, which means the singlets will be put away as the stocking get filled, but there's still a few tournaments and duals that need to "wrap" up before that happens. The majority of this week's college action will go down during the work week, and it all starts on Thursday with the Reno Tournament of Champions.
Note: All times Eastern (ET).
Thursday
Reno Tournament of Champions (12 p.m.)
The 24th Reno Tournament of Champions takes place on Thursday. A pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 23 Old Dominion lead a 10-team field that's littered with individual talent. There's at least one ranked wrestler at every weights class and at least two top-20 guys in eight of the 10 weight classes.
The Cowboys, who have 10 ranked wrestlers, and the Monarchs, who bring a trio of ranked guys, are favored to meet in the finals of three weights classes.
All-Americans Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) and No. 13 Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) are expected to meet for the title at 141 pounds.
Brock, a two-time All-American, will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season. He's had five matches this season and holds a 3-2 record, with both of those losses coming to ranked opponents. Most recently, Brock was upset by Oklahoma's No. 8 ranked Dom Demas in the Bedlam dual. Before that, Brock lost to Minnesota's No. 5 Mitchell McKee 6-3.
Perry, who is now competing for ODU after Eastern Michigan dropped its wrestling program, finished last season with an 18-19 record despite pulling off one of the most impressive runs to All-America honors in recent memory. The new Monarch is 7-3 this season but is 1-2 in his last three matches.
The second potential Cowboy and Monarch showdown is at 157 pounds, where third-ranked Larry Early (Old Dominion) and No. 18 Andrew Shomers (Oklahoma State) are both entered.
Early suffered his first loss of the season last week when he fell to Northwestern's second-ranked Ryan Deakin 6-1. Before that loss, Early was 11-0 on the season (with one unofficial loss) and tallied a win over returning NCAA finalist and fourth-ranked Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State).
Shomers, an NCAA qualifier a season ago, is expected to meet Early in the finals. He's currently riding a three-match win streak after dropping a close match to No. 11 Steve Bleise (Minnesota).
Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) and No. 20 Seldon Wright (Old Dominion) are expected to meet for the 174 title. Smith is ranked No. 7 in the nation, while Wright finds himself at No. 20.
Aside from the potential Cowboy and Monarch matchups, pay attention to top-10 matchups at 125 and 165 pounds.
At 125 pounds, Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked All-American Nick Piccininni will be matched up against Michigan State's eighth-ranked RayVon Foley. Both wrestlers bring undefeated records into Reno. Piccininni is 8-0 this season, while Foley is 10-0.
At 165 pounds, Wyoming's No. 9 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) is expected to meet two-time All-American Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) in the finals. These two met earlier this season, and Ashworth came out on top, 4-1.
Other top-10 wrestlers to keep an eye on that could be competing in Reno include Oklahoma State's No. 3 Derek White (285), No. 5 Daton Fix (133), and No. 6 Preston Weigel (197).
No. 7 Missouri vs. Virginia at 8 p.m.
Coach Brian Smith and the seventh-ranked Missouri Tigers are set to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Kansas City on Thursday night. There will be 11 top-20 wrestlers who will compete in this dual meet. Missouri brings seven wrestlers who sit in the top 20, while Virginia brings four ranked wrestlers.
There will be a trio of matchups that pit ranked wrestlers against each other. They're at 125 pounds, 141 pounds and 157 pounds.
Colby Smith (Missouri) and Louie Hayes (Virginia) -- ranked No.15 and No. 16 respectively -- could kick things off at 125 pounds. However, both have been held out in recent weeks. At 141 pounds, two-time All-American and third-ranked Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) will square off against No. 17 Sam Krivus (Virginia) at 141 pounds, and No. 13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) will wrestle No. 18 Cam Coy (Virginia) in the 165-pound matchup.
Other ranked wrestlers:
133: No. 9 John Erneste (Missouri)
149: No. 14 Brock Mauller (Missouri)
174: No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)
197: No. 8 Jay Aiello (Virginia)
285: No. 11 Zach Elam (Missouri)
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