Cohlton Schultz (Photo/Richard Immel)It's been a long time since the field for the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions in the high school division has been this robust. Come Friday and Saturday, six nationally ranked teams - led by No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.) -- will be featured in the event. Furthermore, every weight class but one has at least one individual that is nationally ranked; in fact, eight of them have two or more ranked, and four have three-plus present.
Other nationally ranked teams in the field include No. 15 Poway (Calif.), champions in 2013-2015 before skipping last year's tournament; No. 16 Choctaw, Okla.; No. 18 Allen (Texas); No. 20 Gilroy (Calif.); and No. 44 Pomona (Colo.), last year's tournament champion.
Leading the way with four nationally ranked wrestlers is the 195 pound weight class, including a pair of California state runners-up in No. 6 Tony Andrade (Gilroy) and No. 10 Colbey Harlan (Oakdale); also present are two-time state placer No. 8 Ryan Reyes (Clovis West, Calif.) and Walsh Ironman runner-up No. 18 Jayden Woodruff (Ponderosa, Colo.). This field also features five returning state champions, a group led by Jonathan Fagen (Fruitland, Idaho) and Joey Miller (McQueen, Nevada); while an additional notable wrestler is 2016 state champion Dante Garcia (Pueblo County, Colo.)
Below is an overview of the other weight classes.
106: Leading the way here is freshman Yusief Lillie (Bonney Lake, Wash.), who is ranked No. 9 nationally in this weight class after a Cadet National double All-American finish this summer. Additional notable freshmen include Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), Chance Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.), and Maximo Renteria (Buchana, Calif.). Also here are state medalists Braeden Williams (Blanchard, Okla.) and Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.)
113: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 18 Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.), a returning state medalist at this weight. Five state champions also feature in this weight class, including Brendon Garcia (Pueblo County, Colo.) and Steele Dias (Green Valley, Nev.). Another wrestler to watch is Aizayah Yacapin (Curtis, Wash.), a Cadet National double All-American.
120: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, all of whom have won Junior National titles in Fargo previously -- No. 6 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy, Calif.), No. 15 Brandon Kaylor (Bonney Lake, Wash.), and No. 19 Ty Smith (Virgin Valley, Nev.). Five additional wrestlers in this weight class are returning sate champions, most notable from the group is Ironman placer Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.). Also present in this weight class are three-time state finalist Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.) and returning state medalist Jacob Allen (Poway, Calif.)
126: No. 13 Ethan Leake (Buchanan, Calif.) is the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class. Five wrestlers return as state champions, most notably Legend Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.); while Antonio Saldate (Las Vegas, Nev.), Hunter Sparks (Roseburg, Ore.), and Dayton Marvel (Arvada West, Colo.) were state champions in previous seasons. Colt Newton (Choctaw, Okla.) and Ironman placer Logan Brown (Allen, Texas) are two-time state runners-up.
132: Junior freestyle All-American and three-time state placer Chase Zollmann (Poway, Calif.) is the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this field, sitting at No. 19 in the rankings. The other primary contender is fellow Junior freestyle All-American Tyler Deen (Buchanan, Calif.). At least three other wrestlers in this weight class were state champions last season, while a fourth was state champion in 2016.
138: A pair of California wrestlers that placed third at state last year are nationally ranked, and present in this field, No. 7 Alex Felix (Gilroy) and No. 16 Matthew Olguin (Buchanan). Four returning state champions reside in this weight class, most notable among them is Ironman placer Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.). Others to watch include two-time state placers Conner Holman (Choctaw, Okla.) and Ricky Torres (Oakdale, Calif.), along with returning state placer Dalton Lakmann (Foothill, Calif.)
145: A trio of ranked wrestlers lead the field in this weight class, No. 3 Brock Hardy (Box Elder, Utah), No. 4 (at 138) Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), and No. 13 Brett Villarreal (Buchanan, Calif.). Four other wrestlers return as state champions in the field at this weight class, most notably Gabe Fiser (Grundy, Va.). Also present in this weight class are state placers Lawrence Saenz (Vacaville, Calif.) and Joe Romero (Lemoore, Calif.), 2016 state champion Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon, Okla.), and 2016 state placer Izaak Olejnik (Bakersfield, Calif.)
152: This marks the lone weight class of the tournament without a nationally ranked wrestler, and is led by four returning state champions - Ian Carlos (North Salem, Ore.), McKay Foy (Altamont, Utah), Sean McCormick (Churchill County, Nev.), and Jacob McNutt (Grundy, Va.). However, the favorite is most likely one of two sophomores - Cadet freestyle runner-up Aaron Gandara (Cibola, Ariz.) or NHSCA Freshman Nationals runner-up Domonic Mata (Poway, Calif.) - while 2015 state champion Anthony Chavez (Spring Creek, Nev.) is also in this field.
160: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class, No. 14 Joel Romero (Buchanan, Calif.) and No. 20 Isaac Wilcox (Olympus, Utah). Also present are state champions Logan Jensen (Herriman, Utah) and Orion Gutierrez (Rio Rancho, N.M.), along with two-time state placer Parker Benekas (Ponderosa, Colo.)
170: A pair of nationally ranked wreslters also anchors this weight class, No. 15 Jaryn Curry (Choctaw, Okla.) and No. 17 Braeden Redlin (Allen, Texas). Also in this weight class are 2016 state champions Matt Goings (Churchill County, Nev.) and Joey Mazzarra (Bishop Gorman, Nev.), along with returning state placers Joseph Barnes (Gilroy, Calif.) and Bronson Harmon (Oakdale, Calif.)
182: Three nationally ranked wrestlers make this a robust weight class; one headlined by No. 3 A.J. Ferrari (Allen, Texas), the nation's top overall sophomore. Also here are No. 10 Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan, Calif.) and No. 16 Zane Coleman (Chocatw, Okla.). Five other state champions are projected to call this weight class home, most notable among them is Brandyn Van Tassell (Maple Mountain, Utah). Joining this group here is returning state medalist Nathan Tausch (Poway, Calif.)
220: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 18 Chase Trussell (Morgan, Utah). Four additional state champions are present in the field - Mauricio Jimenez (Las Vegas, Nev.), Tommy Mommer (Cibola, Ariz.), Sam Peterson (Bonney Lake, Wash.), and Maika Tauteoli (Pleasant Grove, Utah). Also meriting attenion are returning state placer Trevor Ervin (Buchanan, Calif.) and NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.)
285: The nation's top overall junior Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) is ranked No. 3 nationally in this weight class. His primary challenger will be No. 9 Jake Levengood (Vacaville, Calif.). Ryan Bracken (Blanchard, Okla.) is the other state champion in this weight class. Also present are returning state runners-up Brady Briskey (Weber, Utah), Keeghan Freeborn (Rocky Mountain, Idaho), and Iosefa Polamalu (Sandy, Ore.) - along with two-time state placer Mason Watt (Broomfield, Colo.)
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