Air Force Wrestlers Head to Reno Tournament of Champions
12/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 14, 2011
The Air Force wrestling team closes out the 2011 calendar year this weekend, Dec. 18, as it travels to Reno, Nev., for the Reno Tournament Champions.
ABOUT THE RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS...
The 17th-annual Reno Tournament of Champions will be held at the Reno Events Center on Dec.18, following a two-day high school tournament. Teams from 28 schools are scheduled to compete this year, including 20th-ranked WWC foe Wyoming, the champion of the 2010 RTOC. Other ranked teams slated to compete this weekend are No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Oregon State.
The opening round of action begins Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (PT), with competition running all day. The finals matches (for first, third and fifth place) are slated to begin at 6:00 p.m.
THIS WEEKEND'S LINEUP...
This weekend, 14 Falcons are slated to compete at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Listed below is the tentative lineup for this weekend:
125 - Greg Rinker, So.
133 - Dylan Hyder, Fr.
141 - Carter McElhany, Fr.
Tyler Untrauer, Sr.
149 - #5 Cole VonOhlen, Jr.
157 - Josh Kreimier, So.
Gabe Martinez, Jr.
Alec Williams, Sr.
165 - Colby Kluesner, So.
174 - Clayton Gable, Jr.
184 - Devin Hightower, So.
Greg Isley, So.
197 - Josh Mohr, Jr.
HWT - Jared Erickson, Jr.
LAST TIME OUT...
Junior Cole VonOhlen (149) notched a second-place finish to lead the Falcons to a 20th-place showing at the 2011 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 2-3. VonOhlen recorded a 4-1 record on the weekend to become the first Air Force wrestler to reach the finals at the event since 2002.
Meanwhile, freshman Carter McElhany led another group of Air Force wrestlers at the FHSU-Bob Smith Open on Dec. 3, taking fourth place at 141 pounds.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS...
Air Force is led by junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, who is ranked fifth in the nation at 149 pounds with a 12-1 overall record. Meanwhile, freshman Carter McElhany, who has wrestled in four tournaments this season, has a team-best 13 wins on the season.
Meanwhile, 19 different Falcons have registered falls, led by VonOhlen and freshman Dylan Hyder with three falls each. Freshman Elijah Levee has the fastest fall of the early season, recording a fall in a time of 1:27.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS...
Junior co-captain Cole VonOhlen, a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds, is currently ranked in the top 10 nationally in several wrestling publications at 149 pounds. VonOhlen is rated fifth in the nation by Intermat, Amateur Wrestling News, The Open Mat and DI College Wrestling, and ranked sixth by WrestlingReport.com and W.I.N. Magazine.
AIR FORCE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK...
Junior Cole VonOhlen became the first Air Force wrestler of the season to earn Air Force Athlete of the Week honors following his performance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
VonOhlen posted a 4-1 record at the CKLV Invitational over the weekend to capture second place at 149 pounds.He won his first four matches of the tournament before dropping the championship bout to Michigan's Eric Grajales. VonOhlen, who placed seventh at the event in 2010, became the first Air Force wrestler to advance to the finals at the CKLV Invitational since Kevin Hoy won back-to-back titles in 2001-02.
UP NEXT...
The Falcons are back in action after the New Year, as they open their dual slate on the road with matches at Coe (Jan. 6) and at WWC opponent Northern Iowa (Jan. 8).
Players Mentioned
