TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW:

 

Dubbed as the “Toughest Tournament in the USA”, the RTOC brings in some of the toughest high school and collegiate wrestlers in the country to compete for individual and team titles. High school wrestlers compete for a chance at High School All American status and collegiate wrestlers are looking for bragging rights. This year, youth wrestlers have an opportunity to compete at this prestigious event.

 

WHO WILL BE THERE:

Adams City (Commerce City, CO), Alamosa (Alamosa, CO), Allen (Allen, TX), Andrew Hill (San Jose, CA), Bakersfield (Bakersfield, CA), Bingham (South Jordan, UT), Bishop Manogue (Reno, NV), Carlsbad (Carlsbad, NM), Carson (Carson City, NV), Casteel (Queen Creek, AZ), Centennial (Boise, ID), Chester (Chester, CA), Chino Valley (Chino Valley, AZ), Churchill County (Fallon, NV), Cibola (Yuma, AZ), Cleveland (Rio Rancho, NM), Clovis North (Fresno, CA), Columbia (Nampa, ID), Crescent Valley (Corvallis, OR), Crook County (Prineville, OR), Cushing (Cushing, OK), Damonte Ranch (Reno, NV), De La Salle (Concord, CA), Eagle (Eagle, ID), Elko (Elko, NV), Excell Christian (Sparks, NV), Fernley (Fernley, NV), Foothill PC (Palo Cedro, CA), Gilroy (Gilroy, CA), Gooding (Gooding, ID), Grandview (Aurora, CO), Green River (Green River, WY), Green Valley (Henderson, NV), Herriman (Herriman, UT), Idaho Falls (Idaho Falls, ID), Jefferson (Edgewater, CO) Kimberly (Kimberly, ID), La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, CA), Layton (Layton, UT), Layton Christian Academy (Layton, UT), Legacy (Broomfield, CO), Lehi (Lehi, UT), Lemoore (Lemoore, CA), Los Altos (Hacienda Heights, CA), McQueen (Reno, NV), Meridian (Meridian, ID), Morgan (Morgan, UT), Mountain Crest (Hyrum, UT), Mountain Ridge (Herriman, UT), Mountain View (Meridian, ID), North Medford (Medford, OR), North Salem (Salem, OR), Olympus (West Valley, UT), Payson (Payson, UT), Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove, UT), Pomona (Arvada, CO), Poway (Poway, CA), Reed (Sparks, NV), Reno (Reno, NV), Rio Rancho (Rio Rancho, NM), Roseburg (Roseburg, OR), San Marino (San Marino, CA), Skyridge (Lehi, UT), Slam Academy (Henderson, NV), Somerset Academy (Penbroke Pines, FL), Sparks (Sparks, NV), Spanish Springs (Sparks, NV), Spring Creek (Spring Creek, NV), Spring Creek B (Spring Creek, NV), St. John Bosco (Bell Flower, CA), Staunton River (Moneta, VA), Stilwell (Stilwell, OK), Temecula Valley (Temecula, CA), Twin Falls (Twin Falls, ID), Viewmont (Bountiful,UT), Wasatch (Heber City, UT), Wendell (Wendell, ID), Wooster (Reno, NV), Yerington (Yerington, NV)

 

Seeded Utah Wrestlers:

106: #1Kyison Garcia – Mountain Ridge

113: #3Quade Smith – Layton, #5 Marco Herrera – Bingham

 

120: #5 Cole Jensen – Payson, #10 Waylen Pentz – Morgan, #11 Tristen Ocana – Wasatch, #12 Aidan Harris – Layton

 

126: #4 Jarett Jorgensen – Morgan

 

132: #2 River Wardle – Wasatch. #8 Josh Millward – Skyridge

 

138: #2 Tyson Humphreys – Layton, #3 Sammy Heywood – Wasatch, #7 Gabe Sanders – Mountain Crest, #8 Hadley Cowan – Skyridge, #9 Braden Rex – Skyridge, #14 Zeke Kelley – Pleasant Grove, #17 Tristan Farnsworth – Altamont

 

145: #2 Stockton O’Brien – Wasatch, #6 Carson Sheets – Altamont

 

152: #7 Jaxon Wardle – Bingham

 

160: #3 Keller Rock – Chino Valley, #5 James Hornberger – Skyridge, #6 Jeremy Evans – Viewmont, #9 Heston Murdock – Altamont

 

170: #5 Mason Christiansen – Bingham, #8 Canyon Brann – Layton, #9 Tucker Naccarato – Payson, #10 Jake Richardson – Pleasant Grove

 

182: #6 Brock Lloyd – Wasatch, #7 Brayden Guthrie – Mountain Crest

 

195: #10 Hunter Schroeder – Mountain Crest, #15 Louis Williams – Payson

 

220: #2 MacIntyre Thacker – Altamont, #6 Isaac Ngatuvai – Bingham

 

285: #3 Tracee Norman – Herriman

 

 

ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS:

 

With a number 1 seed and 4 #2 seeds, Utah looks poised to have one of the best years in Reno history.  If some Utahns wrestle above their seeds, we could put even more into the finals.

 

TEAMS: Wasatch should shine at this tournament, the big 3 down a weight from last week, and other guys hungry to live up to the tradition of Black and Gold. 

106: Kysion gets the #1 seed.  The Sentinel is setting the stage for a historic career. Some of Utah’s best have left a mark on the RTOC.  Look for Garcia to follow suit.   

113: Herrera at 113 is a fun prospect.  He could see World Team member and Greco phenom Billy Sullivan in the 1/4s.  Quade shows up on the big stage,  can he make the finals? 

120:  Cole Jensen can go deep into this tournament.  A couple of guys from Oregon stand in his way. Look for a handful of Utahns to be in contention tomorrow morning. 

126: Jarett should finish on the podium. He will have a tough ¼ against Gomez of Gilroy, and Lamer in the Semi is an absolute beast. 

132: River had a bad weekend last week. This week he has a good seed, what looks to be a good draw and something to prove. If he doesn’t get mugged on the way to the venue or lost in the casino, look for River to have a redeeming weekend. 

138: Tyson and Gabe in the ¼ and winner gets Sammy.  Sounds like fun to me.    Let's hope it plays out just like that. 

145: Stockton will have to wade through some solid competition from the Golden State to get to the final. There he should see #12 ranked sophomore Anthony Ferrari.  If you aren’t familiar with the Allen TX wrestler, the Ferrari wrestlers are as high performance as the name suggests. 

152: Jaxon is seeded 7th.  Holding that seed will put Wardle on the podium and turn some heads. 

160: Yes, I am claiming Keller Rock for Utah, without seeing the bracket, I’d say he makes the final based on the seeds.  Evans has a solid path to the podium and should see Rock in the 1/4.  Hornberger has been inconsistent at times, but I have seen him step up huge in big matches. 

170: For Utah alone, this is a fun weight, we have 4 seeded top 10.  Mason was huge the last time I saw him in person, I am surprised to see him this low. Richardson debuts for PG and Naccarato and Brann have definite podium potential, they should see each other in the ¼ and wrestle off for a chance to wrestle the #16 ranked guy in the nation.  Richardson will get his chance to live up to the hype Utah has given him, he will have a solid Idaho kid and then Hockett from Cushing CA if he wants to make the final.  Masons path will have to go through the #4 and #1 seed, tough row, but digging deep is what Miners do. 

182: Lloyd and Guthrie will have tough matches to get to the ¼ finals and then run into some out of state hammers.  Both have a very good chance to make the return trip across the desert with some hardware. 

195: 195 is a very deep and very tough weight this season in Reno.  The Utah boys will have to step up to place.

220: Mac Thacker can win Reno.  Watch for the Longhorn to stampede his way to the final.

285: Norman's seed is good.  The test will be living up to it in a field of big men from across the west.