The Reno Tournament of Champions (RTOC) is one of the toughest tournaments Utah wrestlers can drive to and we had a handful of great performances in both the high school and college divisions. Along with Reno, there was great action at the Juab Winter Classic. In no particular order, let’s give some Utah wrestlers credit where it’s due.

Tyson Humphreys 

Tyson got off to a rough start at the RTOC losing in the round of 32. However, he didn’t dwell on the loss, showed great mental fortitude and took the long road into the medal round by winning six straight matches on the consolation side. He didn’t get what he wanted, but represented himself, his team and Utah well with his fantastic effort. 

Channing Warner 

While many Utahans were in Reno, a few stayed home for a dual tournament in Nephi. Channing Warner stole the show by upsetting Mason Denton. Warner versus anyone is a must see affair and in this one he didn’t disappoint. He surrendered two points and one of those was because he backflipped out of a Denton single leg attempt. Denton has scored his share of upsets this season so don’t be surprised if we see these two swap wins back and forth this year. 

Taylor LaMont 

In a stunning turn of events, Taylor LaMont decided not to redshirt and jumped right into a shark tank during the NCAA season. He had a tough weekend at the Las Vegas Invitational but bounced back with a third place finish at the RTOC and picked up a win over 20th ranked (Intermat) Devan Turner of Oregon State to finish in third. 

Dillon Dick 

The Ute has been picking up solid wins for the first few weeks of the season. He won Layton two weekends ago by smothering his opponents with nonstop pressure and this week he went to Juab and knocked off a pair of state champions in Jacob Finlinson and Connor Ingram. He did lose to Morlan who lost to Ingram and Finlinson which effectively makes 132 a nightmare to rank in the next Power Poll. So please, don’t get upset, anonymous commenters.

Stockton O’Brien 

The always exciting and crowd pleasing, Stockton O’Brien blast doubled and hip tossed his way to an All-American finish at the RTOC. He lost a wild match in the semifinals but finished his run with two solid wins to claim third at 145 pounds. The future UVU Wolverine was Utah’s highest placer in the event.