Final Results (PDF)  |  Final Results (FloWrestling)

RENO, Nev. – Junior 133-pounder Jade Rauser led the Utah Valley University wrestling team on Sunday by taking second place in his weight class at the 20th annual Reno Tournament of Champions. The finish was the highest ever by a Wolverine at the tournament that is dubbed the "toughest tournament in the USA".
 
Rauser was one of two Wolverines to place on Sunday as fellow junior Ross Taylor also finished taking sixth place at 184 pounds.

"All the guys wrestled hard today, and Jade had a great tournament. He made two mistakes that cost him four points but he will correct those fairly easily back in the room," said head coach Greg Williams. "We had to pull three guys because of injuries and are hopeful they aren't serious enough to keep them off the mat in January."
 
The top-seeded Rauser won his first four matches, including a pair by fall, to reach the 133-pound title match against the No. 2 seed from Oregon State Joey Palmer. Rauser overcame a second period deficit, thanks to a pair of escapes to send the championship match into overtime. In the first sudden victory OT period, Palmer managed to score a takedown to take the title bout by a score of 6-4. With a 4-1 outing on Sunday, Rauser improved to 14-5 on the season.
 
Rauser opened his 2014 Reno TOC run with a first-period fall over Oklahoma's Sean Williams (2:34). He then followed it up with an 11-3 major decision over Cruz Velasques of Simon Fraser and a win via injury default over Oklahoma State's Kyle Garcia in the quarterfinals. The two-time NCAA qualifier for UVU then recorded his second pin of the day over the four seed from Cal Poly Victor Trujillo in the semifinals before facing off against the 2014 NCAA qualifier Palmer in the finals.
 
Taylor also placed for the Wolverines on Sunday as he ended his 2014 Reno Tournament of Champions run with a 5-1 record at 184 pounds. The transfer from Western Wyoming pieced together an impressive four-match winning streak in the consolation rounds en route to his placement after dropping a 6-4 decision to Oregon State's Zac Cardwell in his second match of the day. Taylor capped the streak with a 5-1 decision over Ohio's Andrew Romanchik before sustaining an injury and taking a medical forfeit in his final two matches to end his tournament run with a sixth-place showing.
 
Seven other Wolverines competed for UVU on the day and senior 174-pounder Ethan Smith led the group by recording four victories at the tournament. After dropping his second match to the four seed from Cal Poly Dominic Kastl by a score of 4-1, the senior Smith responded with three straight wins in the consolation bracket. Smith then had his tournament run end one win shy of placement as he had to take a medical forfeit against Colorado Mesa's Randy Boerner in his final match of the day. Smith finished his RTOC run with a 4-1 record.
 
Redshirt freshman Jordan Karst too wrestled well for Utah Valley at heavyweight as he also ended one win shy of placing with a 3-2 record. Karst won his first two matches on Sunday to reach the quarterfinal round. After suffering an 8-2 setback to Oklahoma's Zach Merrill, Karst answered with a 9-5 decision over Clayton Burtis of Southern Oregon. Karst then gave the two seed and 16th-ranked Tanner Harms of Wyoming all he could handle in the next round, but in the end dropped a 2-1 contest in sudden victory to finish one win shy of placing.
 
Freshman Dalton Harmon (165) and junior Logan Addis (157) both also had strong outings on Sunday, as Harmon went 3-2 and Addis finished with a 2-2 clip. After dropping his opening bout of the tournament, Harmon responded with three straight victories including wins over Boise State's Holden Packard (2-1) and Arizona State's Matt Schneider (6-4). Addis on the other hand won his first two matches to reach the 157-pound quarterfinal round before dropping his final two.
 
Junior Derek Thomas (197), freshman Matthew Ontiveros (141) and redshirt freshman Koleton Hardy (157) rounded out the group as Thomas and Ontiveros each went 1-2 while Hardy finished with an 0-2 record.
 
Five other UVU grapplers competed unattached at the RTOC on Sunday and sophomore heavyweight Dustin Dennison highlighted the group by placing sixth at heavyweight with a 5-3 record. Sophomore 149-pounder Brayden Humpherys followed with a 3-2 outing, while sophomore Jarod Maynes (133) and freshman Josh Temple (125) were next with identical 1-2 marks, and freshman Will Sumnerrounded out the group with a 0-2 record at 184 pounds.
 
As a team, the Wolverines finished in 10th place out of 23 teams with 46.5 points. No. 21 Wyoming won the tournament with 134 points while No. 17 Oregon State and Stanford tied for second with 102.5 points.
 
The Wolverines will now return to Orem for a six-week homestand. Utah Valley will begin the home stretch on Jan. 10 when hosts the annual UVU Open. The Wolverines will also welcome No. 21 Wyoming (Jan. 17), Air Force (Jan. 23), No. 17 Oregon State (Jan. 30) and Stanford (Jan. 31) to the PE Building for dual meets during the stretch.