RENO, Nev.—Three CSU Bakersfield wrestlers placed in the top six of their respective weight classes at the Reno Tournament of Champions Sunday.
Ian Nickell won his first four matches to advance to the semifinals of the 141-pound bracket. Nickell trailed Central Michigan's Zach Moran 2-0 late in the third period before getting an escape to make it 2-1. Nickell couldn't take Moran down in the final 30 seconds of the match and dropped into the consolation bracket. Nickell, the third seed, went up against the fourth seed, North Dakota State's Mitch Bengston. Nickell defeated Bengston 8-0 to advance to the third place match. Nickell defeated Oklahoma State's Tristen Moran 6-1 to earn third.
Lorenzo De La Riva, a 2015-16 CSUB redshirt, advanced to the 165-pound quarterfinals before losing 11-2 to Indiana's Bryce Martin. De La Riva earn three straight victories in the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the consolation semis where he advanced to the third place match by medical forfeit over another wrestler from Indiana, Alex Gregory. In the third place match, De La Riva pinned Jordan Atienza of Central Michigan at 1:08 of the first period to earn third. Wrestling in his fifth open tournament of the year, De La Riva, is now 23-2, placing at least third in all of the tournaments in which he has entered this season.
At 157 pounds, AJ Fierro placed sixth. Fierro split his first two matches to fall into the consolation bracket. Fierro won three consecutive matches to earn a spot in the consolation semis where he matched up against Luke Smith of Central Michigan. Smith, who is ranked eighth in the current Intermat poll at 157, defeated Fierro by technical fall. Fierro took on No. 9 Joey LeVallee of Missouri in the fifth place match and was awarded fifth when LeVallee was forced to medically forfeit the match.
Coleman Hammond dropped his first match at 149 pounds before winning five in a row to reach the consolation round of four. Hammond was eliminated from the tournament when he was pinned by North Dakota State's Kyle Gilva.
Like Hammond, CSUB heavyweight Matt Williams was one match away from earning a top six finish. Williams also split his first two matches before winning three in a row in the consolation bracket. Williams lost 9-8 to the second seed, Jere Heino of Campbell to be eliminated from the tournament.
As a team, the 'Runners finished eighth. The Roadrunners, who had point scorers at eight of the 10 weights, scored 58 points. No. 10 Illinois took home the team honors with 152 points.
CSUB heads to the 53rd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. The next home Roadrunner dual is Jan. 8 when the Roadrunners host Cal Poly in Pac-12 action Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com.
~www.GoRunners.com~
