by staff–21 Dec ’15
A trio of individuals won titles to lead the University of Wyoming wrestling team at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday in the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nev. It was the most individual champions at the tournament for the Cowboys under head coach Mark Branch. Senior Tanner Harms (285 pounds), Sophomore Bryce Meredith (141 pounds) and junior Drew Templeman (125 pounds) earned the titles for UW. The Cowboys finished fourth in the team standings with 90.5 points. Illinois took the team title with 152 points.
“We had some outstanding individual performances and they had great tournaments and helped themselves out,” Branch said. “We aren’t performing as a team right now, but walking away with three champions is a positive way to close out the semester.”
Harms went 5-0 on the day with all his wins coming via decision. He defeated No. 15 Brooks Black of Illinois in the finals by decision 4-1. He defeated Nathan Butler of Stanford, ranked No. 18 in the country in the semis by decision 4-3. He moves to 10-2 on the season and now has 51 wins in his career at UW.
“Tanner (Harms) wrestled some great competition and made some improvements to help out his confidence and he wrestled very smart all day,” Branch said.
Meredith also had a tough road to the championship also going 5-0 on the day with a pin and one major decision. He defeated No. 16 Zach Horan of Central Michigan in the final by decision, 7-4. He downed Tristen Moran of Oklahoma State in the semifinals by decision, 12-6. He earned a fall at 2:04 in the quarterfinals against Lincoln Olson of Oklahoma State. Meredith moves to 12-1 on the season and moves to 2-1 against ranked wrestlers.
“Bryce (Meredith) was solid all day today and put together complete matches and was always in control,” Branch said.
Templeman earned his title by going 5-0 on the day with one major decision and one technical fall. Coming in unranked he defeated Nick Piccinnini of Oklahoma State by decision 15-8 in the finals. He defeated Michael Knoblauch of Clackamas CC in the semifinals by decision, 7-3. He picked up a big win in the quarterfinals downing No. 14 Josh Rodriquez of North Dakota State by decision 3-1. It was his first win against a ranked opponent, as he moves to 11-2 on the season.
“Drew (Templeman) made some things happen and wrestled well in the finals. It was big coming off his performance against Oklahoma State,” Branch said.
Junior Benjamin Stroh earned a sixth-place finish. He went 3-3 on the day after earning a spot in the semifinals. Redshirt freshman P.T. Garcia, junior Brandon Tribble and sophomore Luke Paine had solid days finishing 4-2. Tribble added a pin on the day along with a major decision.
Wyoming returns to action at the prestigious Southern Scuffle in Chattonogga, Tenn. on New Year’s Day and continues through Jan. 2.
