Bulls Earn Victories in the West

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RENO, NV - Following a successful outing at the Bloomsburg Duals, in the form of a three-win sweep of their opponents, the Bulls headed out west to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada on Thursday. The tournament featured 26 squads including many of the nation's top ranked programs and wrestlers. Ten Bulls earned victories on the day while five of the ten earned multiple victories including Desi Green, fifth-place finisher Jimmy Hamel, Mark Lewandowski, Kevin Smith and Andrew Stella.

Desi Green

At 149, Green would receive a bye in the first round. In his first action of the day, Green would face top seeded wrestler, Bryce Saddoris of the Navy, also ranked 5th in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA NCAA Division I Individual Rankings at 149. Green would drop the decision to Saddoris by the score of 7-3. Later in the night, Saddoris would claim this year's 149-pound championship. In the wrestlebacks, Green earned four consecutive victories. Green's first match would be a fall at 4:44 over Austin Thompson of Southwestern Oregon Community College. Green's next three victories would come as decisions by the score of 8-6, 4-1 and 7-6 over unattached Cody Chipperfield, Seth Roy of Southern Oregon and Vicente Varela of Arizona State University, respectively. Despite Green's string of victories he was unable to continue due to an injury.

Jimmy Hamel

In the 197-pound weight class, Hamel earned a forfeit sandwiched between two victories. Hamel won his first match of the day with a decision over Jake Cranford of Arizona State University by the score of 4-2. Hamel would then receive a medical forfeit moving him on to face Abraham Otrombo of UC Davis. Hamel would score a 5-3 decision over Otrombo moving him one step closer to the finals. Hamel would come up one match short from going to the championship match, losing a decision to Brandon Halsey of Cal-State Bakersfield by the score of 6-4. Later in the night, Halsey would claim this year's 197-pound championship. Hamel would drop his wrestleback match in a 4-3 decision in favor of Pat Bradshaw of Edinboro, ranked 19th in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA NCAA Division I Individual Rankings at 197. Hamel would capture fifth place with a 10-3 decision over North Carolina's Dennis Drury.

Kevin Smith

In the first round of the 133-pound weight class, Smith would drop a close decision to Kelly Kubec of Oregon State by the score of 2-1. Smith would storm back in the wrestlebacks, earning four consecutive decisions. Smith posted a 7-5 decision over Brandon Rimpley of Nebraska-Kearney followed by a 2-0 decision to unattached Darrin Boring. Smith would follow up these two decisions with a 12-3 major decision over Thomas Cottrell of Portland State. Smith would continue his streak of wins with a 4-2 decision over Frank Celorrio of Appalachian State, whom he previously defeated earlier this season in the Appalachian State Duals by the score of 2-0. In what was his last match of the day, Smith would lose a close fought decision to Quentin Keyes of Ohio by the score of 3-2.

Andrew Stella

In the 141-pound weight class, Lewandowski and Stella earned multiple victories for the Bulls. Stella would earn a first round bye followed by a 3-2 decision over Barry Johnson of Southern Oregon. Followed by such a close match was Stella's 7-0 decision over Jesse Hulett of Missouri Valley. After a bye and two consecutive victories, Stella was slated to take on top seeded wrestler, Chris Drouin of Arizona State University, also ranked 5th in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA NCAA Division I Individual Rankings at 141. Stella would drop the decision to Drouin by the score of 5-2. Later in the night, Drouin would claim this year's 141-pound championship. Stella dropped his wrestleback match by fall to Elijah Nactia of Cal State Bakersfield at 5:16.

Mark Lewandowski

Lewandowski received a bye in the first round followed by a match against Duke's Anthony Jorge, which Lewandowski would drop 3-2 by decision. In the wrestlebacks, Lewandowski would earn three consecutive victories including two decisions and a technical fall. Lewandowski won his first wrestleback match over Brad Perry of Boise State by technical fall at 3:55 by the score of 18-2. Lewandowski would follow this convincing win with back-to-back decisions by the score of 7-1 and 7-0 over Westley Moniz of Portland State and Derek Royster of the Citadel, respectively. Followed by Lewandowski's string of victories came a loss in the form of a 9-5 decision in favor of Raymond Dunning of Adams State.

Recording single victories for the Bulls were John-Martin Cannon, Jason Weber, Nate Rock, Dan Bishop and Taylor Golba.

The Bulls will be back in action on Saturday, January 3 at 12 pm as they compete in the Cleveland State Duals, where they will take on the Vikings of Cleveland State, the University of Northern Iowa and Gardner-Webb University.