Dec. 21, 2009

• 2009 Reno Tournament of Champions Results

RENO, Nev. -- Junior All-American Bryce Saddoris (Spring Creek, Nev.) and veteran Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) guided the Navy wrestling program to a 15th-place finish Sunday evening at the 25-team Reno Tournament of Champions held at the Reno Downtown Convention Center.

Six nationally-ranked teams were among the tournament field, including fourth-ranked Oklahoma State who ran away with the team title bettering 20th-ranked Edinboro by nearly 70 points. Edinboro held off third-place Penn State by 2.5 points, while Arizona State and Ohio finished in a tie for fourth place.

Saddoris, who produced a 4-2 record on the day while improving to 13-7 on the year, easily made his way to the semifinals by way wins in each of his first three matches. Saddoris pinned Cal State Fullerton's Nick Jordan in just under two minutes and then followed up with an 18-2 technical fall over Boise State's Brad Muri who was wrestling unattached. Saddoris then upset eighth-ranked Neil Erisman of Oklahoma State, 5-3, to punch his ticket into the semis of the 157-pound weight class. However, a second upset would fall short, as third-ranked and top-seeded Cyler Sanderson managed to just edge the Navy All-American, 6-5, to send Saddoris to the consolation bracket.

Saddoris sought to avenge his loss to All-American Chase Pami of Cal Poly, whom he lost to two weeks ago at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Saddoris did just that, as he upset the third seed and sixth-ranked Pami, 5-3, to advance to the third-fourth place match. Saddoris would run out of steam in his final match as North Carolina's Thomas Scotton, seeded sixth, placed third behind a 5-3 win over Saddoris.

Meanwhile, Pagan put forth one of his finest tournaments in recent memory, placing sixth amongst a competitive 141-pound weight class. After opening up with back-to-back wins, including a 12-2 major decision over Upper Iowa's JR Baker, Pagan was dealt a 12-3 setback by 10th-ranked and second-seeded Chris Drouin of Arizona State.

Pagan, though, bounced back in the wrestlebacks where he would outlast South Dakota State's Dustin Walraven, 6-5, before earning a fine victory (5-2) over sixth-seeded Mike Rappo of North Carolina. Cal State Fullerton's Adin Duenas, the fifth seed, sent Pagan to the fifth-sixth place match by squeaking out an 8-6 win. Pagan nearly upset Drouin in his final bout of the night, but Drouin was able to hold off Pagan, 4-3, to place fifth.

Sophomore Pat McCaffrey (Chicago, Ill.) and senior team captain Glenn Shober (Reading, Pa.) were just a match short of the medal rounds, as each produced a 2-2 record. McCaffrey opened up with a 3-1 decision over Cal State Fullerton's Armando Gonzalez, but fifth-seeded Quentin Keyes of Ohio captured a 7-3 win over McCaffrey to send him to the consolation bracket. McCaffrey bounced back nicely with a 7-5 win over Stanford's Justin Paulsen, but West Virginia's Colin Johnston eliminated McCaffrey with a 7-5 decision.

Shober also claimed victory in his opener, defeating Arizona State's Vicente Varela, 3-2. However, 18th-ranked and third-seeded Barrett Abel of UC Davis nipped Shober in the following round. Like McCaffrey, Shober came back strong with a 3-1 victory over Cal Poly's Eric Maldonado in the wrestlebacks, but seventh-seeded Torsten Gillespie of Edinboro bounced Shober from the tournament with a 4-1 win.

Navy was without the services of three regulars in the lineup (165 Oscar Huntley, 174 Luke Rebertus, HWT Dan Miller) and a fourth (Andrew Buck) was forced to bow out of the tournament with an injury.

"As a team and a coaching staff, we have a lot of work to do," said 10th-year Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We can't make excuses. I've never been one to do that in the past and am not going to do that today. We've got to get better and I have the confidence in our team that we can get better.

"While I'm disappointed that we weren't able to get a few more wrestlers into place-winning matches, we did have a few bright spots. Bryce is continuing to settle into his weight. He nearly knocked off Sanderson and then he got a solid win over Pami. I also was happy with Matt Pagan's performance throughout the tournament. It's great to see him come out and wrestle the way I've felt that he's been able to all along. He has really improved over the last year and I'm looking for that continued growth and leadership to come out later in the season when we really need it.

The Mids will get a much-needed breather over the holidays before regrouping and heading to UNC Greensboro for the annual Southern Scuffle. Last year the Mids placed sixth among the 28-team field and six wrestlers placed. The 2009 Southern Scuffle will be held over two days at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center on Dec. 29 and 30.

"We are going to give the guys a few days off to enjoy the holidays with their families and then we'll get right back after it," added Burnett. "The Southern Scuffle will be a heck'uva challenge for our team, but we'll be ready for what's in store and put forth our best effort."

Tickets are also still available for the event. Adult tickets are $15, tickets for students in grades K-12 are $5 and children under the age of 5 are free. Fans can purchase tickets from the Greensboro Coliseum by visiting the box office Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.


Navy at the Reno Tournament of Champions
125 Pounds -- Aaron Kalil (1-2, Did Not Place)
Michael Martinez, Wyoming (#4 seed) won by dec. Aaron Kalil, 7-6
Aaron Kalil, Navy won by major dec. Akmal Adilov, Great Falls, 10-0
Frank Lomas, Cal State Bakersfield won by dec. Aaron Kalil, 9-4

125 Pounds -- Allan Stein - unattached (2-2, Did Not Place)
Allan Stein, Navy won by major dec. Ryan Shelstad, Montana State Northern, 13-5
Brad Pataky, Penn State (#2 seed) won by dec. Allan Stein, Navy, 6-1
Allan Stein, Navy won by dec. Micah Ferguson, Cal Poly, 6-4
Shane Young, West Virginia won by major dec. Allan Stein, Navy, 14-5

133 Pounds -- #4 seed Pat McCaffrey (2-2, Did Not Place)
Pat McCaffrey, Navy won by dec. Armando Gonzalez, Cal State Fullerton, 3-1
Quentin Keyes, Ohio (#5 seed) won by dec. Pat McCaffrey, Navy, 7-3
Pat McCaffrey, Navy won by dec. Justin Paulsen, Stanford, 7-5
Colin Johnston, West Virginia, won by dec. Pat McCaffrey, Navy, 7-5

141 Pounds -- Matt Pagan (4-3, Sixth Place)
Matt Pagan, Navy won by dec. Chase Smith, Wyoming (#7 seed), 5-3
Matt Pagan, Navy won by major dec. JR Baker, Upper Iowa, 12-2
Chris Drouin, Arizona State (#2 seed) won by major dec. Matt Pagan, Navy, 12-3
Matt Pagan, Navy won by dec. Dustin Walraven, South Dakota State, 6-5
Matt Pagan, Navy won by dec. Mike Rappo, North Carolina (#6 seed), 5-2
Adin Duenas, Cal State Fullerton (#5 seed) won by dec. Matt Pagan, Navy, 8-6
Chris Drouin, Arizona State (#2 seed) won by dec. Matt Pagan, Navy, 4-3

149 Pounds -- #6 seed Glenn Shober (2-2, Did Not Place))
Glenn Shober, Navy won by dec. Vicente Varela, Arizona State, 3-2
Barrett Abel, UC Davis (#3 seed) won by dec. Glenn Shober, 5-2
Glenn Shober, Navy won by dec. Eric Maldonado, Cal Poly, 3-1
Torsten Gillespie, Edinboro (#7 seed) won by dec. Glenn Shober, 4-1

157 Pounds -- #4 seed Bryce Saddoris (4-2, Fourth Place)
Bryce Saddoris, Navy won by fall Nick Jordan, Cal State Fullerton, 1:47
Bryce Saddoris, Navy won by tech fall Brad Muri, Boise State-unattached, 18-2 (5:48)
Bryce Saddoris, Navy won by dec. Neil Eirsman, Oklahoma State, 5-3
Cyler Sanderson, Penn State (#1 seed) won by dec. Bryce Saddoris, Navy, 6-5
Bryce Saddoris, Navy won by dec. Chase Pami, Cal Poly (#3 seed), 5-3
Thomas Scotton, North Carolina (#6 seed) won by dec. Bryce Saddoris, Navy, 5-3

165 Pounds -- Robby Neill (1-2, Did Not Place)
Jarrod King, Edinboro (#1 seed) won by fall Robby Neill, Navy, 2:33
Robby Neill, Navy won by dec. Darren Olsen, Minnesota State-Mankato-unattached, 8-4
Travis Eggers, Upper Iowa won by dec. Robby Neill, Navy, 3-2

174 Pounds -- Matt DeMichiel (1-2, Did Not Place)
Ryan DesRoches, Cal Poly (#2 seed) won by fall Matt DeMichiel, Navy, 4:16
Matt DeMichiel, Navy won by dec. Justin Ortega, Penn State, 6-1
Jake Johnson, Stanford won by dec. Matt DeMichiel, Navy, 6-3

184 Pounds -- #5 seed Andrew Buck (0-1, Medical Forfeit)
Nick Purdue, Ohio won by dec. Andrew Buck, Navy, 7-2
Michael French, Great Falls won by medical forfeit Andrew Buck

197 Pounds -- Charles Carafano (1-2, Did Not Place)
Matt Casperson, Boise State (#6 seed) won by dec. Charles Carafano, Navy, 9-3
Charles Carafano, Navy won by dec. Richard Kessler, Stanford, 3-1
Alfonso Hernandez, Wyoming won by dec. Charles Carafano, Navy, 7-5

Heavyweight -- Nick Hylton (1-2, Did Not Place)
Erik Nye, Arizona State (#5 seed) won by fall Nick Hylton, Navy, 2:09
Nick Hylton Navy won by dec Brandon Moseley, SW Oregon, 11-5
Rudy Schaffroth, Clackamas Community College won by fall Nick Hylton, Navy, 0:34


### Go Navy ###