Spartans Competing In Reno Tournament Of Champions On Sunday
12/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
| Michigan State (2-4, 0-2 B1G) at Reno Tournament of Champions | |
| Date | Time | Sunday, Dec. 18 | 12 p.m. ET |
| Location | Reno, Nevada | Reno Events Center |
| Tickets | $20 (adults) / $8 (student/senior) / $5 (children 5-12) |
| Notes | Michigan State |
| Statistics | Michigan State |
| TV/Internet Coverage | Live streaming and live results through FloWrestling: Live Results | Watch Live - Fee |
| Social Media | @wrestlingmsu  | Facebook  | Instagram  |
SPARTANS COMPETING IN RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS ON SUNDAY
Michigan State wrestling will make its longest trip of the season when the Spartans travel to Reno, Nev., this weekend to compete in the 22nd annual Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Dec. 18. Action from the Reno Events Center gets underway at Noon ET. It is the first time since 2012 that the Spartans will be competing in the event dubbed the "Toughest Tournament in the USA," featuring some of the toughest high school and collegiate wrestlers in the country to compete for individual and team titles. The college part of the tournament has grown from a four-way college dual and several other top ten teams to a 26-team invitational. The finals of each of the college tournaments have often featured the same wrestlers who would eventually square off in the finals of the NCAA National Championships. In the last two years, the event has seen four double overtimes at each tournament providing the spectators and college athletes alike with an opportunity to see college wrestling at its toughest level. Sunday's action at the Reno Tournament of Champions will be streamed on Flowrestling along with brack updates on Flowrestling.com through FloArena, as well as occasional updates on Twitter at @wrestlingmsu.
RENO ROAD TRIP
Sunday's meet is the Spartans' furthest road trip from home, as Reno, Nevada is 2,119 miles from East Lansing, Michigan, traveling three time zones away. Nevada is one of six states that the Spartans will be wrestling in during the regular season, along with Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Illinois and Wisconsin.
THIRD OPEN OF SEASON
Sunday's action is Michigan State's third Open this season. The Spartans began the season with a pair of Opens, the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5 and the Michigan State Open on Nov. 20. Since then, MSU has had two duals in Pennsylvania on Nov. 26, competing at Bloomsburg and then heading down the road at Lock Haven. The Spartans competed at the Nebraska Quad on Dec. 3, tangling with No. 7 Nebraska, then No. 25 Princeton before wrapping up against Drexel. Last week, MSU hosted Minnesota in a dual on Dec. 9. Sunday is the Spartans' final multi-match day of the regular-season, before the Big Ten Championships on March 4-5 in Bloomington, Ind.
SPARTANS TO WATCH
• Redshirt junior 141-pounder Javier Gasca is MSU's lone returning NCAA Championships qualifier ... is 13-2 this season after having 15-match regular-season win streak snapped in loss to No. 11 Colton McCrystal of Nebraska on Dec. 3 ... Gasca has won 21 of 24 regular-season matches dating back to last season ... ranked as high as No. 11 (Win Wrestling Magazine) as part of being in the top 15 in five different top 15 rankings ... tied for the team lead in wins (13), while ranking tied for second in falls (4), technical falls (2) and major decisions (2) ... won back-to-back opens, first winning the Eastern Michigan Open with a perfect 5-0 record, collecting two falls along the way, then winning the Michigan State Open also with a perfect 5-0 mark ... now owns a career record of 42-20 ... placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships ... finished the season with a 21-10 record ... led Michigan State in wins (21), falls (7), dual wins (9) and dual points (37) last season ... last season began the year at 133 pounds and won the MSU Open on Nov. 15, 2015 ... moved up to 141 pounds for the Michigan dual on Dec. 10, 2015 and stayed there ever since.
• Redshirt sophomore Austin Eicher transferred to MSU from Northern Illinois ... is 10-6 so far this season ... tied for second on team with 13 dual points as well as leading team in major decisions (3), while ranking fourth in both falls (2) and wins (10) ... finished third at MSU Open ... won the Mid-American Conference Championship at 133 pounds last season as a redshirt freshman ... wrestled at the NCAA Championships ... finished the season with a 19-13 record ... defeated No. 25 Corey Keener of Central Michigan by 3-1 decision in sudden victory to become NIU's first MAC gold medalist since 2011.
• Freshman Drew Hughes has a 13-2 mark, winning eight of last nine matches ... tops team in falls (7), dual wins (5), dual points (24) and technical falls (3), while sharing the team lead with overall wins (13) ... won the Michigan State Open at 165, with two falls along the way ... had five-match win streak halted with 2-1 loss to Nebraska's Dustin Williams on Dec. 3 ... finished second at the EMU Open, losing an 8-4 decision to Logan Massa of Michigan in the final ... Got to the final with three falls on the day all under 1:45, finishing the day with a 4-1 mark.
• At 157 pounds, redshirt sophomore Austin Thompson is 11-6 and had a five-match win streak earlier this season ... tied for second on team with two major decisions and two tech falls, while ranking third in wins (11) and ranking tied for third in duals wins (3) and open tournament wins (3).
• Redshirt senior Nick Trimble returns to lineup at 149 pounds after redshirting the 2015-16 season ... is 7-4 so far, having won five of last seven matches ... leads team in major decisions (3), while tying second in dual wins (4) and dual points (13) ... started 17 of 18 dual meets in 2014-15, collecting 10 total wins, and has started all six duals this season, now starting 23 of last 24 duals with 17 total wins.
• Sophomore 197-pounder/heavyweight Jacob Cooper is tied for second on team in falls (4) ... was second at the MSU Open, getting to final with falls in all three preliminary matches before losing 5-4 decision in final ... posted a five-match Big Ten dual winning streak during the middle of last season ... was third on the team in dual points a year ago with 21.
SPARTANS IN THE RANKINGS
• Junior Javier Gasca - 141 pounds No. 11 by Win Wrestling Magazine No. 12 by Trackwrestling No. 12 by InterMat Wrestling No. 11 by TheOpenMat.com No. 14 by Flo Wrestling
MSU HAS 11 LETTERWINNERS, 18 NEWCOMERS iN 2016-17
Michigan State returns 11 returning letterwinners from last season. MSU has 18 newcomers, including 17 freshmen and one transfer, sophomore Austin Eicher, who won the Mid-American Conference Championship at 133 pounds last season at Northern Illinois.
NCAA TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANT GASCA RETURNS
Headlining the Spartans' 11 returners is junior Javier Gasca, who is MSU's lone returning NCAA Tournament qualifier from a year ago. Making his first appearance at nationals, Gasca lost in the first round to top-seeded Dean Heil of Oklahoma State, 4-1, in the afternoon session. Heil (29-1), who won the Big 12 title, used a takedown one minute into the match to secure a lead he would not relinquish. In the wrestleback bracket during the evening session, Gasca dropped a 7-3 decision to Princeton's Jordan Laster (23-13). Gasca, who placed sixth at the Big Ten Championships, closed the season with a 21-10 record. Gasca led Michigan State in wins (21), falls (7), dual wins (9) and dual points (37) last season.
ABOUT THE RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
The Reno Tournament of Champions is dubbed the "Toughest Tournament in the USA," and features some of the toughest high school and collegiate wrestlers in the country to compete for individual and team titles. The college part of the tournament has grown from a four-way college dual and several other top ten teams to a 26-team invitational. The finals of each of the college tournaments have often featured the same wrestlers who would eventually square off in the finals of the NCAA National Championships. In the last two years, the event has seen four double overtimes at each tournament providing the spectators and college athletes alike with an opportunity to see college wrestling at its toughest level.
SPARTANS AT RENO TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS HISTORY
MSU is competing in the Reno Tournament of Champions for the first time since the 2012-13 season, the second of back-to-back seasons competing at the "The Biggest Little City in the World." The Spartans were third in the 2012 tournament with eight placers, including a win at heavyweight by Michael McClure, after finishing fifth in the 2011 tournament, with six placers.
QUICK LOOK AT FIELD
The Reno Tournament of Champions will feature wrestlers from the NAIA, NJCAA, Division II and Division I ranks. Michigan State is one of 26 teams in the 2016 Reno Tournament of Champions field, including Big Ten foes Penn State. The field also includes four ranked teams, including the top two teams as part of three in the top five and all four in the top 16: No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 5 Missouri and No. 16 Stanford. Here's a complete list of the field of teams represented at the 2016 Reno Tournament of Champions:
CHANDLER IN FIRST YEAR AS HEAD COACH
Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler is in his 20th season on the Spartan wrestling staff, but his first as head coach, taking over the reins of the MSU program from longtime head coach Tom Minkel, who directed the program since 1991, and retired following his 25th season at Michigan State in 2015-16. Chandler is the ninth coach in the history of the program, which dates back to 1886 and has generated 25 NCAA Champions, 68 Big Ten Champions, eight Big Ten Championships and one NCAA Championship. While on the Spartan coaching staff, Chandler has helped produce 10 different All-Americans and six Big Ten Champions for a total of 22 All-America selections and nine Big Ten individual titles during his time at Michigan State. He also coached three-time All-American Franklin Gomez, who won a national title in 2009 at 133 pounds. In addition, he handles a variety of administrative duties for the program. Chandler, who began his coaching career as an assistant at MSU in 1997, was promoted to associate head coach in 2011.
SPARTAN ASSISTANT COACHES
• Former Spartan All-American Chris Williams is in the first year of his second stint on the MSU staff as an assistant coach. Williams had served as the head wrestling coach at Adrian College since November 2014, where he restarted the program and led the Bulldogs in their first season of competition in 31 years in 2015-16. He previously was an assistant coach at Michigan State, along with Chandler, for eight seasons (2005-13). • Former Central Michigan All-American and U.S. Senior Nationals Champion Wynn Michalak is in his first season as Spartans' assistant wrestling coach. One of the most successful wrestlers in Central Michigan history, Michalak was a four-time Mid-American Conference Champion (2005-08), three-time MAC Wrestler of the Year (2006-08), and a three-time NCAA All-American (2005, 2006, 2008), including a runner-up finish at 197 pounds in 2008. He won the 2015 U.S. Senior Nationals title at 97 kg/213 pounds on Dec. 19, 2015, in Las Vegas, and competed in the past two U.S. Olympic wrestling trials.
COACH CHANDLER SOUNDBITES
ON ENDING THE 2016 PORTION OF THE SCHEDULE WITH THIS PRESTIGIOUS TOURNAMENT...
"We have a tremendous opportunity to compete against some of the best teams and kids in the country. It's a good situation for us for all of our guys to be able to get some quality wins and make a statement for themselves as we head into the second half of the year. In many ways from a competitive level, this tournament is going to emulate what we're going to see in the postseason with Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships."
ON COMPETING AGAINST TOUGH FIELD THAT INCLUDES THREE TOP FIVE TEAMS AND FOUR TOP 16 RANKED TEAMS...
"I really like it because it puts them in the mindset of a Big Ten or NCAA Championships, where everything that you do is going to affect the team scoring component of the event. These guys have to understand that even though we are not in a dual meet format, our national champion and placement at the NCAAs and Big Ten at the end of the year is all determined by their performances and their brackets."
ON COMPETING FAR AWAY FROM HOME...
"The whole idea of going out to this tournament is that not only is it always one of the top tournaments in the country during the regular season, but we get to see a lot of the West Coast teams that we wouldn't normally see until the postseason at the NCAA Championships. So this gives us an opportunity to see those guys and compete outside of the conference a little bit."
ON EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS WEEKEND...
"Every time we step on the mat we have to get better, and we've been stressing that all year long. If we do that, we'll be where we want to be at the end of the season and everyone will be able to achieve their personal goals. Obviously our program goals are tied to their personal goals. I think it's important that they compete for the full seven minutes, and they have to continually remind themselves about the difference between competing and wrestling for seven minutes."
LAST TIME OUT: Spartans' Upset Bid Comes Up Short, Drop 20-17 Decision To No. 18 Minnesota
EAST LANSING, Michigan -- Michigan State wrestling had No. 18 Minnesota on the ropes and the Spartans nearly pulled off the upset before the Gophers bounced back late and overtook MSU, 20-17, Friday night at Jenison Field House in the Spartans' Big Ten home opener.
The Spartans won four bouts behind redshirt freshman Logan Griffin at 125, No. 12-ranked junior Javier Gasca at 141, senior Nick Trimble at 149 and freshman Drew Hughes at 165 for a 17-9 MSU advantage before Minnesota countered by winning four of the last five bouts, including the last three to overtake Michigan State and deny the upset bid.
"I think a little bit of youthfulness came out in the guys towards the end. They fought hard, and they've bought into everything we were telling them this week which was hand fighting and lasting an entire match," MSU head coach Roger Chandler said. "I think in the last two matches our guys were probably respecting their opponent a little too much. In our sport, we need to just go out there and do what we do best."
After dropping the opening bout at heavyweight, Griffin got the Spartans on the board in the second bout with a 9-3 decision at 125 over Minnesota's Skyler Petry. Griffin earned his second victory in three duals, leveling his dual record at 2-2, while improving his overall mark to 8-5.
"You know, I can't point to just one person," Chandler said about which Spartan was most impressive Friday night. " I think from top to bottom our guys wrestled all the way through. If there was one guy that I was really proud of the way he came out, it was Logan Griffin. He came out after we lost the first match and he got the team set to a different pace causing the guys to rally around him."
Gasca jumped out early on Gannon Volk and went on to post an 11-1 major decision to improve to 13-2 on the season, winning 21 of his last 24 regular-season matches dating back to last season. It was also a successful return to the lineup after missing MSU's dual vs. Drexel last weekend.
"Javier and Nick Trimble are our team leaders, but Javier got hurt pretty good last week. We weren't sure if he was going to wrestle this week. He bought into this because of the team. He did a great job. He wrestled where he wanted to wrestle and he came out on top. He never put himself in a position where he could get injured again, and I'm very proud of how he mentally handled it all and how he physically performed," Chandler said.
At 149, Trimble competed in his first official home varsity dual since 2015 after redshirting last season and had a triumphant return to the platform at Jenison Field House, also winning on a major decision, 12-4 over James Berg. With the win, Trimble improved to 4-2 in duals this season and 7-4 overall, winning for the fifth time in seven bouts.
Hughes continued his smashing Spartan debut, posting the only pin of the evening, pinning Brandon Kingsley at 4:51. It was Hughes' team-leading seventh fall of the season as he improves to 13-2 overall and 4-1 in duals.
"I kind of started out slow but it was good to get the fall for the team points," Hughes said. "I think our team wrestled very well. If we win one of those close matches and we win the dual. A lot of the wins we had were bonus-point wins which really helped out."
Friday was Hughes' first home dual as a Spartan and he particularly liked the home crowd.
"It was great, it was really exciting. Especially after we were in Nebraska last weekend and got to see how big of a crowd they had, and see that environment. It was good to be able to do that for our fans here," Hughes said.
After the Spartans led 17-9, the Gophers got a pair of wins from their national-ranked duo of No. 16 Nick Wanzek at 174 and No. 2 Brett Pfarr at 197 to complete the comeback at 20-17.
"We set the expectation this week that we were going to go toe-to-toe with them. We weren't going to back down in any technical situation, and overall I thought we did that. There were a few little letdowns in there, but we have a young team and I believe that these guys are buying into the process of competing for seven minutes and they're starting to see the results," Chandler said. "If you would have told me last Sunday after the Nebraska dual, that they would have competed the way they did tonight, I would have thought a little different. They bought into the process and stepped up to challenge tonight."
Friday was the Spartans' third match in their last four against a Top 25 team after last Sunday's bouts with No. 7 Nebraska and No. 25 Princeton.
"We are very realistic about where we are as a program," Chandler said. "We set expectations in the beginning of the year and in order to be where we want to be at the end of the year or future years, you have to commit to the process. The process is that we are going to train, commit to being great, and compete to be great. Overall, I feel the guys are buying into it. It will take time, these guys will have to develop, but as long as they step on the mat each time and try to get a little bit better, it's going to be okay."
Friday was MSU's first action this season with only one match, as the Spartans' other competitions have either been Opens or multiple duals in a day. The Spartans return to multiple-match days by heading to Reno, Nev., to compete in the 2016 Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Dec. 18, before the Holiday break. MSU resumes action and opens the New Year at home hosting Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 1 p.m. at Jenison Field House.
"Nothing has changed in our focus moving forward," Chandler said. "We have really been focusing on staying in the hand fight for seven minutes and competing for seven minutes. I always tell my guys, there's a different between wrestling for seven minutes and competing for seven minutes. We need to compete, and I believe that will continue to show through this season."
NEXT UP
The Spartans have a Holiday break. MSU resumes action and opens the New Year at home hosting Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 1 p.m. at Jenison Field House.
Players Mentioned
