RENO, Nev. – The Mountaineers returned to the mat with a strong showing at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, highlighted by top-five finishes from Kyle Knudtson (third at 184 lbs) and Nico Rodriguez (fifth at 285 lbs). Both Knudtson and Rodriguez earned multiple victories against some of the top competition in the country, including a field of NCAA Division I opponents.

As a team, Eastern Oregon scored a total of 34 points, tying with Cal Baptist, Saint Mary, and San Francisco for 13th place out of a field of 38 teams.

Individual Results

125 lbs – Jackson Eylar

• MD 17-5 loss vs. Tucker Bowen (UNATT-Wyoming)
• DEC 4-1 vs. Kai Carson (Eastern Oregon University)
• DEC 10-7 vs. Evan Kusumoto (UNATT-SFSU)
• TF 19-2 loss vs. Talen Eck (Utah Valley)

125 lbs – Kai Carson

• MD 12-0 vs. Camilo Ramirez (UNATT)
• DEC 7-0 loss vs. Vonn Fenn (Southern Oregon)
• DEC 4-1 loss vs. Jackson Eylar (Eastern Oregon University)

141 lbs – Cole Cross

• TF 17-0 loss vs. Jacob Myers (UNATT-Utah Valley)
• DEC 7-3 loss vs. Aidan Noonan (Wyoming)

149 lbs – Jaxon Morlan

• MD 12-4 loss vs. Kolton Malone (Western Wyoming)
• DEC 10-5 loss vs. Kyle Lew (UNATT-Arkansas-LR)

165 lbs – John Rudebaugh

• DEC 13-6 loss vs. Danny Diaz (Grand View)
• DEC 9-6 loss vs. Wyatt Rewerts (Embry-Riddle)

184 lbs – Kyle Knudtson (Third Place)

• F 3:18 vs. Braden Anderson (Grand View)
• F 3:57 vs. Eugenio Franco (Cal Poly)
• DEC 5-1 vs. Banks Love (Western Wyoming)
• DEC 10-4 loss vs. Niall Schoenfelder (Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
• DEC 5-0 vs. Adrian Chavez-Morales (Southern Oregon)

197 lbs – Eric Karas

• DEC 6-0 loss vs. Trayvonne Jackson (Grand View)
• MD 15-5 vs. Mac Laird (Big Bend)
• TF 20-4 vs. Ryder Depies (Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
• DEC 9-5 loss vs. Levi Kovacs (UNATT-Utah Valley)

285 lbs – Nico Rodriguez (Fifth Place)

• MD 14-2 vs. Luke Meyer (Cal Poly)
• DEC 4-1 vs. Eric Mittlestead (UNATT-CSUB)
• DEC 2-1 loss vs. Charley Hastriter (Oregon State)
• DEC 3-2 vs. Lane Catlin (Wyoming)
• DEC 4-3 vs. Hunter Tibodeau (Big Bend)
• NC vs. Sam Mitchell (Wyoming)

285 lbs – Darrian Hoobery

• DEC 7-2 loss vs. Bryson Harrington (UNATT-Pittsburgh)
• DEC 8-5 vs. Sebastian Echeverria (Southern Oregon)
• DEC 5-0 loss vs. Eric Mittlestead (UNATT-CSUB)

The Mountaineers will next compete at the NWCA National Duals, set to begin on Friday, January 10, in Des Moines, Iowa.