Sunday, December 19
Reno, Nev.
All Day
California Baptist University
at
Reno Tournament of Champions
Photo by: Zac Zeman zaczeman.com
Three Lancers Finish Top Five at Reno Tournament of Champions
12/19/2021 5:49:00 PM | Wrestling
RENO – California Baptist University wrestling wrapped up the 2021 portion of its season at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday.
Three Lancers: AJ Raya, Chaz Hallmark and Frank Almaguer ended the year with top-five finishes in their brackets. Raya led the way for CBU, with a fourth-place finish at 157 pounds, while Hallmark and Almaguer each took fifth at 149 and 165, respectively.
A total of four CBU wrestlers started strong and advanced to the championship quarterfinals in the tournament. Raya started 3-0 to reach the semifinals, while Hallmark and Almaguer both won their way into the quarters, along with 184-pounder Caden Gerlach, who won two of his three matches with pins.
The Lancers will take a few weeks off from competition over the Christmas break and pick things back up in 2022 with a dual at Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.
Raya opened his day with a pin of Simpson's Jaden Madden in four minutes, 23 seconds. He then rattled off a 12-0 major decision over Embry-Riddle's Beau Blackham and advanced into the semifinals with a 7-4 win over an unattached Tyler Avila. He battled but lost close decisions to opponents in Power 5 schools, Oregon State's Isaiah Crosby (6-3) and Oklahoma State's Jalin Harper (4-1) to take fourth place in the bracket.
Hallmark rattled off a team-high six wins on Sunday, with three on bonus points. He started with a 13-1 major over an unattached Ricky Torres, a 16-0 tech of Southern Oregon's Travis Thorpe and then claimed a 10-6 win over an unattached Benji Alanis. He lost a close 6-3 decision to Grand View's Jack Latimer in the quarterfinals and then won his way into the fifth-place match with a pin in 3:52 against an unattached Rudy Lopez after a no-contest victory. He claimed fifth with his second uncontested victory.
In his first action on the mat since the season opener, Almaguer used three narrow decisions for a strong start to his season. He went 5-1 overall, with three wins by two points or less. He opened with a 16-8 major of Eastern Oregon's John Bittinger and then picked up a 6-5 win on Montana Northern's Chase Short.
Almaguer overcame a quarterfinal loss to Northern Colorado's Nick Knuston with decisions over Grand View's Jacob Shoop (10-3) and Cal Poly's Nathan Tausch (3-1). It put him in the fifth-place match versus Embry-Riddle's James Williams.
It was Williams who jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter. Two takedowns and an escape in the final 2:35 from Almaguer forced overtime. He remained the aggressor in the extra session and secured the sudden death victory.
There were several other standout performances for the Lancers in Reno. Hunter Leake finished one match shy of the fifth-place bout at 133 pounds as he won five matches on the day. Devin Garcia (125), Edison Alanis (141) and Gerlach (184) all won three matches on the day, as well, for CBU.
Leake won his first two matches and bounced back from a tough 7-2 loss to Stanford's Jackson Disario with a pin of Kainalu Estrella and decisions over Embry-Riddle's Jacob Seto (5-2) and Menlo's Jacob Mendoza (3-0) but did not contest his final match.
Three Lancers: AJ Raya, Chaz Hallmark and Frank Almaguer ended the year with top-five finishes in their brackets. Raya led the way for CBU, with a fourth-place finish at 157 pounds, while Hallmark and Almaguer each took fifth at 149 and 165, respectively.
Congratulations to AJ Raya on taking fourth place at the Reno Tournament of Champions. The 157-pounder has now placed top four in 3⃣ tournaments this season.#LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/n7eb2O6sb2
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) December 20, 2021
A total of four CBU wrestlers started strong and advanced to the championship quarterfinals in the tournament. Raya started 3-0 to reach the semifinals, while Hallmark and Almaguer both won their way into the quarters, along with 184-pounder Caden Gerlach, who won two of his three matches with pins.
The Lancers will take a few weeks off from competition over the Christmas break and pick things back up in 2022 with a dual at Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.
🙌 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗡 🙌
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) December 19, 2021
AJ Raya advances to the Reno TOC championship semifinals with a 7-4 win in the quarterfinals. He's 3-0 on the day with a pin, major and the decision victory. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/7heMBvOWCV
Raya opened his day with a pin of Simpson's Jaden Madden in four minutes, 23 seconds. He then rattled off a 12-0 major decision over Embry-Riddle's Beau Blackham and advanced into the semifinals with a 7-4 win over an unattached Tyler Avila. He battled but lost close decisions to opponents in Power 5 schools, Oregon State's Isaiah Crosby (6-3) and Oklahoma State's Jalin Harper (4-1) to take fourth place in the bracket.
Hallmark rattled off a team-high six wins on Sunday, with three on bonus points. He started with a 13-1 major over an unattached Ricky Torres, a 16-0 tech of Southern Oregon's Travis Thorpe and then claimed a 10-6 win over an unattached Benji Alanis. He lost a close 6-3 decision to Grand View's Jack Latimer in the quarterfinals and then won his way into the fifth-place match with a pin in 3:52 against an unattached Rudy Lopez after a no-contest victory. He claimed fifth with his second uncontested victory.
🗣 𝙒𝘼𝙔 𝙏𝙊 𝙒𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙇𝙀
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) December 20, 2021
Chaz Hallmark goes 6-1 to take fifth place at 149 pounds. He won three of his matches on bonus points, with a pin, major and tech fall on the day. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/3e4gxeQqkZ
In his first action on the mat since the season opener, Almaguer used three narrow decisions for a strong start to his season. He went 5-1 overall, with three wins by two points or less. He opened with a 16-8 major of Eastern Oregon's John Bittinger and then picked up a 6-5 win on Montana Northern's Chase Short.
Almaguer overcame a quarterfinal loss to Northern Colorado's Nick Knuston with decisions over Grand View's Jacob Shoop (10-3) and Cal Poly's Nathan Tausch (3-1). It put him in the fifth-place match versus Embry-Riddle's James Williams.
It was Williams who jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter. Two takedowns and an escape in the final 2:35 from Almaguer forced overtime. He remained the aggressor in the extra session and secured the sudden death victory.
👏👏👏
— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) December 20, 2021
Frank Almaguer overcame a 5-1 deficit to win in sudden death and secure fifth place at 165 pounds in Reno. He went 5-1 on the day with a major and four decisions. #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/9wvJRi2pRZ
There were several other standout performances for the Lancers in Reno. Hunter Leake finished one match shy of the fifth-place bout at 133 pounds as he won five matches on the day. Devin Garcia (125), Edison Alanis (141) and Gerlach (184) all won three matches on the day, as well, for CBU.
Leake won his first two matches and bounced back from a tough 7-2 loss to Stanford's Jackson Disario with a pin of Kainalu Estrella and decisions over Embry-Riddle's Jacob Seto (5-2) and Menlo's Jacob Mendoza (3-0) but did not contest his final match.
Players Mentioned
141
/ Wrestling
157/165
/ Wrestling
133
/ Wrestling
184/197
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
133/141
/ Wrestling
149
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