Dec. 16, 2011

Michigan State at the Reno Tournament of Champions
Date | Time	Sunday, Dec. 18 | All Day.
Location	Reno, Nev. | Reno Events Center
Tournament Information	Tournament of Champions
Coverage	Tournament Results
Statistics	Michigan State
Multimedia	Coach Minkel Podcast
Social Media	@wrestlingmsu

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State will travel west to Reno, Nev., to compete in the 17th annual Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday, Dec. 18. The Spartans will have 13 wrestlers competing in the tournament and 27 other schools will be represented.

The Spartans are used to competing in the Midlands Championships over the holiday break but opted for the Reno Tournament of Champions to face unfamiliar competition and spend more time with their families over the holidays.

"It is going to be a tough event," head coach Tom Minkel said. "One of the things that we will enjoy and are looking forward to, is competing against some teams that we don't normally see. At Midlands it is dominated by teams in the Midwest. It is going to be nice to be in a different part of the country and face some competition that we haven't seen already."

The tournament is held at the Reno Events Center and features a two-day high school tournament before the collegiate tournament on Sunday. The grueling tournament is dubbed the "Toughest Tournament in the U.S.A."

Defending tournament champions No. 13 Wyoming headline a field that includes three other Top 20 ranked teams according to InterMat. No. 12 Oregon State, No. 15 Cal Poly and No. 21 Stanford will all make the trip to Reno. The Spartans are the lone representative from the Big Ten Conference.

The tournament is an all day event and individual medals, as well as team trophies, will be presented following the end of the tournament. The top-six wrestlers in each weight class will place and an outstanding wrestler award will also be presented.

The Spartans are off for the holidays following the tournament but will be back in action Jan. 8 against Penn State. The Spartans will take on the defending NCAA Champions at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich., at 2 p.m.