Dec. 19, 2008

RENO, Nev. - North Carolina sophomore Nick Stabile was the runner-up at 149 pounds to lead a group of four Tar Heels to top-four finishes in the Reno Tournament of Champions Thursday at the Reno Convention Center. In addition to Stabile's efforts, sophomore Thomas Scotton was third at 157, senior Keegan Mueller took third at 165 and sophomore Mike Rappo placed fourth at 133.

In the team standings, UNC placed third with 94 points behind only No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 17 Edinboro.

Senior Vincent Ramirez was fifth at 141, and junior Dennis Drury placed sixth at 197 to give Carolina six place-winners on the day.

Stabile, now 12-5 on the season after registering a 4-1 record Thursday, got off to a fast start with a 7-2 decision over No. 3 seed Ryan Etherton of Nebraska-Kearney. Following a pin of Liberty's Tim Harner in just 1:36 and a 10-2 major decision over UC Davis' Barrett Abel, Stabile posted an 8-4 decision over 17th-ranked and second-seeded Heinrich Barnes of Oregon State in the semifinals. He was edged in the final by No. 5-ranked Bryce Saddoris of Navy, 7-4. All five of Stabile's losses this season have come to top-14 ranked opponents.

While Stabile worked his way through in the championship bracket, several Tar Heels made lengthy runs through the consolation wrestlebacks. Scotton went 6-1 en route to his third-place finish at 157, while the 19th-ranked Mueller was 5-1 at 165 to take third. Scotton topped fourth-seeded Joel Ahearn of Navy in the third-place bout to run his season record to 9-1. Mueller downed Keegan Davis of Oregon State by a 4-3 decision in to take third. Now 13-4, Mueller's only loss on the day was to No. 12 Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State.

In his first action this season at 133, Rappo earned his fourth-place finish with a 5-2 record in Reno. He pinned No. 19 Thomas Kimbrell of Cal State Bakersfield in 4:12 to reach the third-place match but was edged by Oklahoma State's Chris Notte for the second time in the tourney, 9-5. Rappo is 9-4 on the season.

Seeded second, the 18th-ranked Ramirez was 5-2 at 141 en route to his fifth-place showing. After opening with a technical fall and two straight majors to help reach the semis, Ramirez lost 5-3 to No. 3 seed Jamal Parks of Oklahoma State to fall to the wrestlebacks. He rallied for a 9-0 major over fourth-seeded Joel Webster of Edinboro and is 14-3 this year.

After losing his first bout at 197, Drury reeled off five straight wins and went 5-3 on the day to place sixth. He is 8-3 this season.

Carolina's 16th-ranked heavyweight, senior Justin Dobies, went 4-2 on the day and won four straight in the consolation bracket. Dobies, who is now 13-6 on the season, posted a pair of major decisions in the tournament.

Dobies' classmate Daniel Llamas was 2-2 at 184 to move to 6-5 this season.

The Tar Heels are back in action Dec. 29-30 at UNC Greensboro's Southern Scuffle.