Matt Silva of Phillipsburg springs early upset in Reno TOC

by Express-Times staff

Friday December 19, 2008, 6:16 PM

Phillipsburg's Matt Silva, left, and Mike Fleck of Easton are both 2-0 at the Reno TOC.

Matt Silva of Phillipsburg has the Stateliners off to a rousing start in their first venture wrestling in the Reno Tournament of Champions.

Silva is 2-0 in the 103 weight class with a first period fall (1:47) over Tony Fresquez of Pomona (CA) and a 11-8 win over third-seeded Jared Miller of Dilligham (AK). Miller was a 103-pound champion in the 2008 High School state tournament in Alaska.

Easton's Peter Stanley is also into the third round at 103. Stanley received a bye and then defeated Mac Buhrley of Centennial (ID) 5-3 to advance.

The Rovers are veterans at the Reno TOC and Mike Fleck knocked off a top-seed at 112 when he defeated Sean Vandyke of Grundy (VA) 9-3 in the second round. Vandyke was a state-runnerup in Virginia a year ago.

Fleck also had a first period fall (0:56) over Byron Amaya from El Dorado (CA). Phillipsburg's Rylan Watson also alove in the championship bracket with a first period fall (0:30) over Aydin Erlich of Kotzebue (AK) and an 8-6 win against Kyle Vanderschaaf of La Costa (CA).

Wrestling continues from Nevada, check back to www.lehighvalleylive.com later for a complete update.