Reno, NV - 22 universities will compete in the 2002 Reno Tournament of Champions on Thursday, December 18 at the Reno Livestock Event Center. The one-day tournament will begin at 9:00 AM (Pacific Time) with the finals scheduled to start at 7:00 PM.    Each of the 22 teams will be allowed to enter three extra wrestlers in the tournament. The three extra wrestlers for each team will not score any points towards the team title.    The following is a preview of the team race and each individual weight class. There are 59 nationally-ranked wrestlers that are scheduled to compete in this year's tournament. All rankings are from Amateur Wrestling News unless otherwise denoted.    Team Race:  Five of the teams are ranked in the top 25 in the country. Top-ranked Oklahoma State will be favored to win the team title. Currently the Cowboys have eight wrestlers ranked in the top five at their respective weight classes. 10th-ranked Arizona State should make a push towards the top of the team standings. The Sun Devils chances will be hindered with 157-pounder Rocky Smart still out of the lineup because of injuries.    17th-ranked Edinboro, 23rd-ranked Boise State, and 24-ranked Fresno State are poised to make a run at the top also. Other teams that could be in contention for team honors included Clarion, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Oregon, and Cal-Poly.    125  This weight is probably the most balanced in the tournament. There are three returning All-Americans in this weight class. This weight will include six of the nation's top 20 ranked wrestlers. Boise State's Ben Vombaur was an All-American last year will be the slight favorite at 125. He was 3rd at the Las Vegas Invitational last week. Oklahoma State's Skyler Holman and North Carolina's Chris Rodrigues were both All-Americans last year as well and look to challenge Vombaur for the title. Holman is expect to return to action in Reno after sitting out last weeks dual with Oklahoma with a minor knee injury.    Cal-Poly's 12th-ranked Vic Moreno finished 6th at Las Vegas and looks to improve on his national ranking. Appalachian State's 18th-ranked Richard Caisse and Edinboro's 20th-ranked Jacob Gray will also look to contend for medal honors.    Others to watch: Jared Opfer (Kent State) posted a 31-10 record last year. Peter Derstine (Clarion) is of to a 13-4 start this year. Tom Schurkamp (UC-Davis) is also capable of making a run at placing at this weight. Duke's Tommy Hoang is a two-time NCAA qualifier and could be a factor in this weight.    133  This weight has eight wrestlers ranked in the national top 20. Oklahoma State's defending national champion Johnny Thompson will be a solid favorite in this weight class. The junior is a two-time national finalist and will be returning after missing OSU's last two duals with a knee injury.    Thompson will have a tough road to the championship as this weight class is a very deep one. UC-Davis' 12th-ranked Urijah Faber is coming off a 4th-place finish at Las Vegas. Shawn Bunch of Edinboro is ranked #13 and is a very talented redshirt sophomore. Matt Sanchez of Cal. State-Bakersfield is ranked #14 and placed 5th at Las Vegas. Clarion's Rad Martinez is off to a 14-2 start and is ranked #19.    Mike Simpson of Arizona State is ranked #18 and finished 8th at Las Vegas. Travis Drake of Appalachian State is ranked #20 and should contend for a medal. Evan Sola of North Carolina has gain some attention around the nation as he is ranked #14 by W.I.N. magazine.    Others to watch: Jesse Brock (Bosie State) and Jason Harless (Oregon)    141  This is another very talented weight class. Zack Esposito from Oklahoma State is ranked #2 in the country. The true freshman is undefeated on the year and has five wins over top ten ranked wrestlers. He will be challenged by Arizona State's Dana Holland. He is ranked #4 in the country and is coming off a 1st-place finish at Las Vegas.    Edinboro's Corey Ace was an All-American last year at 133, and is currently ranked #8. Boise State's 12th-ranked Gabe Vigil placed 3rd at Las Vegas and can be a factor at in this weight class. Brian Baglio from North Carolina is ranked #19 as a freshman. Embry-Riddle's Danny Cadwallader is ranked #8 in NAIA and looks to challenge some of the best in Division I.    Others to watch: Jaun Mora (Cal. State-Fullerton) is off to a 7-0 start. Clarion's Frank Edgar is 11-4 on the season. Evan Larkin (Arizona State) and Ronnie Delk (Oklahoma State) could also be a factor in this weight.    149  This weight will feature six wrestlers ranked in the top 20. Arizona State's Eric Larkin is ranked #1 and is a returning NCAA runner-up. He solidified the #1 ranking at Las Vegas where he captured the title by defeating the defending national champion Jared Lawrence of Minnesota.    Oklahoma State's Jerrod Sanders is ranked #5. He lost a 4-2 decision to Larkin in the finals of the Kaufmann-Brand Open in Omaha last month. Collin Robertson of Boise State is ranked #11 and is coming off of a 5th-place finish at Las Vegas. Justin Gionvinco of Pittsburgh is ranked #13 and will be looking to challenge at this weight.    Ralph Lopez of Fresno State is ranked #17 by W.I.N. magazine. Veteran Joe Calavitta from Embry-Riddle is ranked #3 in NAIA.    Others to watch: Tony Overstake (Oregon) had a 27-9 campaign last year. Freshman Ron Doppelheuer (Edinboro) is off to an 8-1 start. Junior College transfer Patrick Williams (Arizona State) is very athletic and has split time this year between 149 and 157.    157  Oklahoma State's 2nd-ranked Shane Roller should be a solid favorite at this weight. He is a two-time All-American. Appalachian State's Mike Tolar is ranked #18 and will pose the biggest threat to Roller. Rocky Smart of Arizona State is still out of the Sun Devil lineup with an injury.    Others to watch: Jeremy Reitz (Clarion) is off to an 11-3 start. Jeremiah Jarvis (UC-Davis) posted a 22-14 record last year and should contend for medals at this weight. Ben Baca and Jim Medeiros are both from Fresno State and could be a factor at this weight. Eric Ring (Edinboro) and Jimmy Grochowsky (Southern Oregon) could also be a factor.    165  Oklahoma State's 2nd-ranked Tyrone Lewis will be the favorite at this weight. The sophomore is already a two-time All-American and is undefeated on the year.    Lewis' biggest challenge could come from either Edinboro's 8th-ranked Matt King or Kent State's 14th-ranked Nick Nemeth. Arizona State's Nick Frost is ranked 16th and is coming off a 6th place finish at Las Vegas. Embry-Riddle's Pat Cadwallader was the NAIA National Champion last year at 157. Southern Oregon's Chris Huntly is ranked #2 in the NAIA. Duke's Michael Mitchell is a NCAA qaulifier and could be a factor at this weight.    Others to watch: Luke Larwin (Oregon) and Jimmy O'Connor (North Carolina) could contend for placing at this weight. Brian Wilson (Emery-Riddle) is ranked #4 in the NAIA.    174  This is a very tough and balanced weight class. Oklahoma State's Chris Pendleton is ranked #2 and is undefeated on the year. The redshirt sophomore will be the slight favorite in this weight class.    Appalachian State Senior Mark Fee is currently ranked #7. Fee was an All-American last season at 165. Oregon sophomore Shane Webster is ranked #9. Fee and Webster should pose this biggest threat to Pendleton.    Arizona State's Curtis Owen is ranked #12, and is coming off a 5th-place finish at Las Vegas where he took the defending NCAA Champion Greg Jones of West Virginia into a tiebreaker before Jones prevailed. Carl Fronhofer of Pittsburgh is ranked 18th while Fresno State's Eddie Gifford is ranked #19.    Others to watch: Chris Carlino (Cal. State-Fullerton) is off to a 6-1 start. Matt Montiero (Cal. State-Bakersfield) is off to a 7-2 start. Patrick Owens (Boise State), Ken Clark (Kent State), Dave Gardner (Clarion), Chad Reid (Oklahoma State), and Mark Canty (North Carolina) could be factors in this weight.    184  Princeton's NCAA runner-up Greg Parker will be the one to beat at this weight. He is currently ranke