The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Team Race
The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Team Race
Here's what to expect and what to look out for regarding the Cliff Keen Las Vegas team race.
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Ohio State took the Cliff Keen crown last year. With three champs, the Buckeyes out-pointed runner-up Michigan by 15.5 points. Who will be top dawg of the 2018 tournament? We will investigate.
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To project the final team scores, we will look to the preseeds. I'll post them at the bottom of this article so as not to dominate your screen with a giant table.
Since each weight will have 40+ competitors, we'll have full NCAA style brackets with eight placers. Preseeds get us most of the way there as far as projecting team points, but 24 wrestlers will score at least half a point for advancement, so we need to project a few more placers on our own.
Don't worry too much about who we placed in those spots between 25th place and the last preseed. It was done in haste (we have deadlines!) and this is all for entertainment purposes only.
And now, here are the projected team point totals (advancement and placement points only, no bonus points were factored in).
RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS |
1 | Ohio State | 106 |
2 | Nebraska | 79 |
3 | Michigan | 78.5 |
4 | Missouri | 70.5 |
5 | UNI | 64 |
6 | Northwestern | 61 |
7 | Minnesota | 56 |
8 | Rutgers | 54 |
9 | Virginia Tech | 49 |
10 | North Carolina | 47.5 |
11 | Oregon State | 41.5 |
12 | Purdue | 38 |
13 | Illinois | 37.5 |
14 | Cornell | 37 |
15 | Pittsburgh | 30 |
16 | Utah Valley | 28.5 |
17 | Wyoming | 27 |
18 | Drexel | 24 |
19 | Oklahoma | 20.5 |
20 | Stanford | 20.5 |
21 | Virginia | 20.5 |
22 | Clarion | 14 |
23 | Duke | 14 |
24 | ND State | 13 |
25 | Navy | 12 |
26 | Brown | 10.5 |
27 | Central Michigan | 10.5 |
28 | Fresno State | 8 |
29 | Campbell | 6.5 |
30 | Cal State Bakersfield | 6 |
31 | American | 4.5 |
32 | Harvard | 4 |
33 | Hofstra | 3.5 |
34 | Binghamton | 3 |
35 | Air Force | 2.5 |
36 | California Poly | 2.5 |
37 | The Citadel | 2.5 |
38 | N. Colorado | 1 |
39 | Nebraska-Kearney | 1 |
40 | California Baptist | 0.5 |
41 | Highline College | 0 |
42 | Western Wyoming | 0 |
Ohio State will start the 2018 CKLV as favorites to repeat as champions, which would be their third in a row, as they edged out Wisconsin by five points in 2016. Missouri, who returns to the CKLV after a two year absence, won in 2015.
Below we'll go weight by weight to see what the pivotal matchups will be with regards to the team race.
125 Pounds
Michigan needs Drew Mattin to wrestle like he did last year, when he knocked off two All-Americans and placed fourth. If he ends up with the eighth seed, he'll have a very difficult quarterfinal bout with the electric Ronnie Bresser.
Nebraska will have a lot riding on Zeke Moisey. Injuries may be Moisey's biggest obstacle, but if he's healthy, and preseeds hold, he'll have a winnable quarterfinal match against Virginia's Louie Hayes.
133 Pounds
It appears Stevan Micic is still nursing a leg injury he picked up wrestling overseas this summer. His health, and points, will be critical for Michigan's team race.
If Micic doesn't wrestle, it's a big opportunity for Ohio State's Luke Pletcher, who will then be favored to make the finals, where Rutgers' Nick Suriano will likely be waiting.
141 Pounds
Joey McKenna secured the #1 seed, which would be big points for Ohio State. McKenna missed last year's CKLV due to his participation in the 2017 U23 World Championships. Oklahoma's Dom Demas is a dark horse who might be able to upset McKenna in the quarterfinals. Demas is a home run threat from neutral, and a landmine for anyone in the bracket.
149 Pounds
This is Missouri's chance to make up some ground, as Grant Leeth is in a battle royale with Rutgers' Anthony Ashnault and Ohio State's Micah Jordan for an individual title.
157 Pounds
This may be one of Ohio State's most vulnerable weight, as Ke-Shawn Hayes will be manning the division for the Buckeyes. Though he is extremely talented, Hayes is also new to 157-pounds. He will have a tough test with the funky Taleb Rahmani of Pittsburgh in the quarters and then a war with two-time All-American Tyler Beger of Nebraska in the semis with critical team points on the line.
165 Pounds
Logan Massa suffered an injury at last year's CKLV that appeared to linger all season long. He's looked healthy and in rare form so far this season, which is great news for Michigan. This is also a weight where Michigan can pick up big points on Ohio State, as Massa has the top seed and Ohio State will likely go unseeded.
174 Pounds
Like the previous weight class, Michigan can gain serious ground on their rival at 174. Two-time All-American Myles Amine will be the #1 seed and once again, the Buckeyes will not be favored to finish on the podium. Amine will also benefit from the fact that Virginia Tech's David McFadden will probably not be competing in Vegas, despite being registered and receiving a preseed.
Amine will still have a tough go in the semis, most likely against Mikey Labriola of Nebraska. It would be a huge team point benefit for the Huskers if the redshirt freshman can pull off the upset.
184 Pounds
There are six All-Americans in this weight class as well as some serious up and coming young talent, so whoever makes the podium will have earned those team points. Ohio State's Myles Martin headlines the division, and the tournament, as the only national champ registered. Nebraska will be counting on Taylor Venz to do some damage in this loaded bracket, as will Virginia Tech with Zack Zavatsky.
Venz vs Zavatsky could be a huge semifinal match, but that assumes they both get there, which is no sure thing, as landmines abound at 184.
197 Pounds
Kollin Moore is heavily favored to win this division, which could cement the team title for the Buckeyes. With Northern Iowa's Jacob Holschlag likely not competing, Moore is the only All-American in the group, which means the next seven places are wide open with team points up for grabs.
Though only seeded 6th and 7th respectively, Virginia Tech's Tom Sleigh and Michigan Jaackson Triggow could make deep runs in this tournament.
285 Pounds
Minnesota is counting on, and will likely get, first place and bonus points from their true freshman phenom Gable Steveson. Ohio State, Michigan, and Nebraska are all expected to be absent from the podium, so perhaps Missouri's young Zach Elam can make some noise and pick up some points for the Tigers form the nine seed.
And now below, please find the table of preseeds along with their corresponding rank.
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 125 | Ronnie Bresser | Oregon State | 3 |
2 | 125 | Sebastian Rivera | Northwestern | 2 |
3 | 125 | Sean Russell | Minnesota | 8 |
4 | 125 | Louie Hayes | Virginia | 6 |
5 | 125 | Zeke Moisey | Nebraska | 9 |
6 | 125 | Travis Piotrowski | Illinois | 10 |
7 | 125 | Devin Schroder | Purdue | 13 |
8 | 125 | Drew Mattin | Michigan | 16 |
9 | 125 | Gabe Townsell | Stanford | 15 |
10 | 125 | Jay Schwarm | UNI | 19 |
11 | 125 | Cole Verner | Wyoming | 20 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 133 | Stevan Micic | Michigan | 3 |
2 | 133 | Nick Suriano | Rutgers | 2 |
3 | 133 | Luke Pletcher | Ohio State | 5 |
4 | 133 | Ethan Lizak | Minnesota | 7 |
5 | 133 | John Erneste | Missouri | 10 |
6 | 133 | Montorie Bridges | Wyoming | 13 |
7 | 133 | Micky Phillippi | Pittsburgh | 17 |
8 | 133 | Chas Tucker | Cornell | UR |
9 | 133 | Korbin Myers | Virginia Tech | 12 |
10 | 133 | Dylan Duncan | Illinois | 11 |
11 | 133 | Ben Thornton | Purdue | UR |
12 | 133 | Cameron Sykora | ND State | 15 |
13 | 133 | Colin Valdiviez | Northwestern | 16 |
14 | 133 | Sean Nickell | Cal State Bakersfield | 18 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 141 | Joey McKenna | Ohio State | 2 |
2 | 141 | Jaydin Eierman | Missouri | 3 |
3 | 141 | Michael Carr | Illinois | 7 |
4 | 141 | Josh Alber | UNI | 11 |
5 | 141 | Nicholas Gil | Navy | 16 |
6 | 141 | Matthew Findlay | Utah Valley | 8 |
7 | 141 | Chad Red | Nebraska | 10 |
8 | 141 | Dom Demas | Oklahoma | 15 |
9 | 141 | Nate Limmex | Purdue | 18 |
10 | 141 | Kanen Storr | Michigan | 19 |
11 | 141 | Yahya Thomas | Northwestern | 20 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 149 | Anthony Ashnault | Rutgers | 3 |
2 | 149 | Micah Jordan | Ohio State | 2 |
3 | 149 | Grant Leeth | Missouri | 4 |
4 | 149 | Max Thomsen | UNI | 6 |
5 | 149 | Mitch Finesilver | Duke | 9 |
6 | 149 | Brock Zacherl | Clarion | 8 |
7 | 149 | Austin O'Connor | North Carolina | 10 |
8 | 149 | Tommy Thorn | Minnesota | 13 |
9 | 149 | Ryan Blees | Virginia Tech | 17 |
10 | 149 | Josh Heil | Campbell University | 15 |
11 | 149 | Russell Rohlfing | CSU Bakersfield | 18 |
12 | 149 | Jared Prince | Navy | 20 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 157 | Tyler Berger | Nebraska | 4 |
2 | 157 | Ryan Deakin | Northwestern | 6 |
3 | 157 | Kennedy Monday | North Carolina | 7 |
4 | 157 | Ke-Shawn Hayes | Ohio State | 5 |
5 | 157 | Taleb Rahmani | Pittsburgh | 10 |
6 | 157 | John Van Brill | Rutgers | 20 |
7 | 157 | Hunter Willits | Oregon State | 17 |
8 | 157 | Griffin Parriott | Purdue | 18 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 165 | Logan Massa | Michigan | 5 |
2 | 165 | Branson Ashworth | Wyoming | 9 |
3 | 165 | Bryce Steiert | UNI | 7 |
4 | 165 | Isaiah White | Nebraska | 10 |
5 | 165 | Joey Gunther | Illinois | 14 |
6 | 165 | Connor Flynn | Missouri | 15 |
7 | 165 | Mekhi Lewis | Virginia Tech | 16 |
8 | 165 | Demetrius Romero | Utah Valley | 13 |
9 | 165 | Andrew Fogarty | ND State | 11 |
10 | 165 | Jonathan Viruet | Brown | 19 |
11 | 165 | Cam Coy | Virginia | UR |
12 | 165 | Jake Wentzel | Pittsburgh | 18 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 174 | Myles Amine | Michigan | 3 |
2 | 174 | Daniel Lewis | Missouri | 4 |
3 | 174 | David McFadden | Virginia Tech | 5 |
4 | 174 | Taylor Lujan | UNI | 9 |
5 | 174 | Mikey Labriola | Nebraska | 11 |
6 | 174 | Dylan Lydy | Purdue | 15 |
7 | 174 | Johnny Sebastian | Northwestern | 13 |
8 | 174 | Brandon Womack | Cornell | 16 |
9 | 174 | Kimball Bastian | Utah Valley | 20 |
10 | 174 | Matt Finesilver | Duke | 18 |
11 | 174 | Devin Skatzka | Minnesota | UR |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 184 | Myles Martin | Ohio State | 1 |
2 | 184 | Taylor Venz | Nebraska | 3 |
3 | 184 | Zack Zavatsky | Virginia Tech | 4 |
4 | 184 | Chip Ness | North Carolina | 9 |
5 | 184 | Max Dean | Cornell | 8 |
6 | 184 | Drew Foster | UNI | 10 |
7 | 184 | Nino Bonaccorsi | Pittsburgh | 13 |
8 | 184 | Christian Lafragola | Brown | 18 |
9 | 184 | Louie DePrez | Binghamton | 16 |
10 | 184 | Jelani Embree | Michigan | NR |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 197 | Kollin Moore | Ohio State | 3 |
2 | 197 | Nathan Traxler | Stanford | 8 |
3 | 197 | Corey Griego | Oregon State | 12 |
4 | 197 | Stephen Loiseau | Drexel | 9 |
5 | 197 | Christian Brunner | Purdue | 10 |
6 | 197 | Tom Sleigh | Virginia Tech | 17 |
7 | 197 | Jackson Striggow | Michigan | 16 |
8 | 197 | Jake Woodley | Oklahoma | 15 |
9 | 197 | Ben Honis | Cornell | UR |
10 | 197 | Eric Schultz | Nebraska | 18 |
11 | 197 | Zach Chakonis | Northwestern | 20 |
Preseed | Weight | Name | School | Rank |
1 | 285 | Gable Steveson | Minnesota | 3 |
2 | 285 | Conan Jennings | Northwestern | 9 |
3 | 285 | Jeramy Sweany | Cornell | 11 |
4 | 285 | Cory Daniel | North Carolina | 12 |
5 | 285 | Joey Goodhart | Drexel | 19 |
6 | 285 | Tate Orndorff | Utah Valley | 15 |
7 | 285 | Matt Stencel | Central Michigan | 13 |
8 | 285 | AJ Nevills | Fresno State | 17 |
9 | 285 | Zach Elam | Missouri | NR |