Takedown Report

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Results

Iowa State wins team title at 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, led by individual champion Bastida
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The tenth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones, led by one individual champion and five place winners, improved on a day one lead to win the team title at the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday afternoon. 
Iowa State scored 130.5 points, with 2022 team champions Nebraska in second with 125.5 points. Rounding out the top five teams were third place Ohio State with 123.5 points, fourth place NC State with 115 points and Oregon State with 98.5 points. Yonger Bastida became Iowa State’s lone champion and first since 2014 after defeating Michigan’s Lucas Davison in the finals at 285 pounds. Davison scored first with an escape in the second period, but Bastida jumped ahead with a reversal in the third to take a 2-1 lead. The match was tied for a majority of the final period following another Davison escape point, but Bastida captured the 5-3 win with a takedown while nine seconds remained.
Nebraska saw two individual champions in top-ranked Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds and No. 3 Peyton Robb at 157 pounds. Lovett edged out Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson in a 4-3 decision in the finals. The Cornhusker opened up the scoring with an early takedown, and it was an escape point scored in the second that pushed Lovett ahead in the final. … story at … Themat.com/news/Iowa-state-wins-team-title-at-2023-cliff-keen-las-vegas-invitational

Iowa State Wins Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
LAS VEGAS – Iowa State won its first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational team title since 1996, and fifth overall, Saturday inside the Westgate Paradise Event Center. Yonger Bastida highlighted ISU’s tournament with a heavyweight title after he defeated Michigan’s No. 3 Lucas Davison, 5-3, in the championship match. Seven Cyclones finished on the podium to give ISU a team total of 130.5, edging Nebraska’s 125.5. Bonus points were key in lifting ISU to its title. The Cyclones won 24 matches with bonus points: five falls, eight tech falls and 11 major decisions. 
Bastida went 5-0 with four bonus-point victories en route to his individual title, the first for Iowa State in the tournament since Kyven Gadson in 2014. The Cuban was in on a leg several times during the match but finally earned the takedown with nine seconds remaining to win it.
Evan Frost and Will Feldkamp both recorded runner-up finishes while David Carr placed third. Casey Swiderski notched a fifth-place finish, Anthony Echemendia placed seventh and MJ Gaitan finished in eighth. Frost wrestled NC State’s top-seeded Kai Orine to a scoreless first period in the 133-pound championship match.  Orine turned Frost for near fall points twice in the second period before the Cyclone managed to escape, but Orine would add a takedown to his tally before the period’s end. Frost got a takedown back in the final period but was unable to close the gap as he fell, 12-4, to Orine.
In the 165-pound third-place match, Carr pushed the pace against Michigan’s Cam Amine and earned a stall point and an escape in the second period. As he has done often before, Carr put on a stellar third-period ride to clinch a riding time point. Amine would escape with 12 seconds left, but the Cyclone would notch the victory, 3-1. … story at … Cyclones.com/Iowa-state-wins-cliff-keen-las-vegas-invitational

NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS FINISH SECOND AT CLIFF KEEN
Las Vegas – Two Huskers claimed individual titles as the Nebraska wrestling team finished second at the 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational. 
Ridge Lovett (149) and Peyton Robb (157) finished atop their weight classes as NU amassed 125.5 team points. 
Finals
Lovett (149) won five-straight matches, including three bonus-point victories, to win the Cliff Keen title. He met Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Caleb Henson in the finals where he defeated him 4-3. Robb (157) became the second 2023 Cliff Keen champ as he won his second-straight title in Vegas. He tallied four-straight victories before he met Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Jacori Teemer and defeated him 6-4. 
Third-place Matches
Caleb Smith (125) finished competition at the Cliff Keen Invite with a third-place finish and a 6-1 record. He won three-straight matches, including an overtime victory against No. 2 Matt Ramos, before meeting Oregon State’s No. 14 Brandon Kaylor and defeating him in overtime, 4-1.  Lenny Pinto (184) won three-straight matches to open the Cliff Keen before falling to top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) in the semifinals. Pinto then defeated Michigan’s Jaden Bullock in the consolation semis before falling to Oklahoma State’s No. 5 Dustin Plott in the third-place match. 
Fifth-place Matches
Brock Hardy (141) opened competition with three-straight victories, including two bonus point victories, en route to a semifinals matchup against Ohio State’s No. 5 Jesse Mendez. Hardy battled, but fell by major decision and moved on to consolation where he finished sixth. 
Silas Allred (197) started with a pin and a major decision before falling by tech. fall to Cornell’s No. 6 Jacob Cardenas in the quarterfinals. In consolation, Allred recorded two-straight bonus-point victories before facing No. 3 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State. Allred fell to Sloan, and then faced Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) and won by decision to finish fifth  … story at … Huskers.com/Lovett-robb-win-individual-titles-huskers-finish-second-at-cliff-keen

Mendez Wins Title, Buckeyes Take Third At Cliff Keen Invite
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jesse Mendez took the 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational Title in the 141-pound bracket to help the Buckeyes to a third-place finish overall at the 41^st annual Las Vegas event.  
Ohio State amassed 125.5 points over the two days to finished third behind Iowa State and Nebraska. … story at … Ohiostatebuckeyes.com/Mendez-wins-title-buckeyes-take-third-at-cliff-keen-invite

Beavers Finish Fifth at Cliff Keen, Wittlake Takes Second at 174
LAS VEGAS – Completing action in the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the 17^th-ranked Oregon State wrestling team finished with a fifth-place result, collecting 98.5 points. Travis Wittlake – ranked 12^th at 174 lbs. – highlighted the OSU squad with a second-place finish while Brandon Kaylor (125) and Boone McDermott (HWT) each had a fourth-place performance. The fifth-place finish was the best team performance by an OSU squad in the Pendleton era and best since the 2012 edition, when they also placed fourth.
Wittlake used a pair of comebacks to win a thriller over 30^th-ranked Danny Wask of Navy by decision at 9-8 in the semifinals. The Coos Bay native battled back from a 3-0 hole early and escaped in the last seconds to clinch a spot in the final. He narrowly fell by decision in a 9-7 bout to seventh-ranked Cade DeVos in the championship. … story at … OSUbeavers.com/Beavers-finish-fifth-at-cliff-keen-wittlake-takes-second-at-174

Izzak Olejnik 165-Pound Champion at CKLV
LAS VEGAS – Oklahoma State wrestler Izzak Olejnik captured the 165-pound title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday, as the Cowboys finished ninth with 78.5 team points. “It was a good day today,” head coach John Smith said. “Won seven of eight matches today with the one loss. Good competition. We got some young ones, we just got to develop them. We’re not too far off.”
In his only match of the morning session, Olejnik pulled out a tight 6-4 decision over third-seeded Cameron Amine of Michigan. Trailing late in the third period, Olejnik got the takedown he needed with three seconds remaining to jump out in front and ice the match. Olejnik was clutch late once again against No. 4 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) in the finals, breaking a 1-1 tie in the third period with a takedown, which was ultimately enough to win. Third-seeded Olejnik went 6-0 on the weekend, two of which were by fall. He is now a perfect 11-0 on the season and owns five victories over ranked opponents. … story at … OKstate.com/Cowboy-wrestling-izzak-olejnik-165-pound-champion-at-cklv

Two Big Red Wrestlers Reach Finals As Cornell Finishes Sixth Overall At Cliff Keen Invite
LAS VEGAS — Two Cornell wrestlers reached the finals in their weight classes on Saturday, and the Big Red finished in 6th place with 93.5 team points in the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.  Junior Julian Ramirez (165 pounds) and sophomore Brett Ungar (125 pounds) placed second in their weight classes, while senior Jacob Cardenas (197 pounds) finished in fourth. Sophomore Vince Cornella (141 pounds) and senior Lewis Fernandes (285 pounds) came in eighth. 
Highlights & Notes
Cornell finished in sixth place as a team with 93.5 points. The Big Red has finished in the top 10 in the Cliff Keen team standings three years in a row.  … story at … Cornellbigred.com/Cliff-keen-day-two-Cornell-finishes-6th-overall

Runner-up Davison Headlines Five Wolverine Placewinners at CKLV Invitational
By: Leah Howard
» Lucas Davison finished heavyweight runner-up after narrowly fallowing to Iowa State’s Younger Bastida 5-3 in the championship match.
» Cameron Amine (165) placed fourth, while Michael DeAugustino (125), Will Lewan (157) and Jaden Bullock (184) all took sixth place.
» Michigan finished in eighth place in the team standings with 81.5 points.
Score: 8th Place of 35 Teams (81.5 points)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team posted five individual placewinners, including a runner-up finish from graduate student Lucas Davison, to claim eighth place (81.5 points) at the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday (Dec. 2) at the Westgate Paradise Event Center.
Davison, ranked third nationally at heavyweight, fell to Iowa State’s seventh-ranked Yonger Bastida 5-3 in the championship match. After staving off a few ISU attacks in the first and scrambling out of a deep single-leg shot late in the second, Davison had an opportunity … story at … Mgoblue.com/Runner-up-davison-headlines-five-wolverine-placewinners-at-cklv-invitational

DEVOS WINS 174-POUND TITLE IN VEGAS
LAS VEGAS — Cade DeVos won the 174-pound title and Tanner Sloan captured third place at 197 pounds to lead the South Dakota State wrestling team Saturday on the final day of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational hosted by the Westgate Paradise Event Center.
DeVos, a senior from Altoona, Iowa, posted two victories Saturday to finish the two-day tournament with a 5-0 record. In semifinal action, the third-seeded DeVos trailed early against second-seeded Carson Kharchla of Ohio State before rallying late for an 11-8 decision. In the finals, DeVos matched up against Oregon State’s … story at … GOjacks.com/Devos-wins-174-pound-title-in-vegas

Keckeisen claims 184-pound title at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Three Panthers medal in largest in-season open competition. UNI returns to action on Dec. 10 for first home dual against Columbia.
LAS VEGAS — Parker Keckeisen became the first Panther to win a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in the Doug Schwab era on Saturday afternoon, winning the 184-pound title to wrap up a successful weekend of action for UNI in the desert.
Keckeisen, ranked number one in the nation in both the Intermat and FloWrestling rankings, grabbed his 13th and 14th career wins over top-ten ranked opponents on Saturday, defeating No. 7/12 Lenny Pinto (Nebraska) in an 8-4 semifinal decision, before taking down No. 9/6 William Feldkamp (Iowa State) in a 14-4 major decision. Keckeisen has now won 20 consecutive regular season matches dating back to last season. … story at … UNIpanthers.com/Keckeisen-claims-184-pound-title-at-cliff-keen-las-vegas-invitational

December 13, 2023 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment