Takedown Report

Wolverines Claim Second Place at CKLV Invitational, Put Five on Podium

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The University of Michigan wrestling team claimed second place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with five individual placewinners — four in the top four at their respective weights — on Saturday (Dec. 6) at the Westgate Hotel Paradise Event Center. It was the Wolverines’ highest finish at the annual tournament in eight years.
Redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona was the Wolverines’ top performer with a runner-up finish at 184 pounds, improving on his seventh-place showing last season at 165 pounds. Mantanona fell 5-0 to Franklin and Marshall’s 12th-ranked James Conway in the championship match. He could not finish on a single in the air in the first period, then gave up a last-second takedown on the edge to fall behind 3-0 after the first. Conway added an escape point and rode out the third to seal the win.
Mantanona, the top seed and ranked seventh nationally, cruised to an 18-5 major decision against Oklahoma’s 13th-ranked Brian Soldano in the morning semifinals. The Wolverine freshman scored four takedowns, including two in the third period and one at the final buzzer, and a four-point cradle in the first. Mantanona is 9-2 on the season with four ranked wins and five bonus wins.
The Wolverines went 8-1 in the morning session with eight bonus wins to surge back from fifth to second place. Redshirt sophomore Beau Mantanona and graduate student Taye Ghadiali bounced back from quarterfinal losses to post 6-1 records and claim third place at 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.
Beau Mantanona, seeded third and ranked 13th, avenged his only loss of the tournament in the medal round, using a counter scramble takedown midway through the third and 1:23 in riding-time advantage to earn a 6-3 decision against South Dakota State’s 24th-ranked Moses Espinoza-Owens. He cradled and pinned Cal Poly’s Cash Stewart at 1:16 in his first bout of the day, … more at … https://mgoblue.com/news/2025/12/6/wrestling-wolverines-claim-second-place-at-cklv-invitational-put-five-on-podium

December 14, 2025 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | sports