Michigan
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Day 1)
Wolverines Head West for Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
11/28/2017 5:06:00 PM | Wrestling
» Michigan will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 36th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, slated for Fri-Sat., Dec. 1-2, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
» Logan Massa (165 pounds) and Adam Coon (Hwt) return to the CKLV as past champions, while Stevan Micic (133), Alec Pantaleo (157) and Domenic Abounader (184) have all previously claimed runner-up honors.
» Micic, Massa, Coon and Kevin Beazley (197) remain undefeated on the season.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., Dec. 1-2 -- at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nev.), 9 a.m. PST
Brackets/Live Results | Live Video | Twitter Updates | CKLV Site
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
Game Day Information: Cliff Keen Arena Information | Ticket Information
The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (1-1) will take its annual trip out west this weekend, heading to Las Vegas, Nevada, to compete in the 36th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 1-2) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Action will begin at 9 a.m. PST both days of competition, with the championship round slated for 3 p.m. PST on Saturday afternoon.
This year's field at the Cliff Keen Invitational will feature 45 teams, including 15 teams ranked in the most-recent NWCA poll. In addition to the ninth-ranked Maize and Blue, headlining the participating teams are No. 2 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska and No. 14 Cornell.
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
|
Wgt. |
Name |
Year/Elig. |
Hometown (High School) |
|
125 |
Fr./Fr. |
Delta, Ohio (Delta) |
|
|
133 |
Jr./So. |
Cedar Lake, Ind. (Hanover Central) |
|
|
141 |
Jr./So. |
Monroe Twp, N.J. (Monroe Township) |
|
|
149 |
Sr./Jr. |
Brighton, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
157 |
Sr./Jr. |
Canton, Mich. (Canton) |
|
|
165 |
Jr./So. |
St. Johns, Mich. (St. Johns) |
|
|
174 |
Jr./So. |
Brington, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
184 |
5th/Sr. |
Gates Mills, Ohio (St. Edward) |
|
|
197 |
Gr./Sr. |
Highland, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
Hwt |
Gr./Sr. |
Fowlerville, Mich. (Fowlerville) |
History Lesson: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Michigan has competed in the annual tournament 35 times dating back to 1983, missing only the first year of the tournament in 1982. Formerly known as the Las Vegas Classic, the tournament was renamed the Cliff Keen Invitational in 1993 to honor former Michigan wrestling coach and collegiate wrestling icon Cliff Keen. The tournament is run by a pair of former Michigan wrestlers -- three-time NCAA champion Mark Churella Sr. (1976-79) and Mark Churella Jr. (2001), who serve as executive director and tournament director, respectively.
Michigan has placed fifth or better in 14 of the last 23 seasons at the annual tournament, including first-place showings in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007. The Wolverines took ninth place at last year's event with three placewinners, most notably champion Logan Massa (165) and runner-up Stevan Micic (133).
WOLVERINE BITES
• Junior/sophomore Logan Massa and graduate student Adam Coon return to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational as past champions, with Massa capturing the 165-pound title last season and Coon claiming the heavyweight crown in 2014 -- both during their freshman campaigns. Junior/sophomore Stevan Micic, senior/junior Alec Pantaleo and fifth-year senior Domenic Abounader have all previously recorded runner-up finishes, while junior/sophomore Myles Amine claimed third place last season.
• Micic, Massa, Coon and graduate student Kevin Beazley stand as the lone undefeated Wolverines in the starting lineup. Massa (6-0), Beazley (5-0) and Coon (5-0) captured titles at the season-opening MSU Open (Nov. 5) and are unbeaten in dual-meet competition, while Micic is just 1-0 after missing the MSU Open due to the All-Star Classic exhibition and the Lehigh dual due to a slight injury.
• Massa has claimed bonus points in five of his six matches on the season with a pin, a technical fall and three major decisions. His only regular decision was a 6-0 win against Arizona State's sixth-ranked Anthony Valencia in the MSU Open final. He rallied from an early deficit to defeat Valencia by major decision, 11-3, in the dual-meet opener a week later.
• With his 5-0 mark, Coon has improved his career record to 92-13 over his four seasons at Michigan, with nearly half of his wins (45) coming with bonus points. He needs just eight more wins to become the 36th Wolverine wrestler to reach 100 in his career.
• Like Massa, Coon has already earned three wins against ranked opposition this season, most notably a 5-2 decision against Arizona State's then-No. 4-ranked Tanner Hall in the dual-meet opener. He has also defeated Northwestern's 14th-ranked Conan Jennings by fall (1:43) and earned a 6-2 decision against Lehigh's 13th-ranked Jordan Wood.
• Beazley was victorious in his Michigan dual-meet debut, earning a 7-2 decision against Arizona State's Cade Belshay at 197 pounds behind takedowns in the first and second periods. Beazley also leads the Wolverines with three falls this season, earning pins in three of his four matches en route to an MSU Open crown.
• Freshman Drew Mattin came out of redshirt in the Wolverines' dual at Lehigh (Nov. 19), where he dropped a 7-0 decision to defending NCAA champion and fourth-ranked Darian Cruz at 125 pounds -- with six of the seven points coming in the first period. Mattin, who is ranked 18th by InterMat, owns two wins over nationally ranked opposition, defeating Edinboro's No. 6 Sean Russell (6-3) and Northern Illinois' No. 14 Brock Hudkins (6-5) en route to the EMU Open title.
U-M Individual Rankings
|
Wt. |
Wrestler |
InterMat |
TW |
Flo |
TOM |
WIN |
|
125 |
18 |
17 |
20 |
19 |
NR |
|
|
133 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
157 |
11 |
15 |
12 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
165 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
174 |
6 |
8 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
|
|
184 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
|
|
197 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
Hwt |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
LAST TIME OUT
The Wolverines suffered their first dual loss of the season at No. 10 Lehigh, dropping each of the first five matches to fall, 27-8, on Nov. 19. Junior/sophomore Logan Massa and graduate student Adam Coon provided the only wins for the Wolverines, defeating ranked opponents at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Michigan dropped upset losses at 157, 174 and 184 pounds. [ Full Recap ]
UP NEXT
Sunday, Dec. 1-10 -- vs. Oregon State (Cliff Keen Arena), 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
