Michigan
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Wolverines to Wrap First-Semester Action at Annual CKLV Invitational
12/4/2019 2:37:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 22 Michigan will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the 38th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, slated for Fri-Sat., Dec. 6-7, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
» Seven Wolverines are slated to make their Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational debuts this weekend; Michigan has crowed four CKLV champions over the last three seasons and took fifth place as a team in 2018.
» Mason Parris, ranked as high as No. 2 nationally at heavyweight, remains undefeated on the season and has won his two previous tournament appearances.
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sat., Dec. 6-7 -- at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, Nev.), 9 a.m. PST
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The No. 22-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 38th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 6-7) 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 32 teams, including 11 teams ranked in the most recent NWCA poll. In addition to the Maize and Blue, headlining the participating teams are No. 2 Nebraska, No. 4 Arizona State, No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 6 North Carolina State and No. 7 Ohio State.
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
| Wgt. | Name | Year/Elig. | Hometown (High School) |
| 125 | Jack Medley | Jr./So. | Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay) |
| 133 | Austin Assad | 5th/Sr. | Northfield, Ohio (Brecksville) |
| 141 | Cole Mattin | Fr./Fr. | Delta, Ohio (Delta) |
| 149 | Ben Lamantia | Gr./Sr. | Commack, N.Y. (St. Anthony's) |
| 157 | Will Lewan | So./Fr. | Chicago, Ill. (Montini Catholic) |
| 165 | Layne Van Anrooy | Jr./So. | Roseburg, Ore. (Roseburg) |
| 174 | Max Maylor | So./Fr. | Highland, Wis. (Highland) |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | Jr./So. | Eastpointe, Mich. (Warren Lincoln) |
| 197 | J.T. Correll | Jr./So. | Easton, Pa. (Blair Academy) |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | So./So. | Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) |
History Lesson: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Michigan has competed in the annual tournament 37 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 16 of the last 25 seasons at the annual tournament, including first-place showings in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007. The Wolverines took fifth place at last year's event with six placewinners, most notably champion Myles Amine (174 pounds).
Wolverine Bites
• Seven Wolverines are slated to make their Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational debuts this weekend. Of U-M's projected lineup, only fifth-year senior Austin Assad and junior/sophomores Layne Van Anrooy and Jelani Embree have previously competed at the annual tournament -- Assad in 2016-17 and Van Anrooy and Embree last season.
• Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris remains unbeaten on the season with a 10-0 record, including five wins over nationally-ranked opponents, and is ranked as high as No. 2 in the national polls. He owns three wins over Central Michigan's No. 7 Matt Stencel, including 9-2 and 4-0 decisions in the finals at the MSU Open (Nov. 2) and Black Knight Invite (Nov. 17). In addition to his wins against CMU's Stencil, Parris has defeated Pittsburgh's No. 9 Demetrius Thomas, 15-3, and North Carolina's No. 20 Andrew Gunning, 4-0. He has earned bonus points in five of his 10 wins this year.
• Parris was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Black Knight Invite, posting a 3-0 record en route to the heavyweight title. He earned a fall (1:42) and a 13-2 major decision against Army opponents before using a second-period rideout and a low-level double leg in the third to defeat Central Michigan's Stencel the final.
• Sophomore/freshman Will Lewan captured the Black Knight Invite title at 157 pounds with a 3-0 record and a 5-2 decision against Army's Luke Weiland in thd championship bout behind a pair of third-period takedowns. It was Lewan's second collegiate tournament title and his second top-three finish this season. Lewan is 9-2 on the year and ranked as high as 11th nationally.
• Freshman Cole Mattin came out of redshirt against Central Michigan (Nov. 24) and earned a dramatic 11-8 comeback win against Dresden Simon at 141 pounds. Mattin overcame essentially a five-point deficit -- 5-1 plus riding time -- with a feet-to-back single leg for six points midway through the third period. Mattin placed in both of his tournament appearances while competing unattached, taking fourth place in the freshman/sophomore division at the MSU Open and second at the Ohio Intercollegiate Open (Nov. 10).
• Sophomore/freshman Max Maylor was also victorious in his dual-meet debut against Central Michigan, pinning the Chippewas' Jake Lowell at the 4:55 mark of the 174-pound match to put the Wolverines ahead for good in the dual. Maylor made his varsity debut a week earlier at the Black Knight Invite, where he took sixth place.
• Junior/sophomore Jelani Embree is 9-2 on the season. He has placed top-three at both tournament appearances this season, including a runner-up finish at the MSU Open, where he posted a 4-1 record while reversing two losses from last season's Big Ten Championships. Embree used a last-second takedown in the tiebreaker to edge Michigan State's 12th-ranked Cameron Caffey, 10-8, in the semifinals, building a big early lead before finishing on an inside trip on the edge to seal it. He also beat Purdue's 17th-ranked Max Lyon, 5-4, behind a first-period takedown and a late escape and locked-hands penalty in the third. Embree lost to Caffey, 7-1, and Lyon, 6-5, at Big Tens to end his season last year.
• Four Wolverines are taking Olympic redshirts for the 2019-20 season -- fifth-year seniors Myles Amine and Logan Massa, graduate student Stevan Micic and senior/junior Kanen Storr. Micic and Amine have already qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after placing fifth at 57kg/125 pounds and 86kg/189 pounds, respectively, at the UWW World Championships held September in Kazakhstan. Massa and Storr will look to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. None of the four are currently enrolled in classes this semester and will retain the year of NCAA eligibility through the athletics activity waiver.
U-M Individual Rankings
| Wt. | Wrestler | InterMat | Flo | TW | TOM | AWN |
| 157 | Will Lewan | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 16 |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | 15 | 17 | 20 | NR | 13 |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | NR | NR | 29 | NR | NR |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Last Time Out
The Wolverines claimed five of the final six bouts to surge to a 22-12 win against Central Michigan in their latest outing before the Thanksgiving break (Nov. 24). Freshman Cole Mattin and sophomore/freshman Max Maylor won in their dual-meet debuts at 141 and 174 pounds, respectively, with Maylor putting Michigan ahead for good with a second-period fall. Junior/sophomore Jelani Embree also earned bonus points with a 16-6 major decision at 184 pounds, and sophomore Mason Parris put a cap on the team win with a 4-1 decision over seventh-ranked Matt Stencel -- his third win over the Chippewa this season. [ Full Recap ]
Up Next
Sunday, Jan. 5 -- vs. Oregon State (Cliff Keen Arena), 4 p.m.
Players Mentioned
