Michigan
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Cardenas Advances to 197-Pound Semis, U-M in Eighth Place at CKLV
12/6/2024 11:59:00 PM | Wrestling
» Jacob Cardenas advanced to the 197-pound semifinals with three technical falls on the day.
» Dylan Ragusin (133 pounds), Sergio Lemley (141), Brock Mantanona (165) and Jaden Bullock are all still alive in the wrestlebacks; Lemley and Mantanona will place at CKLV for the first time in their career.
» Michigan sits in eighth place in the team standings with 55 points after the first day at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational; Oklahoma State leads the team race with 105 points.
Site: Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas Convention Center)
Event: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
Score: 8th Place of 30 Teams (55 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 7 -- at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational - Day 2 (Las Vegas, Nev.), 10 a.m. PST
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Graduate student Jacob Cardenas advanced to the 197-pound semifinals to headline the No. 9-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's first-day action at the 42nd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday (Dec. 6) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. With four more still alive in the consolation bracket, U-M sits in eighth place in the team standings with 55 points.
Cardenas, seeded first and ranked third nationally, earned three technical falls, upping his season total to six in six matches, to advance to the semifinals for the second time in his career. He cruised to a 16-1 win over Iowa State's eighth-seeded Christian Carroll in the quarterfinals, scoring on an ankle pick off the opening whistle and tilting Carroll three times for 10 back points. After an ISU escape, he shot in and wrapped up both ankles to end the bout at the 2:26 mark. Cardenas took fourth place at the CKLV last season while at Cornell.
The Wolverines dropped their other three quarterfinal bouts, with graduate student Dylan Ragusin and sophomore Sergio Lemley bouncing back in their bloodround matches at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Ragusin, seeded first and ranked fourth nationally, was doomed by an early cradle out of a scramble to fall behind six points early in a 10-4 quarterfinal loss against Nebraska's eighth-seeded Jacob Van Dee. He came back with a 10-6 decision over Appalachian State's Chad Bellis in his consolation match, scoring two takedowns and accumulating 1:33 in riding time.
Lemley, seeded fourth and ranked seventh nationally, fell 2-1 in the quarterfinals against Navy's eighth-ranked Josh Koderhandt after a tiebreaker rideout. He bounced back with a 4-1 win over Utah Valley's 15th-ranked Haiden Drury, winning an extended scramble with a takedown at the third-period buzzer. Lemley also earned a gritty 2-0 win in the second round against Stanford's Aden Valencia, using a second-period rideout and a third-period escape to avenge a pair of losses from the summer freestyle season.
Freshman Brock Mantanona and fifth-year senior Jaden Bullock also worked their way back through the consolation bracket to win their bloodround matches at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively. Mantanona, seeded eighth and ranked 12th, earned three bonus wins, including a 19-4 technical fall over Northern Iowa's Jack Thomsen in the bloodround. He scored five takedowns and three back points and ended it with a go-behind single leg at the 6:51 mark. Mantanona's loss came in the second round -- an 11-9 heartbreaker to Arizona State's 18th-ranked Nicco Ruiz on a last-second takedown out of a scramble after leading 6-1 early in the bout.
Bullock, seeded sixth and ranked 18th nationally, reeled off four straight wins in the wrestlebacks after a first-round upset to Ohio's Jeremy Olszko. He was leading his bloodround match against Purdue's 26th-ranked James Rowley 3-0 in the third period when the Boilermaker wrestler came down awkwardly on his knee and had to default out at the 5:29 mark.
Michigan dropped three other bloodround matches. Freshman Cameron Catrabone, graduate student Chase Saldate and fifth-year senior Joseph Walker combined for five wins, including four bonus wins with a fall apiece. Walker, in particular, lost a heartbreaker in his final match, winning most of his bout against Navy's 18th-ranked Danny Wask after a first-period high crotch but gave up a scramble takedown with 30 seconds left in the third and could not escape in a 5-4 defeat.
Michigan will return to action Saturday (Dec. 7) for the second and final day of competition at the 2024 Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. U-M will hit the mat at 10 a.m. PST for the semifinals and continued wrestleback rounds, while the championship finals are slated for a 3 p.m. PST start. All matches will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Oklahoma State              105 2. Nebraska                    83.5 3. Iowa State                  71.5 4. Ohio State                  69 5. Northern Iowa               62.5 6. Stanford                    58 7. Virginia Tech               57.5 8. MICHIGAN                    55 9. South Dakota State          45.5 10. Purdue                     42.5
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds -- Nolan Wertanen
First Round - dec. by Kyle Gollhofer (Northern Iowa), 6-1
Consolations - pinned by Jace Schafer (West Virginia), 2:39
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
133 Pounds -- #1 Dylan Ragusin
First Round - tech. fall Jacob Macatangay (Purdue), 21-4 (4:49)
Second Round - tech. fall Santino Sanchez (CSU Bakersfield), 17-2 (4:49)
Quarterfinals - dec. by #8 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska), 10-4
Consolations - dec. Chad Bellis (Appalachian State), 10-6
Consolations - vs. #4 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State)
141 -- #4 Sergio Lemley
First Round - dec. McKenzie Bell (Rider), 5-2
Second Round - dec. Aden Valencia (Stanford), 2-0
Quarterfinals - dec. by #5 Joshua Koderhandt (Navy), 2-1 TB
Consolations - dec. #9 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), 4-1
Consolations - vs. #8 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)
149 -- Cameron Catrabone
First Round - Bye
Second Round - dec. by #3 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State), 4-2
Consolations - pinned Isaac Ruble (Purdue), 5:24
Consolations - dec. #11 Sam Cartella (Northwestern), 16-14
Consolations - dec. by #9 Carter Young (Oklahoma State), 13-10
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
157 Pounds -- #8 Chase Saldate
First Round - Bye
Second Round - pinned #9 Cobe Siebrecht (South Dakota State), 3:31
Quarterfinals - dec. by #1 Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 15-11
Consolations - major dec. #11 Caleb Fish (Oklahoma State), 13-5
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
165 Pounds -- #8 Brock Mantanona
First Round - tech. fall Michael Bobola (Harvard), 17-2 (6:27)
Second Round - dec. by #9 Nicco Ruiz (Arizona State), 11-9
Consolations - major dec. Guillermo Escobedo (CSU Bakersfield), 15-4
Consolations - dec. Mac Church (Virginia Tech), 1-0
Consolations - tech. fall Jack Thomsen (Northern Iowa), 19-4 (6:51)
Consolations - vs. #3 Terrell Barraclough (Utah Valley)
174 Pounds -- Joseph Walker
First Round - Bye
Second Round - major dec. by #2 Dean Hamiti (Oklahoma State), 10-2
Consolations - major dec. Riley Davis (Wyoming), 12-2
Consolations - pinned Joseph Martin (Northwestern), 1:42
Consolations - dec. by #5 Danny Wask (Navy), 5-4
Eliminated with a 2-2 record
184 Pounds -- #6 Jaden Bullock
First Round - dec. by Jeremy Olszko (Ohio), 7-3
Consolations - dec. Colt Barley (Cornell), 8-2
Consolations - dec. Gerrit Nijenhuis (CSU Bakersfield), 8-2
Consolations - dec. Tye Monteiro (Stanford), 8-6
Consolations - injury def. #10 James Rowley (Purdue), 5:29
Consolations - vs. #3 Bennett Burge (South Dakota State)
197 Pounds -- #1 Jacob Cardenas
First Round - tech. fall Max Agresti (Harvard), 15-0 (1:26)
Second Round - tech. fall Joseph Curtis (Columbia), 19-4 (4:22)
Quarterfinals - tech. fall #8 Christian Carroll (Iowa State), 16-1 (2:26)
Semifinals - vs. #4 Andy Smith (Virginia Tech)
Heavyweight -- Dzhabrail Khurshidov
First Round - pinned by #5 Cory Day (Binghamton), 3:12
Consolations - dec. #11 Jake Andrews (CSU Bakersfield), 4-1
Consolations - dec. by Brett Mower (Oregon State), 6-4
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
Players Mentioned
