Michigan
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Wolverines to Head West for Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite
12/2/2025 5:11:00 PM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (4-2) will take its annual trip out west this weekend, heading to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the 44th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 5-6) at the Westgate Hotel Paradise Event Center. Action will begin at 9 a.m. PST on Friday and 10 a.m. PST on Saturday, with the championship round slated for 3 p.m. PST. All matches will be streamed live on FloWrestling.
This year's field at the Cliff Keen Invitational will feature 32 teams, including eight teams ranked in the most recent NWCA poll. In addition to the Maize and Blue, headlining the participating teams are No. 3 Iowa State, No. 7 Virginia Tech and No. 8 South Dakota State.
Notes
• Michigan has competed in the annual tournament 43 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 was created by three-time NCAA champion Mark Churella Sr. (1976-79) while he served as UNLV head coach and is still run by him and his sons and fellow Wolverine alums Mark Jr. (2001) and Ryan (2003-06).
• Michigan has placed top 10 at the CKLV in 19 of the last 22 appearances, with 11 top-five finishes over the stretch and first-place showings in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007. The Wolverines took seventh place at last season's event with five total placewinners, including the 197-pound champion Jacob Cardenas.
• The Wolverines have boasted at least one CKLV champion in six of the last seven tournaments, most recently with Cardenas' title in last year's event. Mason Parris captured two heavyweight titles over that stretch (2019, '22), while Dylan Ragusin (133, 2021), Myles Amine (174, 2018), Alec Pantaleo (157, 2017), Adam Coon (Hwt, 2017) and Logan Massa (165, 2016) all claimed one title. Coon was also a two-time heavyweight champion, claiming the top spot as a freshman (like Massa) in 2013.
• The Wolverines have nine wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including five in the top 15 according to InterMat: No. 6 Ragusin (141), No. 3 Lachlan McNeil (149), No. 13 Beau Mantanona (174), No. 7 Brock Mantanona (184) and No. 5 Taye Ghadiali (Hwt).
• Redshirt freshman Cameron Catrabone owns a 4-2 record at 157 pounds with two ranked wins and four bonus wins. He moved to No. 25 in the updated rankings after posting a 16-0 tech fall against Columbia's Charles Scanlan and pinning Virginia's then-18th-ranked Colton Washleski at 1:20 in his last match -- his highest-ranked win to date. Catrabone was named Big Ten Freshman Wrestler of the Week for the Wolverines' first weekly honor of the season.
• Redshirt freshman Brock Mantanona remained No. 7 at 184 pounds after defeating Columbia's No. 17 Aaron Ayzerov with an 8-7 decision and posting a 21-6 tech fall against Virginia's Griffin Gammell. Mantanona improved to 5-1 on the season with two ranked wins and three bonus wins. His only loss came from Missouri's Aeoden Sinclair -- now ranked second nationally -- at the National Duals Invitational.
• Graduate student heavyweight Ghadiali is 5-1 this season with bonus points in all five of his wins -- three technical falls, one major decision and a pin. Two of those have come against ranked opposition -- a 17-2 tech against Arizona State's No. 23 David Szuba and a 17-7 major over Missouri's No. 25 Jarrett Stoner. Last weekend, Ghadiali posted teched Columbia's Vincent Mueller 21-5 before pinning Virginia's Brennan Morgan at 2:04 in his most recent match.
• Graduate students McNeil and Diego Sotelo also own 5-1 records so far this season. McNeil closed the National Duals with a 7-4 overtime win against Missouri's then-No. 6 Josh Edmond and pinned Virginia's Wynton Denkins (4:39) in his last outing. His only loss came against Arizona State's Kaleb Larkin, now ranked No. 2 at 149 pounds. Sotelo picked up an 11-5 decision against UVA's No. 20 Keyveon Roller last weekend and owns a pair of bonus wins at 125 pounds.
• The Wolverines posted four falls in their dominant 40-3 dual win against Virginia. It was the program's most falls in a dual since tallying five against Sacred Heart in 2015. McNeil and Catrabone recorded back-to-back pins at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. Beau Mantanona and Ghadiali each also added first-period falls at 184 and 285 pounds. It was Mantanona's second pin of the season and the first for the other three Wolverines.
• Six different wrestlers have made debuts in the Wolverines' starting lineup so far this season, and all six were victorious in U-M's dual opener against VMI (Nov. 9). Freshmen Gauge Botero and Eren Sement made their collegiate debuts at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively, while graduate students Sotelo (125), McNeil (149) and Ghadiali (Hwt) all made their official Michigan debuts. Redshirt freshman Hayden Walters, who opened his college career with back-to-back redshirts after coming in with injury, made his long-awaited varsity debut at 197 pounds.
• Michigan will be without graduate student Ragusin for just a bit longer as he continues to come back from last year's season-ending injury suffered at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last December. Ragusin, who took fifth place at 133 pounds in 2024, is a four-time NCAA qualifier and owns an 85-30 career record. Ragusin will bump up to 141 pounds this season and currently lists as the No. 6-ranked wrestler at the weight. Junior Sergio Lemley, U-M's returning 141-pounder, is slated to redshirt the 2025-26 season. He has also moved up in weight and will compete unattached at 149 pounds.
Players Mentioned
