After stepping away from competition for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Navy wrestling team returns to action on Friday when it travels to Las Vegas, Nev. to compete in the annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The Las Vegas Convention Center will serve as the host venue for the two-day tournament slated to begin Friday at 9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET. The CKLV Invitational is one of the top annual events that highlights some of the nation's best wrestlers. This year's field features 27 teams, including 10 programs ranked among the NWCA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Top 25 Poll, as well as 100 nationally-ranked wrestlers.
Projected session times:
Friday, Dec. 3:
7:00 am PT / 10:00 am ET: Weigh-ins
9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET: Round 1 Pig Tails, Round 2 of Championship (32), Round 3 Consolation of (32), Round 4 of Championship (16), Consolation 1st of (16) Round 5 Consolation 2nd of (16).
6:00 pm PT / 9:00 pm ET: Quarterfinals and Consolation Round 1st of (8)
Saturday, Dec. 4:
7:00 am PT / 10:00 am ET: Weigh-ins
9:00 am PT / 12:00 pm ET: Consolation 2nd of (8)
10:00 am PT / 1:00 pm ET: Semifinals and Consolation Semifinals, Consolation Finals (5th & 6th, 7th & 8th)
3:00 pm PT / 6:00 pm ET: Championship Finals (1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th)
More on the CKLV Invite
• This will be Navy's 12th overall appearance at the CKLV Invitational and first under head coach
Cary Kolat.
• Navy last wrestled in the CKLV Invitational in 2018, placing 17th among 43 teams.
• Navy's best finish in the CKLV Invitational was in 2012 when it placed 10th among a 32-team field.
• Teams competing at this year's CKLV Invitational include: Binghamton, California Baptist, Cal Poly (RV), CSU Bakersfield, The Citadel, Columbia, #11 Cornell, Harvard, Kent State, #4 Michigan, #12 Minnesota, Navy, #9 Nebraska, Nebraska Kearney, #24 Northwestern, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, #8 Ohio State, #18 Oklahoma, Oregon State (RV), #20 Princeton, #15 Purdue, Sacred Heart, #25 Stanford, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming (RV).
• Among the 100 ranked wrestlers (Intermat) expected to compete at the CKLV Invitational, here is a breakdown by weight class: 125 (7), 133 (8), 141 (9), 149 (11), 157 (11), 165 (10), 174 (14), 184 (8), 197 (14), 285 (8). Meanwhile, among the No. 1-ranked wrestlers among all the weight classes, only 149-pound Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell is due to wrestle this weekend. In fact, three of the top-5 149-pounder will be in action with No. 2 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State and No. 4 Yahya Thomas of Northwestern joining Diakomihalis.
• Four of Navy's wrestlers have earned preseeds for this weekend's tournament - 125-pound
Jacob Allen has earned the highest seed among the Mids at No. 7, while 157-pound
Andrew Cerniglia, 184-pound
David Key and 197-pound
Jacob Koser have all drawn the No. 9 seed at their respective weight class.
Projected Navy Lineup
• 125 - #28
Jacob Allen (Sr, Poway, Calif. / 6-2)
• 133 -
Josh Koderhandt (Fr, Belleville, Ill. / 8-2)
• 141 -
Tyler Hunt (So, Calhoun, Ga. / 4-0)
• 149 -
PJ Crane (Jr, Horsham, Pa. / 4-6)
• 157 - #19
Andrew Cerniglia (So, Nazareth, Pa. / 8-0)
• 165 -
Val Park (Jr, Edmond, Okla. / 10-4)
• 174 -
Shane Finney (Sr, Carlsbad, Calif. / 10-4)
• 184 - #25
David Key (So, Norcross, Ga. / 9-2)
• 197 - #19
Jacob Koser (Jr, Dillsburg, Pa. / 11-2)
• 285 -
Riley Smith (Sr, Mason, Mich. / 10-3)
Mids In the Rankings (Intermat // FloWrestling // Amateur Wrestling News // Wrestlestat)
• 125 -
Jacob Allen - 28 // --- // --- // ---
• 133 -
Josh Koderhandt - --- // --- // --- // 22
• 157 -
Andrew Cerniglia - 19 // --- // 20 // 16
• 174 -
Shane Finney - --- // --- // --- // 31
• 184 -
David Key - 25 // 21 // --- // 13
• 197 -
Jacob Koser - 19 // 22 // 16 // 19
Weekly Rewind
• Navy was off from competition last weekend, however, it is coming off a solid performance at the Navy Classic where four wrestlers claimed individual titles en route to leading the Mids to a third-place finish at the 12-team Classic.
•
Tyler Hunt (141 / So),
David Key (184 / So),
Jacob Koser (197 / Jr) and
Riley Smith (285 / Sr) were first-time Navy Classic champions, while Koser has been crowned the 197-pound champion in two of the three tournaments in which he's wrestled this season. Hunt, Key and Smith, meanwhile, are all first-time champions as collegians.
• Navy has won a combined 9 individual titles in its 3 tournaments to date - 3 at the Clarion Open (Koderhandt, Cerniglia, Koser), 2 at the Bearcat Open (Allen, Cerniglia) and 4 at the Navy Classic (Hunt, Key, Koser, Smith).
What's Ahead
• Navy will wrestle a final time before stepping away for final exams and the holidays when it makes the short trip to College Park, Md. to battle Maryland next Saturday, Dec. 11.
• The dual between the two in-state rivals is slated to begin at 6:00 pm and will be held at the XFINITY Center Pavilion.
• A live video stream will be available on B1G+ via paid subscription
### Go Navy ###
