Josh Koderhandt (141 / So / Belleville, Ill.) and Jacob Koser (197 / Sr / Dillsburg, Pa.) placed among the top eight in their respective weight classes to lead the Navy wrestling team to a 14th-place finish at the 2022 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational held Friday and Saturday in Las Vegas. The 33-team field featured 10 programs ranked among the NWCA Div. I Wrestling Coaches Top 25 Poll, as well as over 100 nationally-ranked wrestlers.

Ranked 16th nationally, Nebraska won the team title for a second-consecutive year. The Cornhuskers tallied 137.5 points and placed 7 of its 10 wrestlers, including individual medalists at 141, 157 and 174. NC State, ranked #8, finished second in the team standings with 127.5 points and placed 7 of its 10 competitors. Rounding out the top five were South Dakota State (123 pts, 8 placewinners), Michigan (96.5 pts, 6 placewinners) and Northern Iowa (96 pts, 6 placewinners).

Navy, who amassed 41.5 points, fell 3 points shy of 13th-place Columbia and 5.0 points ahead of 15th-place Utah Valley.

Thirteen of the 33 teams failed to place at least one wrestler in the competition, while Navy was one of 16 programs to place at least 2 wrestlers. The 10 individual winners represented 6 different programs - 125 Richard Figueroa, Arizona State; 133 (#3) Vitali Arujau, Cornell; 141 (#17) Brock Hardy, Nebraska; 149 (#3) Sammy Sasso, Ohio State; 157 Silas Allred, Nebraska; 165 (#8) Julian Ramirez, Cornell; 174 (#3) Mikey Labriola, Nebraska; 184 (#3) Trent Hidlay, NC State; 197 (#14) Isaac Trumble, NC State; 285 (#3) Mason Parris, Michigan.

The Highlights
• 15th-seeded and 29th-ranked Josh Koderhandt (141) was the Mids' top placewinner, finishing 4th with a 6-2 record ... Koderhandt lost in the round of 16 to 11th-ranked Clay Carlson of South Dakota State by fall, however, battled his way through the consolation bracket where he won five-consecutive matches, including four by 2 points or fewer ... Koderhandt was Navy's top finisher a year ago as a freshman, placing 5th at 133 pounds.
• Team captain Jacob Koser (197) was seeded 10th and finished 7th ... Koser earned a spot in the quarters after taking down 25th-ranked Trey Rogers of Hofstra by a 6-0 decision, however was pinned by eventual champion Isaac Trumble of NC State
• 18th-ranked Grady Griess (285) put together a 3-2 record on the weekend and bowed out of the tournament following a tough 7-3 loss to fifth-ranked Yeraslau Slavikouski of Harvard in the consolation round of 8 (#2)
• 29th-ranked David Key was upset in the opening round by California Baptist's Peter Acciardi 13-6, but bounced back with back-to-back victories over Kent State's Tyler Bates (Fall / 6:09) and Wyoming's Brett McIntosh (Dec / 9-3) ... Key dropped out of the tournament following the consolation round of 8 (#1) with a 9-4 loss to #27 Cade King.

What's Ahead
• Navy will wrestle a final time before stepping away for final exams and the holidays when it plays host to #24 Maryland next Sunday, Dec. 11.
• The dual between the two in-state rivals is slated to begin at 2:00 pm and will be held at Wesley Brown Field House.
• A live video stream will be available on ESPN+ via paid subscription.


Navy Results at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
133 - Tyler Hunt (0-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 16: lost to Chance Rich, Cal State Bakersfield / Dec / 6-5
• Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Cameron Soda, Edinboro / Dec / 3-1

141 - #29 Josh Koderhandt (6-2, 4th Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Joseph Mecham, Western Wyoming / Tech Fall / 18-3 (3:21)
• Rd of 16: lost to #11 Clay Carlson, South Dakota State / Fall / 6:12
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated #31 Lawrence Saenz, Cal Poly / Dec / 7-6
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated #20 Darren Miller, Bucknell / Dec / 6-4
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated Cleveland Belton, Oregon State / Dec / 15-14
• Cons. of 4: defeated Dylan D'Emilio, Ohio State / Dec / 7-5
• Cons. Semifinals: defeated #11 Clay Carlson, South Dakota State / Medical Forfeit
• 3rd place: lost to #14 Ryan Jack, NC State / Fall / 5:16

149 - Kaemen Smith (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to #3 Sammy Sasso, Ohio State / Tech Fall / 23-7 (5:57)
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Colton Erickson, Western Wyoming / Major / 16-2
• Cons. of 16 #2: lost to Danny Fongaro, Columbia / Dec / 6-4

157 - Geroge Ruiz (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to Lucas Kemerer, Edinboro / Major / 9-1
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Nick Palumbo, Sacred Heart / Medical Forfeit
• Cons. of 16 #2: lost to Luka Wick, Cal Poly / Fall / 1:13

165 - Val Park (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to #12 Austin Yant, Northern Iowa / Major / 13-0
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Blake Bahna, Long Island / Major / 15-6
• Cons. of 16 #2: lost to Andrew Nicholson, Virginia Tech / Dec / 6-1

174 - Sammy Starr (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Ben Haubert, The Citadel / Dec / 5-2
• Rd of 16: lost to #2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech / Dec / 10-4
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated Will Miller, Appalachian State / Major / 12-1
• Cons. of 8 #1: lost to #22 Troy Fisher, Northwestern / Dec / 5-1

184 - #29 David Key (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to Peter Acciardi, California Baptist / Dec / 13-6
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Tyler Bates, Kent State / Fall / 6:09
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated Brett McIntosh, Wyoming / Dec / 9-3
• Cons. of 8 #1: lost to #27 Cade King, South Dakota State / Dec / 9-4

197 - #24 Jacob Koser (3-2, 7th Place)
• Rd of 32: Bye
• Rd of 16: defeated #25 Trey Rogers, Hofstra / Dec / 6-0
• Quarterfinals: lost to #14 Isaac Trumble, NC State / Fall / 5:49
• Cons. of 8 #2: defeated Nolan Springer, Bucknell / Dec / 6-2
• Cons. of 4: lost to #31 Evan Bockman, Utah Valley / Dec / 7-4
• 7th place: defeated #18 Kordell Norfleet, Arizona State / Medical Forfeit

285 - #18 Grady Griess (3-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Ryan Reyes, Oregon State / Fall / 3:53
• Rd of 16: lost to #14 AJ Nevills, South Dakota State / Dec / 8-6
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated Drew Harris, Ohio / Fall / 3:17
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated Cale Davidson, Nebraska / Dec / 2-0
• Cons. of 8 #2: lost to #5 Yeraslau Slavikouski, Harvard / Dec / 7-3