ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 17th-ranked Navy wrestling team travels to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday (Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT) and Saturday (1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT) at the Westgate Paradise Event Center. 

Quick Links
Watch the event on FloWrestling (Subscription) HERE
View free live results on FloArena HERE
View the tournament preseeds HERE
Learn more about the tournament HERE

Projected Session Times
Friday, Dec. 1
• 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT: Weigh-ins
• Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT: Round 1 Pig Tail Championship, Round 2 of (32) Championship, Round 3 Consolation of (32), Round 4 Championship of (16), Consolation 1st of (16) Round 5 Consolation 2nd of (16)
• 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT: Round 6 Championship Quarter Finals, Consolation Round 1st of (8), & Round 7 Consolation 2nd of (8)

Saturday, Dec. 2
• 11 a.m. ET / 8:00 am PT: Weigh-ins, Westgate Paradise Event Center
• 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT: Round 8 Championship Semi-Finals, Round 9 Consolation Semi Finals, Consolation Finals 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th Places
• 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT: Championship Finals 1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th Places

Projected Navy Lineup (2023-24 Record)
• 125: Evan Tallmadge (5-2)
• 133: No. 12 Brendan Ferretti (3-0)
• 141: No. 18 Josh Koderhandt (5-1) 
• 149: James Latona (5-1)
• 157: Charlie Evans (2-3)
• 165: Christian Hodges (3-1)
• 174: No. 30 Danny Wask (6-2)
• 184: No. 14 David Key (6-1) 
• 197: Cael Crebs (2-2)
• 285: No. 10 Grady Griess (7-1)

Mids In The Rankings (InterMat / FloWrestling / Amateur Wrestling News)
• 133: Brendan Ferretti - 12 / 14 / 9
• 141: Josh Koderhandt - 18 / 10 / 19
• 149: Nicholas Vafiadis - 33 / NR / NR
• 165: Andrew Cerniglia - 24 / 27 / NR
• 174: Danny Wask - 30 / 28 / NR
• 184: David Key - 14 / 13 / 12
• 285: Grady Griess - 10 / 10 / 9

Navy Notes
• The Mids last competed in the 45th annual Navy Classic on Nov. 18
• Navy (137) edged Princeton (134.5) by 2.5 points to place second out of 14 teams
• The Mids garnered their best finish since they placed first in 2017
• Five Navy wrestlers competed in the championship bout and Danny Wask (174) and Grady Griess (285) were crowned champions
• Wask and Griess both finished with a 5-0 record to win their first titles at the Navy Classic
• Wask was the first Navy freshman to earn a first-place finish since Joe Locksmith (141) in 2010. Additionally, he was the first mid to win a title at 174 pounds since Jadaen Bernstein in 2016
• Griess was the first heavyweight champion since Riley Smith in 2021
• Nine of Navy's 20 wrestlers placed in the event, five of which were freshmen - Evan Tallmadge (125) - 3rd; Josh Koderhandt (141) - 2nd; Nicholas Vafiadis (149) - 5th/6th; Jonathan Ley (157) - 2nd; Wask - 1st; David Key (184) - 2nd; Zyan Hall (184) - 5th; Griess - 1st; Jamier Ferere (285) - 4th
• Koderhandt represented the Mids at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-Star Classic last Tuesday. The Belleville, Ill., native was the 16th Navy wrestler to compete in the event and the first since Joe Baker (133), who wrestled in an exhibition match in 2008. He dropped his match to North Carolina's No. 3 Lachlan McNeil by a 4-2 decision
• Seven mids received a national ranking from InterMat this week. Vafiadis received a ranking for the first time less than a month into his collegiate career. He is the first Navy wrestler to be ranked at 149 pounds since Casey Cobb was tabbed 19th to begin the 2020-21 season
• The Mids were ranked No. 17 for the second-straight week in the latest NWCA Division I Top 25 Poll (Nov. 27). Navy has been ranked in the top 25 for three-consecutive weeks
• The Mids are the second-highest ranked program in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). The additional ranked teams from the EIWA include No. 6 Cornell and No. 20 Lehigh 

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Notes
• Navy's projected lineup for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational owns a combined record of 44-14
• The Mids will compete in the prestigious event for the 14th time and the third under head coach Cary Kolat
• Navy finished in 14th place out of 33 teams last year. The Mids have placed in the top 20 in 10 of their 14 appearances
• Koderhandt looks to continue his success in Las Vegas. He placed fifth at 133 pounds in 2021 and fourth last season at 141 pounds. Koderhant posted a 6-2 record and defeated three ranked opponents to earn his placement a year ago
• Griess and Koderhandt will both be aiming to surpass 60 career victories this weekend. Koderhandt leads the team with 59 career wins, followed by Griess with 58
• Only three of Navy's 10 wrestlers in its projected lineup competed in last year's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Koderhandt, Key, Griess) 
• Five mids received preseeds for the tournament - Brendan Ferretti (6th), Koderhandt (8th), Wask (11th), Key (10th), Griess (5th)
• The CKLV Invitational field features 35 teams, including EIWA foes Binghamton, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Hofstra, Long Island and Sacred Heart. Service Academy rival Air Force will also send wrestlers
• Sixteen of the 25 teams ranked in the latest NWCA Poll will compete in Las Vegas - No. 2 N.C. State, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Cornell, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 14 South Dakota State, No. 15 Oregon State, No. 16 Northern Iowa, No. 17 Navy, No. 22 Arizona State, No. 23 North Carolina, No. 24 Stanford and No. 25 Maryland

Hear From Team Captain Grady Griess
Team captain Grady Griess sat down with Pete Medhurst on the Navy Sports Magazine to discuss the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Fans can watch the interview HERE. 

Other Mids in Action 
Coach Kolat will send the majority of his roster to compete in the A Better Way Athletics Patriot Open on Sunday at the George Mason Field House on the campus of George Mason in Fairfax, Va. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Fans can watch the event on FloWrestling (Subscription) HERE and view free live results on FloArena HERE. 

Eight mids are expected to make their first appearances of the 2023-24 campaign in the tournament.  

A Better Way Athletics Patriot Open Projected Lineup (2023-24 Record)
• 125: Hayden Benter (1-2) / Dayton DelViscio (3-2) / Jaden Felipe (0-0) / Grant Treaster (4-1)    
• 133: Garrett Totten (3-4)
• 141: Frank Antonelli (2-2) / Chase Caprella (1-2) / David Graves (0-0) / Tyler Hunt (1-2) / David Kreidler (0-2) / Venumadhava Mirel (0-2)
• 149: Luke Lucerne (1-2) / Kaemen Smith (8-0) / No. 33 Nicholas Vafiadis (8-3)    
• 157: Ben Bancroft (0-0) / Davis Park (0-0)
• 165: Mason Collins (1-2) / Geno Quodala (1-4) / Tyler Sagi (4-4)
• 174: Liam Kilrain (0-0) / Zander Manuel (0-2)
• 184: Luke Artz (0-0) / Gervacio Gonzalez (0-0) / Daniel Williams (4-4)
• 285: Ben Farabaugh (0-0) / Jamier Ferere (6-4)

Up Next
Navy returns to dual competition to face Ohio on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. The matchup will be held at Jefferson Morgan High School in Jefferson, Pa.