LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Danny Wask (174) and Grady Griess (285) both placed in the top five in their respective weight classes to lead the 17th-ranked Navy wrestling team to a 16th-place finish out of 35 teams at the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational held Friday and Saturday at the Westgate Paradise Event Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

The Mids scored 48.5 points as a team to earn a top-20 placement for the 11th time in their 15th appearance at the prestigious event. Eighth-ranked Iowa State won the team title with 130.5 points. 

Wask, who entered the tournament ranked 30th in the nation, finished with a 4-2 record to finish fourth overall. The freshman garnered Navy's best placement despite eight wrestlers in his weight class having a higher ranking. 

Wask trailed, 4-2, early in the third period in his first match against Noah Blake of Air Force. He grabbed his first lead of the matchup with 1:21 remaining with a takedown. Wask was awarded a vital point three seconds later after Blake was issued his second stalling warning. He prevented Blake from scoring any points for the remainder of the match to win by a 6-4 decision. 

Wask advanced to the quarterfinals with a thrilling overtime win against N.C. State's No. 23 Alexander Faison. Both wrestlers scored an escape in regulation and the match went into tiebreaker 1 after neither scored in sudden victory. Both wrestlers earned an escape in the next overtime period, but Wask was credited with the win for securing just one more second of riding time (0:15) than Faison.

Navy's 174 concluded the first day with a 5-0 decision against Lorenzo Norman of Stanford. He scored the lone takedown of the matchup with 17 seconds left on the clock in the first period. He jumped ahead, 4-0, with an escape in the second period and scored his fifth point after compiling over a minute of riding time. 

Oregon State's No. 12 Travis Wittlake edged Wask in the semifinals by a 9-8 decision after scoring the match-winning point with only three seconds remaining. Wask took an early, 3-1, lead, but Wittlake scored a takedown with only five seconds to go in the opening period to grab a 4-3 advantage. After Wask tied the match with an escape, Wittlake answered with another takedown with 33 seconds to go in the second to go ahead, 7-4. Wask trimmed his deficit down to, 7-5, with an escape just before the end of the period. Wittlake took a three-point lead with an escape to begin the third. Wask tied the match, 8-8, with 13 seconds on the clock with a takedown. An escape by Wittlake with only three seconds remaining was the deciding factor. 

Wask needed a victory in the consolation semifinals against No. 22 Austin Murphy of Campbell to garner a spot in the third-place bout. Murphy looked to be in control after scoring an escape two seconds into the final period to take a 4-1 lead. Wask tied the match with a takedown with under 40 seconds to go, but Murphy escaped four seconds later to reclaim the lead. Wask made another impressive move and scored his second takedown just 15 seconds after his first to take a two-point lead. Wask would win the match by a 7-6 decision after Murphy was gifted the riding time point. 

Wask concluded his first collegiate appearance in Las Vegas with a fourth-place effort after Ohio State's No. 5 Carson Kharchla defeated him in the third-place bout by a 10-3 decision. 

Griess won his first match by a 17-2 (3:49) technical fall over Cole Jackson of Cal Poly. He went into the second period with a 9-2 lead thanks to three takedowns. Griess then jumped out to a 13-2 lead with an escape and another takedown 21 seconds into the following period. He ended the match with a four-point near fall at the 3:49 mark. 

Navy's team captain also took a big lead in the opening period in his next match against Antonio Ramos of Air Force. He scored a pair of takedowns in the first to gain a 6-1 advantage. After scoring an escape in the third, Griess busted the match wide open with a takedown and a four-point near fall with only 25 seconds to go in the match. Griess also added the riding time point to his score to win by a 15-2 major decision. 

Griess advanced to the semifinals with a win by injury default against Oklahoma State's No. 16 Konner Doucet.

The Grand Island, Neb., native lost his semifinal matchup by technical fall (18-3 / 4:25) to No. 7 Yonger Bastida of Iowa State, who went on to place first in the heavyweight bracket. 

After dropping a close 3-2 decision to Oregon State's No. 22 Boone McDermott in the consolation semifinals, Griess claimed fifth place due to a medical forfeit by No. 17 Nick Feldman of Ohio State.

The Mids will also have wrestlers competing in the A Better Way Athletics Patriot Open tomorrow 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.

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.

Tournament Notes
• Navy was one of 18 teams who had at least two wrestlers place
• Two or more mids have placed at the CKLV Invitational in the three appearances under head coach Cary Kolat
• Sixteen of the 35 teams who competed in Las Vegas were ranked in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I Top 25 Poll
• The Mids recorded the second-best placement of the eight teams from the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) at this year's event
• Griess (11) and Wask (10) are the first mids to reach double-digit wins this season
• Griess passed Koderhandt for the most career victories on Navy's roster. Griess now leads the team with 62 wins. Koderhandt claimed his 60th victory by fall (3:33) against Binghamton's Ivan Garcia
• The Mids won all three matches against wrestlers from Air Force. Along with the wins from Griess and Wask, Cael Crebs (197) defeated Calvin Sund by a 14-5 major decision

Navy Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Results
125- Evan Tallmadge (0-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to (10) #21 Troy Sprately, Oklahoma State / Dec / 9-5
• Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Richard Sandoval, Cal State Bakersfield / Dec / 12-9 SV1

133- (4) #12 Brendan Ferretti (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Santino Sanchez, Cal State Bakersfield / Dec / 4-1
• Rd of 16: lost to (13) Derrick Cardinal, South Dakota State / Dec / 7-2
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated Jameson Garcia, Harvard / Fall / 1:04
• Cons. of 8 #1: lost to (12) #31 Ethan Oakley, Appalachian State / Dec / 9-7

141 - (7) #18 Josh Koderhandt (1-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Ivan Garcia, Binghamton / Fall / 3:33
• Rd of 16: lost to (10) #24 Tagen Jamison, Oklahoma State / Dec / 4-2
• Cons. of 16 #2: lost to Devin Matthews, Long Island / Med Forfeit

149 - James Latona (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to (4) #5 Dylan D`Emilio, Ohio State / Fall / 4:14
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Johnathon Viveros, Cal State Bakersfield / Dec / 2-1
• Cons. of 16 #2: defeated (7) #9 Jaden Abas, Stanford / Med Forfeit
• Cons. of 8 #1: lost to Nash Singleton, Oregon State / Dec / 4-1

157 - Charlie Evans (0-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to (3) #5 Bryce Andonian, Virginia Tech / Fall / 6:03
• Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Joseph Cangro, Harvard / Dec / 9-8

165 - Christian Hodges (0-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to (14) #30 Stoney Buell, Purdue / Tech Fall / 16-1 (6:33)
• Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Ben Haubert, The Citadel / Dec / 8-2

174 - (9) #30 Danny Wask (4-2, 4th Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Noah Blake, Air Force / Dec / 6-4
• Rd of 16: defeated (8) #23 Alexander Faison, N.C. State / Dec / * 2-2 TB1
• Quarterfinals: defeated Lorenzo Norman, Stanford / Dec / 5-0
• Semifinals: lost to (4) #12 Travis Wittlake, Oregon State / Dec / 9-8
• Cons. semifinals: defeated (7) #22 Austin Murphy, Campbell / Dec / 7-6
• Third Place: lost to (2) #5 Carson Kharchla, Ohio State / Dec / 10-3
*Wask was awarded the win for having more riding time (0:15) in TB1

184 - (10) #14 David Key (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Will Conlon, Hofstra / Major / 10-1
• Rd of 16: lost to (7) #9 William Feldkamp, Iowa State / Tech Fall / 22-7 (7:00)
• Cons. of 8 #1: defeated Braden Smelser, Cal State Bakersfield / Fall / 2:48
• Cons. of 8 #2: lost to (16) #31 Zayne Lehman, Ohio / Dec / 4-2

197 - Cael Crebs (2-2, Did Not Place)
• Rd of 32: lost to (8) #14 Luke Geog, Ohio State / Tech Fall / 19-4 (6:51)
• Cons. of 32 #2: defeated Calvin Sund, Air Force / Major / 14-5
• Cons. of 16 #1: defeated Tarik Sutkovic, Arizona State / Major / 11-3
• Cons. of 16 #2: lost to (14) #25 Levi Hopkins, Campbell / Major / 12-2

285 - (3) #10 Grady Griess (4-2, 5th Place)
• Rd of 32: defeated Cole Jackson, Cal Poly / Tech Fall / 17-2 (3:49)
• Rd of 16: defeated Antonio Ramos, Air Force / Major / 15-2
• Quarterfinals: defeated (6) #16 Konner Doucet, Oklahoma State / Injury Default (0:06)
• Semifinals: lost to (2) #7 Yonger Bastida, Iowa State / Tech Fall / 18-3 (4:25)
• Cons. semifinals: lost to (11) #22 Boone McDermott, Oregon State / Dec / 3-2
• Fifth Place: defeated (7) #17 Nick Feldman, Ohio State / Med Forfeit