Las Vegas, Nev. – Senior team captain Josh Koderhandt (141) led the way for the Navy wrestling team (1-3) with a fourth-place finish on Saturday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.

Oklahoma State won the team title with 192 points and placed all 10 of its wrestlers, including eight among the top three in their respective division. Nebraska (115 points, 7 place winners), Ohio State (110.5 points, 6 place winners), Virginia Tech (90 points, 6 place winners) and Iowa State (89.5 points, 6 place winners) rounded out the top five.

Navy finished second among Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA). Only Binghamton (28.5 points, 1 place winner) recorded more points than the Mids. Navy's two place winners were the most between all EIWA teams.

After drawing a bye in the opening round, Koderhandt's journey began in the round of 16 where he met Purdue's Greyson Clark. Koderhandt exploded in the first period with a pair of takedowns and a near fall for eight points in the first period, he later earned an escape to begin the second period en route to a 9-2 victory. In the quarterfinals, Koderhandt was in a nail biter bout against No. 7 Sergio Lemley out of Michigan with the only scoring through seven minutes was one escape point for each wrestler. Through two sudden victory stanzas', Koderhandt recorded an escape point in the first tie breaker period to pull out the top 10 victory and punched his ticket to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Koderhandt went head-to-head against No. 2 Jesse Mendez from Ohio State. Mendez built an early lead in the first period with two takedowns for a 6-2 lead. Koderhandt fought hard with a reversal and was rewarded two stalling points but ultimately dropped the match, 8-6. The Belleville, Ill., native responded back recording his 90th career victory over Iowa State's Jacob Frost, where he overcame a 4-0 deficit to win the bout, 8-7.

Koderhandt's day came to an end in the third-place match where he fell to No. 4 Brock Hardy from Nebraska to take fourth.

Sophomore Danny Wask (174) was the second Midshipmen to secure a podium spot, taking sixth in his respective weight class. Fresh off a bye in the opening round, the Wantage, N.J., native registered his fourth ranked victory of the season in the round of 16 over No. 28 Brody Baumann (Purdue) 9-5 to move on to the quarterfinals.

Following a loss to eighth-ranked Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) in the quarterfinals, Wask plugged away back-to-back consolation victories, including a victory over third-ranked Cade DeVos out of South Dakota State, 11-7. Wask dropped his final two bouts and finished the tournament with a 3-3 record.

Up Next

Navy returns to Annapolis and dual competition to face EIWA foe American on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. inside Alumni Hall.

Navy Results at CKLV

125 – Nick Treaster (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32: bye

·         Rd. of 16: lost to (6) #6 Tanner Jordan, South Dakota State / Dec / 6-4

·         Cons. of 16 #2: lost to Jace Schafer, West Virginia / Dec / 4-1 SV

 
133 – Brendan Ferretti (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32: lost to (6) #19 Brett Ungar, Cornell / Dec / 8-1

·         Cons. of 16 #2: lost to (12) #28 Derrick Cardinal, South Dakota State / Dec / 12-5

 
141 – Josh Koderhandt (3-2, 4th Place)

·         Rd. of 32: bye

·         Rd. of 16: defeated (12) Greyson Clark, Purdue / Dec / 9-2

·         Quarterfinals: defeated (4) #7 Sergio Lemley / Dec / 2-1 TB1

·         Semifinals: lost to (1) #2 Jesse Mendez, Ohio State / Dec / 8-6

·         Cons. Semifinals: defeated Jacob Frost, Iowa State / Dec / 8-7

·         3rd Place: lost to (2) #4 Brock Hardy, Nebraska / Fall / 0:41

 
149 – Nicholas Vafiadis (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32: lost to Jagger French, Cal Poly / Dec / 4-1

·         Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Noah Tapia, Hofstra / Dec / 8-1

 
157 – Devon Deem (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32 lost to Jose Farias, CSU Bakersfield / Dec / 4-3

·         Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Legend Lamer, Cal Poly / Tech Fall / 18-3

 
165 – Tyler Sagi (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32: lost to (5) #8 MJ Gaitan, Iowa State / Fall / 1:59

·         Cons. of 16 #1: lost to (12) #22 Stoney Buell, Purdue / Major / 14-3

 
174 – Danny Wask (3-3, 6th Place)

·         Rd. of 32: bye

·         Rd. of 16: defeated (12) #28 Brody Baumann, Purdue / Dec / 9-5

·         Quarterfinals: lost to (4) #8 Lorenzo Norman, Stanford / Dec / 12-7

·         Cons. of 8 #2: defeated Joseph Walker, Michigan / Dec / 5-4

·         Cons. of 4: defeated (1) #3 Cade DeVos, South Dakota State / Dec / 11-7

·         Cons. Semifinals: lost to (6) #13 Simon Ruiz, Cornell / Dec / 4-1

·         5th Place: lost to (7) #15 Brevin Cassella, Binghamton / Major / 9-0

 
184 – Daniel Williams (0-2, Did Not Place)

·         Rd. of 32: lost to Gerrit Nijenhuis, CSU Bakersfield / Dec / 7-3

·         Cons. of 16 #1: lost to Tomothy McDonnell, Oregon State / Dec / 7-5