Cliff Keen Las Vegas Wrestling Invitational

[Gladiator Dad]

Here are the Participating Teams for the Cliff Keen this weekend. I am not sure how they are going to format this tournament with 44 teams this year however with the new 6 match limit per day rule instituted this year. I have put the Big XII Teams in Underlined Italics. Short of OKST & SDSU the rest of the conference is at this event.

http://cklvwrestle.com/home/

Teams
1 Air Force
2 American
3 Arizona State
4 Army
5 Binghamton
6 Brown
7 Bucknell
8 Cal Poly
9 Cal Baptist
10 CSU Bakersfield
11 Central Michigan
12 Columbia
13 Cornell
14 Drexel
15 Duke
16 Eastern Michigan
17 Edinboro
18 Embry Riddle
19 Fresno State
20 Harvard
21 Iowa State
22 Kent State
23 Minnesota
24 Navy
25 Nebraska Kearney
26 North Carolina
27 NDSU
28 North Idaho College
29 UNI
30 Northern Colorado
31 Ohio State
32 Oklahoma
33 Oregon State
34 Pittsburgh
35 Purdue
36 Stanford
37 Michigan
38 Michigan State
39 Utah Valley
40 Virginia Tech
41 West Virginia
42 Western Wyoming
43 Wisconsin
44 Wyoming

[Gladiator Dad]

Flo has posted and ranked wrestler list for each weight class.

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6050362-all-ranked-wrestlers-coming-to-cklv-2017

[RadioBison]

Flo has posted and ranked wrestler list for each weight class.

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6050362-all-ranked-wrestlers-coming-to-cklv-2017

What a great field. The guys will all have plenty of opportunities to rack up quality wins.

[BisoninNWMN]

What a great field. The guys will all have plenty of opportunities to rack up quality wins.


Will any Bison place in the Top 8?

[Big Bird]

Will any Bison place in the Top 8?

Tough to say without the brackets.

If you go by national ranking, Clay Ream will be third at 157. However, there are a bunch of guys below him that are great. AA Paul Fox beat Clay handily at NCAAs last year, Colin Heffernan from CMU, and Alec Pantaleo from Michigan are all good bets to be in the mix too. I think Clay places, but I think Pantaleo and Jordan (tOSU) are the two best at this weight (although Shields from ASU has been on a tear this year and beat out a former national champ just to be his teams starter). I see Shields, Clay, Fox, and Heffernan in the mix for 3rd-6th (assuming Pantaleo is on the opposite side of the bracket as Jordan).

If Sykora wrestles and is close to 100%, he places top 8. 133 is somewhat weak, with only 7 guys in the top 20 on Flo. Cam owns a win over Dennis Gustafson (VT) and Ian Parker (ISU) who are in the top 20 on Flo. I could see Cam placing as high as 4th.

Fogarty could place in the bottom of the top 8, but he hasn't had much success against the guys just above him.

Bianchi, Eaton, and McNutt all have a chance to beat some ranked guys if they get the right matchup.

[Gladiator Dad]

Will any Bison place in the Top 8?

I think we have excellent chances to finish top 8 at these weights: Sykora at 133, Ream at 157 & Fogarty at 165 for starters. I can also see, depending on how the brackets get set up to see a few other weights in the mix as well. It wouldn't surprise me to see a top 8 finish at the following weights as well: 149 (I'm not sure who we are bringing), 184, 197 & HWT. It's not going to be easy at any weight at this tournament but all of these weights for us are capable

[Gladiator Dad]

Flo has released an article on the lower weights. I would venture to guess the middle weights will come out today.

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6050653-2017-cklv-lightweight-preview-125-141

Added the Middle Weights Now

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6050839-2017-cklv-middleweight-preview-149-174

[Big Bird]

Brackets are out on FloArena. Not much to quibble about. I don't like the draws Bianchi and Stibral got, but that'll happen when you're unseeded.

I see Clay getting to the quarterfinals and then having a tough one vs the winner of Parriot and Pantaleo.

Assuming good health, I see Sykora winning his first 3 matches before squaring off with Micic.

Fogarty has a bad spot too. If he wins his first, he'll have Anthony Valencia, who absolutely destroyed him last year.

I actually like where Urbach got drawn and he'll have a couple chances.

[Big Bird]

First round wins for Sykora, Gliva, Urbach, and McNutt

Stibral lost in round 1

[harleycowboy]

I think Sykora has a very tough match with Sherman coming up. Sherman gave Kaid Brock a very tough match a couple of weeks ago. I hope Sykora wins.

[Big Bird]

Bianchi is wrestling so poorly right now. Had a good shot, got in deep, and Schwarm just overpowered him. Gave up 4 NF, then got cradled and pinned. Schwarm is a bad matchup for him, but man, he's not wrestled like I had hoped early on this year.

You're right about Sherman. He has a pretty decent lower weight coach in his corner all the time too. Still, if Cam can get a takedown, I like his odds.

[Big Bird]

Sykora loses 3-2. He led 2-1 in the third, but legitimately had no offense at any point in the match

[Big Bird]

Hampton gets pinned in the first by Chad Red. This round has started about as poorly as possible for NDSU

[Big Bird]

Gliva wins by major decision to stay in the winners bracket

[Big Bird]

CLAY REAM!!! That'll be on Flo's homepage for a bit! Trailing after getting caught flat footed, he shoots a single, lifts Moore, slams him to the mat and gets the fall. Even the table workers were loving it. Best part: he shut WV coach Sammie Henson up.

[Big Bird]

Fogarty loses 4-0. Wrestled extremely poorly on bottom again. Had numerous chances to get a TD in the first and failed to finish, eventually giving one up. He isn't a good enough finisher on his feet and has been struggling to do much of anything on bottom. On the positive side, he did have some nice shots and rode out in the third again.

[Big Bird]

Urbach and McNutt both lose. Abounader was way too strong for McNutt. McNutt got pinned in the first period, which makes that the 3rd time one of the NDSU starters got pinned in the first period...in this round alone...eesh

[Big Bird]

Eaton wins in a good match. He was very active and had the only two takedowns in the match.

3 Bison alive in the championship side of their brackets: Kyle Gliva 149, Clay Ream 157, and Cordell Eaton 197.

[Big Bird]

Bianchi wins by major decision in the wrestlebacks. I'm hoping his struggles have been confidence related. Half way through that match, he got his first takedown in a while and he looked much better after it. Keep it rolling

[Big Bird]

Sykora wins by major decision and Hampton lost by major decision. Little break for NDSU now before the next wrestleback matches are up for us

[Big Bird]

Fogarty getting set to take the mat vs Patton from UNI. Fogarty pinned Patton in OT a couple weeks ago. He should win again, and win in more convincing fashion than last time. If he doesn't come ready to wrestle though, he could lose this one.

[Big Bird]

Fogarty wins 9-2. Just like the last time they wrestled. Fogarty wrestled well in the first and third periods

[Big Bird]

McNutt stays alive with a major decision win

[Big Bird]

Stibral gets ridden out in the third to lose 2-1. He and Hampton both go 0-2.

I didn't like the decision to go down in the third period. Here's why:

Score was 2-1 Cal Poly, but Dan had RT with 1:13, essentially making it 2-2. Most realistic scenario is you get ridden for at least 15 secs, negating RT, but giving you the escape, which would then have the score 2-2...which is the same as if you picked neutral. Dan isn't very quick and his balance isn't that great, so getting away in under 14 seconds to maintain RT, and get the escape to get the 3-2 lead isn't realistic.

We saw the worst case scenario play out with Dan getting ridden out and losing 2-1. Problem is, he was the aggressor and the better of the two on their feet in period 1. Which adds to the reason I don't like picking down...you're going to need a TD either way to win it, why not give him more time to get it?

That being said, the coaches can't get away for you. As a HWT, you HAVE to be able to escape to win matches.

[Big Bird]

Bianchi on deck. He has a great path to several wins in a row. Time to build some confidence and rack up some wins

[Big Bird]

Bianchi wins by major decision. I expect him to win his next too. Then he'd have a ranked Dalton Macri of Cornell, who was upset this last round. Winnable match IMO...

[Big Bird]

Sykora techs Nebraska starter Peska

[Big Bird]

Gliva got the first takedown of the match and leads 2-1 after the 1st period vs #2 seed McCrystal of Nebraska

[Big Bird]

Kyle getting in on all kinds of shots and looking great...

Third period is his choice and the match is 3-3

[Big Bird]

1:30 left and Gliva leads 4-3, but doe have a (BS) stalling call against him

[Big Bird]

Takedown McCrystal with a minute left, but kyle gets away. Tied at 5 with 30 seconds left

[Big Bird]

Kyle shot, but McCrystal outscrambled him to get the TD and win. Kish arguing that it wasn't 2. There feet were on the opposite side of the mat, so I couldn't see, but Kish is adamant that it was a blown call

Kyle wrestled very well and I'd rather see them settle it in OT

[Big Bird]

Clay with a takedown lat in the first to make it 4-1 after 1, and he has RT.

[Big Bird]

Davis rides Ream out and starts the third on bottom and trailing 4-1.

[Big Bird]

Clay wins and on to the quarterfinals

[Big Bird]

Fogarty gets a takedown right away, rides for 2 minutes, and then gets reversed at the end of the first....and then picks down in the second, gets ridden out and never got to his feet...

Navy guy is a fool if he doesn't pick top in the third

[Big Bird]

This team in general, but Fogarty especially, is bad on bottom. It isn't just a "this year" problem either

[Big Bird]

Fogarty gets ridden for a minute in the third, and then rolls through a power half for a reversal. Up 4-2 and should erase RT very shortly

[Big Bird]

Got sloppy and gave up a reversal, plus RT again...but with 8 seconds left gets a reversal, 4 NF and erases RT to win. It was an adventure

[Big Bird]

Urbach loses 8-1 and is eliminated

[Big Bird]

McNutt gives up a quick TD....2:53 of RT and 4 sets of nearfall....trails 14-0 after one

[Big Bird]

McNutt loses

[Big Bird]

Eaton losing to All American Haught of VT 3-1 after 2. Cordell starts the third on bottom.

[Big Bird]

Quick escape and it is 3-2 Haught. Cordell has had 2 good attacks but hasn't finished.

[Big Bird]

Eaton got in deeeeeep on a shot, but didn't finish. My feed cut out, but apparently Haught someone put Eaton to his back. Match out of reach now, but Eaton has pushed Haught this match and wrestling well

[Big Bird]

Cordell loses 9-3. 6 point flurry decided it.

Haught is a legitimate national title contender and Eaton didn't back down a bit. Even though he was outgunned, he continued to attack and had 3 really good ones by my count. One unfortunate scramble was the difference, but the match was far more competitive and closer than the final score.

Good match by Cordell

[Big Bird]

After that round:

Eliminated:
Hampton, Urbach, McNutt, and Stibral

Alive in the consolation bracket:
Bianchi, Sykora, Fogarty, Gliva, Eaton

Alive in the championship side:
Ream (will take on All American Pantaleo from Michigan to make the semis)

Team Standing with just a few matches left:
In 16th out of 46 with Pitt with 22.5 points

[Big Bird]

Bianchi up now vs Macri of UNC. He's ranked right around #10 in most polls and was 1 win away from being an AA two years ago as a freshman at Cornell. Quick 2-0 lead for Macri.

Sykora will have Tucker from Cornell. Tucker has wrestled two matches today beating one all american and losing to another by 1.

Tough couple matches for the light Bison

[Big Bird]

Bianchi escapes and gets a TD of his own.

Macri escapes to tie it at 3.

Another TD for Paul! 5-3 after first period and Bianchi has 57 seconds of RT.

Need to win this on his feet

[Big Bird]

Paul with another takedown. 7-4 Paul after 2 and he has almost 2:30 of RT

Paul's choice in the third and it should be neutral.

[Big Bird]

He picks down and Macri cuts him. Paul gets a quick TD and Macri is gassed. This has been all Bianchi since the first 30 seconds of this match

[Big Bird]

Paul Bianchi beats #9 ranked Dalton Macri 11-5. Beat him on his feet, on the mat, and with a better gas tank. Great job

[Big Bird]

Cam loses 3-2. Tucker got the only takedown in the match.

The things that impressed me with Tucker: he was so calm, no wasted motion or energy, and always had great positioning. Today is my first time watching him wrestle, and you can tell he's going to be a good one. If he gets more confidence and aggression, look out.

[Big Bird]

Gliva with the comeback win to stay alive.

Fogarty up now

[Christopher Moen]

Gliva with the comeback win to stay alive.

Fogarty up now

How did Gliva get back points and no take down? Match should have been 8-4 and not 6-4.

[Christopher Moen]

Bonus points for Fogarty's pin!

[Big Bird]

Fogarty wins by fall. Even with Sykora's loss, this is a really good round for NDSU so far.

[Christopher Moen]

Fogarty wins by fall. Even with Sykora's loss, this is a really good round for NDSU so far.

Sitting at 15th right now, and ahead of teams like Minnesota, Iowa State and Oklahoma.

[Big Bird]

Eaton wins 6-1.

Ream up in the quarterfinals

[Christopher Moen]

Eaton wins 6-1.

Ream up in the quarterfinals

Dang Ream!

[Big Bird]

Pantaleo pancakes Ream and pins him in the first period.

Bianchi up

[Christopher Moen]

Pantaleo pancakes Ream and pins him in the first period.

Bianchi up

More bonus points with Bianchi's pin!

[Big Bird]

Bianchi was up 4-1 in the third and gets a fall. He's really turned it on to end the day

[Christopher Moen]

Gliva assigned to Mat #5.

[Christopher Moen]

Fogarty also assigned to Mat #5.

[Big Bird]

Gliva looking good up 2-1 after 1. He has had much more success finishing doubles as opposed to his high-C

[Christopher Moen]

Gliva looking good up 2-1 after 1. He has had much more success finishing doubles as opposed to his high-C

Gave up way too many scramble points.

[Big Bird]

Gliva looked like the better wrestler and led throughout, but got reversed to his back for 6 in the third to lose.

[Big Bird]

Gave up way too many scramble points.

Yeah, the reversal in the third killed him. He was the better wrestler for most of the match

[Big Bird]

Fogarty had him stuck, the ref missed that one

[Christopher Moen]

Fogarty had him stuck, the ref missed that one

Not sure how the Drexel kid got two. The throw attempt that Fogarty countered nicely looked continuous.

[Christopher Moen]

Our guys hang their heads too much on bottom and part of the reason they can't get out.

[Big Bird]

Tech fall for Fogarty!


Next up Logan Massa....

[Big Bird]

Our guys hang their heads too much on bottom and part of the reason they can't get out.

Constant problem. Even the more active guys on the team do it too much

[Christopher Moen]

Tech-fall for Fogarty. IMO, tech-falls should be worth more than pins. They're harder to attain and you can't "accidentally" tech someone.

Eaton assigned to Mat #4.

[Christopher Moen]

Constant problem. Even the more active guys on the team do it too much

That's a basic technique for American Folkstyle Wrestling. Head up with an explosive first move from bottom while battling for hand control.

[Big Bird]

Cordell couldn't finish a nice high-c where he got in super deep. Have to finish that. He didn't though, and after a stalemate he gave up a beautiful heel pick for 6 for Holschlag. Holschlag rolling through two periods

[Big Bird]

Down 13-0 to start the third and he chose neutral.

Took another good high-c but was slow to transition to any finish. He was able to eventually finish it, but he needs to work on transitioning way quicker

[Christopher Moen]

Down 13-0 to start the third and he chose neutral.

Took another good high-c but was slow to transition to any finish. He was able to eventually finish it, but he needs to work on transitioning way quicker

That UNI dude was all counter attack.

[Big Bird]

Loses 16-3.

He has the talent, just needs to clean some minor things up.

[Big Bird]

Heading to tomorrow tied for 17th with Minnesota and Virginia.

Ream, Bianchi, and Fogarty all remain alive. They all have to win 1 more match just to place.

Bianchi has Oklahoma's Christian Moody to place. Moody isn't ranked but is a fringe top 20 guy. If Paul wrestles like he did in the wrestlebacks today, he wins.
Ream has Coleman Hammond of CSUB, coached by former NDSU head assistant Manny Rivera (who is doing a great job). I expect a close one and Manny will have Clay scouted very well, but Clay is the better wrestler IMO.
Fogarty has Logan Massa. Massa is a consensus top 3 guy at 165 and a legit national title contender. It is pretty shocking he lost, and the way he did fading in the third period. This will be an incredibly tall task for Fogarty.

[Christopher Moen]

Heading to tomorrow tied for 17th with Minnesota and Virginia.

Ream, Bianchi, and Fogarty all remain alive. They all have to win 1 more match just to place.

Bianchi has Oklahoma's Christian Moody to place. Moody isn't ranked but is a fringe top 20 guy. If Paul wrestles like he did in the wrestlebacks today, he wins.
Ream has Coleman Hammond of CSUB, coached by former NDSU head assistant Manny Rivera (who is doing a great job). I expect a close one and Manny will have Clay scouted very well, but Clay is the better wrestler IMO.
Fogarty has Logan Massa. Massa is a consensus top 3 guy at 165 and a legit national title contender. It is pretty shocking he lost, and the way he did fading in the third period. This will be an incredibly tall task for Fogarty.

I feel we get two in the placement matches.

[IowaBison]

Fogarty is top 8. Massa Medical Forfeited.

[Big Bird]

Bianchi is eliminated. Wrestled really poorly and gave up more than 3 minutes of RT

[Big Bird]

Clay down 9-3 after 1.

Battling back in the 2nd though

[Big Bird]

Cut it to 11-9, and then got reversed to his back.

15-9 To start the 3rd and Hammond has RT. Clay has 4 TDs

[Big Bird]

Gt a TD to cut it to 16-14 and erase RT, and then got reversed again. Very sloppy.

Won the TD battle 6-1 I believe, and lost the match

[harleycowboy]

I just watched Reams match and it is hard to believe he is 5th year senior and leader of our team. A painful match to watch, Sloppy is not the word for it. I thought he would all-American last year but he was horrible at Nationals (maybe injured). He seems to have regressed. In this tournament it seems to me we have been the better wrestler but lost by being sloppy during a lot of matches. I don't believe that coach Kish as a head coach has brought in a kid who has been all American yet. Maybe 1 of the West Fargo kids will all American. We have had some good wrestling during this tournament but it seems to end poorly.

[RadioBison]

Won the TD battle 6-1 I believe, and lost the match

I had the takedowns at 5-1. Clay got into a big hole with that 6 point move in the first, but that 4 point move with short time at the end of the 2nd really killed him. If they meet again, my vote is to just take him down and let him up.

[Big Bird]

Great start for Fogarty, 6-0 early

[Big Bird]

gave up a late TD, but up 6-3 after 1 and starts on bottom

[Big Bird]

7-3 after two. Need a good ride to waste time and tire him out

[Big Bird]

CRAZY finish, but Fogarty gets the 7-4 win. He gave up a penalty point for something, then craziness ensued.

Fogarty had a nice shot with 15 seconds left, but Valencia put Fogarty on his back. Fogarty kept the leg and they awarded no points either way. I'm a little confused, especially since Fogarty was on his back for so long. Next time, listen to coach Kish and don't engage! Running away sucks, but with a three point lead and a dangerous scorer, it may be needed

Great win though!

[RadioBison]

CRAZY finish, but Fogarty gets the 7-4 win. He gave up a penalty point for something, then craziness ensued.

Fogarty had a nice shot but Valencia put Fogarty on his back. Fogarty kept the leg and they awarded no points either way. I'm a little confused, especially since Fogarty was on his back for so long.

Great win though!

Yeah, that one goes on your signature win list. Fogarty sure likes to keep matches exciting until the end.

[Big Bird]

Yeah, that one goes on your signature win list. Fogarty sure likes to keep matches exciting until the end.

Yeah, no kidding!

[Big Bird]

Fogarty and Valencia met last year and it was an noncompetitive beat down in Valencia's favor. Valencia wound up dominating and winning by tech fall.

To not only close the gap, but win the rematch the next season is impressive and a great sign.

[Big Bird]

Fogarty will have Ohio State's Te'Shan Campbell. He's a hammer on top, so this match will have to be won on his feet.

[Big Bird]

Trailing 8-0 heading to the third period. Campbell has 2 TDs, 4NF, 2:30 of RT, and his choice too.

Campbell will pick neutral in the third period

[Big Bird]

Fogarty loses 11-0.

He will take 5th, as Minnesota's Nick Wanzek will injury default out. Very good tournament for Fogarty

[Gladiator Dad]

I had the takedowns at 5-1. Clay got into a big hole with that 6 point move in the first, but that 4 point move with short time at the end of the 2nd really killed him. If they meet again, my vote is to just take him down and let him up.

Had a long talk with Clay on this one. If you go back and watch Hammond's matches in this tournament he is very comfortable hanging out on the mat and came up with several reversals in some of his other matches as well. I would agree that Clay was pretty sloppy at the end of the 2nd and that is most likely what cost him the match after battling back to close the gap after the 1st period. If you re-watch the match take a look at what Hammond does when Clay tries to cut him, he just grabs onto Clay's legs and holds on for dear life, Clay I thought should have gotten more physical to get the escape but hats off to Mr Hammond for keeping things where he felt right at home. I believe that shows that Hammond doesn't think he can stop Clay's leg attacks either. If they were to ever meet again, I don't think there will be much time spent on the mat, I can guarantee it.

[RadioBison]

CRAZY finish, but Fogarty gets the 7-4 win. He gave up a penalty point for something, then craziness ensued.

Fogarty had a nice shot with 15 seconds left, but Valencia put Fogarty on his back. Fogarty kept the leg and they awarded no points either way. I'm a little confused, especially since Fogarty was on his back for so long. Next time, listen to coach Kish and don't engage! Running away sucks, but with a three point lead and a dangerous scorer, it may be needed

Great win though!

This one made the front page on Flo with a "You make the call" headline. They don't seem to have open comments after switching to their new format, but I'm sure it would be interesting if they still did. It won't surprise me at all if this gets its own segment on the next FRL.

When I go back and re-watch this one, it seems like the ref made the right call. He isn't counting for the new danger zone rule because they both have their backs to the mat beyond the 90 degree angle. He is in the perfect position to make the call, and you can even see him measuring Valencia's angle.