Friday, December 1
Las Vegas, Nev.
11:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
at
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
WVU Heads to Vegas for Cliff Keen Invitational
November 30, 2017 03:27 PM | Wrestling
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the fourth straight year, the West Virginia University wrestling team travels to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational held Friday, Dec. 1, and Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Live results and video for the event will be featured on FloWrestling.org.
"We are excited to compete in the Cliff Keen Invitational this weekend," said WVU coach Sammie Henson. "We always like to go there because it's the closest tournament we can get to nationals. The teams are competitive, it's great competition. I think you have every Power 5 conference represented, which helps you get a flavor of every area in the country. It's a challenging tournament, and it helps us prepare for the postseason."
A total of 30 teams will compete at this year's Cliff Keen event. Eight of the nation's top-16 teams will be in action, including No. 2 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 14 Cornell and No. 16 Northern Iowa.
The tournament starts at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, with Round 1 Pig Tail Championship, Round 2 of 32 Championship, Round 3 Consolation of 32, Round 4 Championship of 16, Consolation 1st of 16 and Round 5 Consolation 2nd of 16. The first day will resume at 9 p.m. ET, with the Round 6 Championship Quarterfinals and Consolation Round 1st of 8.
Saturday's action also begins at 11 a.m. ET with Round 7 Consolation 2nd of 8, followed by Round 8 Championship Semifinals, Round 9 Consolation Semifinals, Consolation Finals fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth places. The Championship Finals for first, second, third and fourth place will begin at 6 p.m. ET.
Of note, the Mountaineers have placed six wrestlers on the podium at the Cliff Keen Invite in the Henson era, as redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith earned his third consecutive podium finish at 197 pounds last year, finishing in fourth place for the second year in a row.
Though WVU dropped a 28-13 defeat to then-No. 13 Nebraska inside the WVU Coliseum last Saturday, a trio of Mountaineers remain in the national rankings.
Smith is ranked in the top 8 nationally by a trio of media outlets at 197 pounds. The Charleston, West Virginia, native appears at No. 6 according to Intermat and FloWrestling and is ranked No. 8 by The Open Mat.
Redshirt junior Zeke Moisey comes in at No. 17 in Intermat's latest top-20 poll. The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native also ranks No. 18 via FloWrestling at his weight of 125 pounds.
At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt checks in at No. 19 via The Open Mat. The Platte City, Missouri, native claimed a major decision over Nebraska's Brian Peska in the Mountaineers' home opener vs. the No.13-ranked Cornhuskers to move to 10-2 on the year.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers return to Morgantown for a dual against Pitt on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
PROBABLE LINEUP:
Live results and video for the event will be featured on FloWrestling.org.
"We are excited to compete in the Cliff Keen Invitational this weekend," said WVU coach Sammie Henson. "We always like to go there because it's the closest tournament we can get to nationals. The teams are competitive, it's great competition. I think you have every Power 5 conference represented, which helps you get a flavor of every area in the country. It's a challenging tournament, and it helps us prepare for the postseason."
A total of 30 teams will compete at this year's Cliff Keen event. Eight of the nation's top-16 teams will be in action, including No. 2 Ohio State, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 13 Nebraska, No. 14 Cornell and No. 16 Northern Iowa.
The tournament starts at 11 a.m. ET on Friday, with Round 1 Pig Tail Championship, Round 2 of 32 Championship, Round 3 Consolation of 32, Round 4 Championship of 16, Consolation 1st of 16 and Round 5 Consolation 2nd of 16. The first day will resume at 9 p.m. ET, with the Round 6 Championship Quarterfinals and Consolation Round 1st of 8.
Saturday's action also begins at 11 a.m. ET with Round 7 Consolation 2nd of 8, followed by Round 8 Championship Semifinals, Round 9 Consolation Semifinals, Consolation Finals fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth places. The Championship Finals for first, second, third and fourth place will begin at 6 p.m. ET.
Of note, the Mountaineers have placed six wrestlers on the podium at the Cliff Keen Invite in the Henson era, as redshirt senior Jacob A. Smith earned his third consecutive podium finish at 197 pounds last year, finishing in fourth place for the second year in a row.
Though WVU dropped a 28-13 defeat to then-No. 13 Nebraska inside the WVU Coliseum last Saturday, a trio of Mountaineers remain in the national rankings.
Smith is ranked in the top 8 nationally by a trio of media outlets at 197 pounds. The Charleston, West Virginia, native appears at No. 6 according to Intermat and FloWrestling and is ranked No. 8 by The Open Mat.
Redshirt junior Zeke Moisey comes in at No. 17 in Intermat's latest top-20 poll. The Northampton, Pennsylvania, native also ranks No. 18 via FloWrestling at his weight of 125 pounds.
At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Matthew Schmitt checks in at No. 19 via The Open Mat. The Platte City, Missouri, native claimed a major decision over Nebraska's Brian Peska in the Mountaineers' home opener vs. the No.13-ranked Cornhuskers to move to 10-2 on the year.
Looking ahead, the Mountaineers return to Morgantown for a dual against Pitt on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
PROBABLE LINEUP:
| Weight | Name | Year | Hometown |
| 125 | Devin Brown | So. | Murrysville, Pa. |
| 133 | No. 19 Matthew Schmitt | r-Fr. | Platte City, Mo. |
| 141 | Christian Monserrat | Jr. | Methuen, Mass. |
| 149 | Kyler Rea | r-Fr. | Neosho, Mo. |
| 157 | Zachary Moore | r-So. | Oklahoma City Okla. |
| 165 | Nick Kiussis | Fr. | Brunswick, Ohio |
| 184 | Brenden McRill | Fr. | Davison, Mich. |
| 197 | Hunter DeLong | Fr. | Parkersburg, W.Va. |
| HWT | Brandon Ngati | So. | Hagerstown, Md. |
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