Nearly half of the nationally ranked wrestlers in the country are at this weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.  Spectators should expect to see a variety of #1 vs #2 and #2 vs #3 match ups as well as some head-to-heads between wrestlers ranked in the p4p, like Dylan Ness and James Green.  There are literally dozens of great match ups you'll want to watch out for, but in my humble opinion, these are the top 10.

#10: Joey Dance vs Nathan Tomasello
If this match is half as good as Dance vs Tomasello I, an early Match of the Year candidate, then I'll be thrilled.  #11 Tomasello will be coming into this one with a chip on his shoulder, looking to edge the man, #4 Joey Dance, who gave him his very 1st NCAA loss.  I like when a wrestler competes with a chip on his shoulder.  This one's going to be good. 

#9: Nick Sulzer vs Mike Moreno
It was at Cliff Keen Las Vegas 2013 where Sulzer showed us that he's the real deal and a legitimate NCAA title contender.  He wrestled a fantastic match vs Moreno, coming out on top 5-2 there while showing off his ability to attack legs and finish.  What's in store here? Another good, solid match between the #2 and #3 wrestlers in the country, advantage: Sulzer.

#8: Kyle Snyder vs Kyven Gadson
We'll find out how good #7 Snyder really is after facing #3 Gadson this Saturday — remember, Gadson's the man who took out upstart freshman, and NCAA champ, J'Den Cox at last year's Southern Scuffle.  We should see a clash of styles here as Gadson is more of a positional wrestler who picks his spots, while Snyder is a highly active attacker who uses his handfighting and forward pressure to break his opponenet's position.  Snyder will have his hands full beating Gadson's defense, but he may only need one takedown to win what should be a very close one. 

#7: Nick Dardanes vs Devin Carter
This one's going to awesome.  Very evenly matched wrestlers, #4 Dardanes and #3 Carter should meet up in the semi finals at 141lbs. The last time these wrestlers faced off, it was in FS in 2012 and Carter put up 3 points to Dardanes' 1...but they were 3 very hard-fought points, and Carter benefitted from a late takedown in the final period to earn for himself the win. 

#6: Nahshon Garrett vs Nathan Tomasello
Numbers on the boards.  Of his 34 victories last year, Nahshon won 20 by major, tech or pin. Tomasello's got stats too: of his 8 matches this year, he's picked up bonus points in all of them; last year he went 19-0 in open competition, with 15 of those wins coming by major, tech or pin.  These dudes are fast, explosive and they like to break their opponents.  Who will crack first? 

#5: Logan Storley vs Robert Kokesh
The clear #1 and #2 ranked wrestlers at 174lbs, Logan Storely and Robert Kokesh absolutely impress every time they wrestle.  The two traded wins and losses last season and engaged in one of the greatest overtime matches I have personally ever seen in my entire life.  I'm praying for the same type of magic at this year's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 

#4: Adam Coon vs Nick Gwiazdowski
Remember what happened last year? When true frosh Coon took out top-seeded Nick Gwiazdowski in the quarter finals at Vegas? Yea, I bet Gwiaz has had that match on his mind for a while...

#3: Scott Schiller vs Kyle Snyder
If #1 Scott Schiller can beat Kyven Gadson and J'Den Cox, then I'm sure he can beat #7 Kyle Snyder -"can" beat him, can.  But will he beat Snyder — the most college-ready true freshman I've ever seen — in the finals of CK Las Vegas? Tough call here, but I'm going to say "no" on the "will."  It's still early, and the grind of a college season has not yet gotten to Snyder.  He's still fresh, he seems hungry to compete, and from a technical perspective, he has no weaknesses.  These two will most likely match up two or more times this year, and I do expect Schiller to win one of these, but I don't think he bests Kyle Snyder this weekend at Vegas. 

#2: Devin Carter vs Logan Stieber
Let's hope their final at CK Las Vegas 2014 is much closer than the blowout that was the 2014 NCAA final at 141lbs — 10-1 Stieber, yikes!  If #1 Stieber is on — and man was he on last year at Vegas — then this one could get ugly.  BUT if #3 Carter is on (and Stieber comes out flat), we could see one of the best matches of the year.  It seems Stieber gets stronger and stronger as the season goes on, so maybe Carter can come into CKLV, catch Stieber sleeping and pull off a huge pre-Christmas upset a la Zain Retherford. 

#1: Dylan Ness vs James Green
We've been waiting for this rematch since last year's NCAA quarter final match between the pair.  Ness electrified every single inch of the Chesapeake Arena when he pinned Green in the first period there with his signature "Gator Bacon" — place was loud! Adding to the story here is the fact that #2 Green had beaten #1 Ness handily, 7-3, just weeks earlier at the Big Ten Tournament.  Well now it's Green's time for some revenge...maybe. 



REFERENCED MATCHES

Dance vs Tomasello I (Viginia Tech Home Dual)



Sulzer vs Moreno (Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Final, 2013)



Gadson vs J'Den Cox (Southern Scuffle Semi Finals, 2014)



Dardanes vs Carter (University WTT Quarter Finals, 2012)

Coon vs Gwiazdowski (Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Quarter Finals, 2013)

Ness vs Green (Big Ten Tournament Semi Finals, 2014)

2014 NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS VIDEOS
Logan Storely vs Robert Kokesh Semi Final
Devin Carter vs Logan Stieber Final
Dylan Ness vs James Green Quarter Final