2016 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Session 1 Stud Watch

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Session 1 Stud Watch

Session 1 from Cliff Keen Las Vegas is in the books, and for the most part, Vegas' showstoppers have been taking care of business.

Dec 2, 2016 by Christian Pyles
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NCAA Wrestling Live On FLO: Dec. 2: No. 2 Iowa at South Dakota State (7 PM CT) | Dec. 2-3: Cliff Keen Las Vegas | Dec. 3: UNI Open | Dec. 4: Journeymen Tussle | Dec. 4: Pitt at No. 1 Oklahoma State (1 PM CT)

Session 1 from Cliff Keen Las Vegas is in the books, and for the most part, Vegas' showstoppers have been taking care of business.

Quarterfinals are set for 6 PM PST tonight. Check out updated brackets and matches here.

125 - Joey Dance, Virginia Tech

The top seed Hokie has scored key bonus points for VT, winning by pin and technical fall. Dance will face Iowa State's Markus Simmons in the quarters tonight. Also making noise at 125 are Noah Baughman of Cornell, who took out No. 3 seed Josh Terao and Noah Gonser, who downed the third-seeded Austin Assad of Michigan.

Dance gets the fall in round 1:

133 - Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State

The Buckeye dominated in his early-round matches, winning by technical fall and a 10-3 major decision. The big story in this weight was when Earl Hall, the No. 2 seed, lost to CMU's Corey Keener.

Everyone will be glued to the Tomasello/Naser quarterfinal tonight. Naser downed NATO last year at Bill Farrell.

NATO with a technical fall and a beautiful duck-under:

Stevan Micic has put up 35 points in his first two bouts:

141 - Bryce Meredith, Wyoming

The NCAA finalist has been on a tear with two falls in his only bouts of the day. Joey McKenna has looked strong but not near as dominant. This bracket saw an incredible five seeded wrestlers go down. Brock Zacherl, the three seed from Clarion, fell to CSU Bakersfield's Russell Rohlfing.

Meredith with the 47-second stick:


Zacherl falls to Rohlfing:

149 - Micah Jordan, Ohio State

The top seeds did their job this session with Joey Galasso, the No. 6 seed, being the only seeded wrestler to fall this session. Solomon Chishko and Micah Jordan haven't been challenged at this point.

Jordan gets the late fall:

157 - Brian Murphy, Michigan

Murphy got an early test against a very salty Paul Fox. This was a fun bout to watch, and Murphy took the match late. Colton Shorts took out fifth-seeded Casey Sparkman.

Murphy downs Fox:

165 - Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin

The NCAA finalist has been on a tear, as has No. 2 seed Michigan freshman Logan Massa. There weren't many upsets to speak of in this one, which suggests they'll be coming soon.

Jordan gets the fall in 38 seconds:


Massa gets the pinfall from the bodylock:

174 - Brian Realbuto, Cornell

Both of the big guns here at 174, Brian Realbuto and Zahid Valencia, had a rough moment or two in their bouts, but both emerged unscathed and sit in the quarterfinals tonight.

After an 11-4 first-round win, Realbuto answers with a major decision:


Zahid ekes out a one-pointer against Ben Harvey of Army:

184 - Gabe Dean, Cornell

The merciless Gabe Dean has looked outstanding, with two first period pinfalls. Myles Martin has been extremely dominant as well. Third-seeded Zach Zavatsky had a tough 3-2 win over Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin. Edinboro's true freshman Dakota Geer upset the No. 5 seed Steven Schneider. Geer was a stud in high school, so this may not be the last we hear of him in Vegas.

Dean with the pin under a minute:


197 - Brett Pfarr, Minnesota

It was a major decision and a tech fall for Brett Pfarr in the early going as he paces the 197-pound weight class. However, the story of this weight is Cornell's Ben Honis. Honis upended Rocco Caywood and Jeric Kasunic in back-to-back matches. Honis will now face Pfarr in the quarterfinals.

Honis downs Kasunic to make the quarters:


285 - Connor Medbery, Wisconsin

Not many big men out here hittin' tilts for nearfall with the exception of Medbery. He's won by an 11-0 major and a technical fall so far. This weight has largely kept its shape with no real upsets to this point.

Connor Medbery getting swipes with his tilt: