Husker Wrestling Finish 2nd At Cliff Kleen
Las Vegas - Two Huskers claimed individual titles as the Nebraska wrestling team finished second at the 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational.
Ridge Lovett (149) and Peyton Robb (157) finished atop their weight classes as NU amassed 125.5 team points.
Finals
Lovett (149) won five-straight matches, including three bonus-point victories, to win the Cliff Keen title. He met Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Caleb Henson in the finals where he defeated him 4-3.
Robb (157) became the second 2023 Cliff Keen champ as he won he’s second-straight title in Vegas. He tallied four-straight victories before he met Virginia Tech’s No. 4 Jacori Teemer and defeated him 6-4.
Third-place Matches
Caleb Smith (125) finished competition at the Cliff Keen Invite with a third-place finish and a 6-1 record. He won three-straight matches, including an overtime victory against No. 2 Matt Ramos, before meeting Oregon State’s No. 14 Brandon Kaylor and defeating him in overtime, 4-1.
Lenny Pinto (184) won three-straight matches to open the Cliff Keen before falling to top-ranked Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) in the semifinals. Pinto then defeated Michigan’s Jaden Bullock in the consolation semis before falling to Oklahoma State’s No. 5 Dustin Plott in the third-place match.
Fifth-place Matches
Brock Hardy (141) opened competition with three-straight victories, including two bonus point victories, en route to a semifinals matchup against Ohio State’s No. 5 Jesse Mendez. Hardy battled, but fell by major decision and moved on to consolation where he finished sixth.
Silas Allred (197) started with a pin and a major decision before falling by tech. fall to Cornell’s No. 6 Jacob Cardenas in the quarterfinals. In consolation, Allred recorded two-straight bonus-point victories before facing No. 3 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State. Allred fell to Sloan, and then faced Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) and won by decision to finish fifth
Consolation
Jacob Van Dee (133), Antrell Taylor (165), Adam Thebeau (174) and Harley Andrews (HWT) all won their opening Round of 32 matches, but dropped the following Round of 16 matches to move on to consolation. Van Dee tallied a tech. fall over Cal State Bakersfield’s Santino Sanchez before falling to Northern Iowa’s Julian Farber 9-5. He ended his tournament run with a 2-2 record. Taylor defeated Northern Iowa’s Evan Yant by major decision before falling to Purdue’s No. 30 Stoney Buell in the next round and ending his weekend with a 2-2 record. Thebeau and Andrews both dropped their opening consolation round and finished with an overall 1-2 record.
Up next, the Huskers host South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 16. Action is set for 6 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on B1G+.
125 - No. 9 Caleb Smith (6-1) 3rd
Round of 32: No. 9 Smith tech. fall Jake Ice (SHU) 19-4 (3:07)
Round of 16: No. 9 Smith dec. Nicholas Babin (Columbia) 8-6
Quarterfinals: No. 11 Jore Volk (Wyoming) dec. No. 9 Smith 4-2
Cons. of 8 #2: No. 9 Smith dec. No. 21 Troy Sprately (Oklahoma State) 5-4
Cons. of 4: No. 9 Smith dec. No. 2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) 8-4 SV-2
Cons. Semis: No. 9 Smith dec. No. 5 Michael DeAugustino (Michigan) MFF
Third-Place Match: No. 9 Smith dec. No. 14 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) 4-1
133 - No. 27 Jake Van Dee (2-2) DNP
Round of 32: No. 27 Van Dee tech. fall Jameson Garcia (Harvard) 19-3 (6:57)
Round of 16: Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) dec. No. 27 Van Dee 10-4
Cons. of 16 #2: No. 27 Van Dee tech. fall Santino Sanchez (Cal State Bakersfield) 15-0 (5:12)
Cons. of 8 #1: Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 27 Van Dee 9-5
141 - No. 4 Brock Hardy (3-3) 6th
Round of 32: No. 4 Hardy tech. fall Cole Solomey (Purdue) 21-0 (5:33)
Round of 16: No. 4 Hardy pinned Cole Brooks (Wyoming) 2:47
Quarterfinals: No. 4 Hardy dec. No. 24 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State)
Semifinals: No. 5 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) major dec. No. 4 Hardy 11-3
Cons. Semis: No. 9 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 4 Hardy 15-13
Fifth-Place: No. 24 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) major dec. No. 4 Hardy 13-5
149 - No. 1 Ridge Lovett (5-0) 1st
Round of 32: No. 1 Lovett pinned Noah Tapia (Hofstra) 1:35
Round of 16: No. 1 Lovett major dec. Dylan Gilcher (Michigan) 11-1
Quarterfinals: No. 1 Lovett dec. No. 12 Quinn Kinner (Rider) 13-6
Semifinals: No. 1 Lovett major dec. No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) 11-0
Finals: No. 1 Lovett dec. No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) 4-3
157 - No. 3 Peyton Robb (5-0) 1st
Round of 32: No. 3 Robb tech. fall Jaden Le (Columbia) 26-10 (6:28)
Round of 16: No. 3 Robb tech. fall Legend Lamer (Cal Poly) 16-0 (4:03)
Quarterfinals: No. 3 Robb major dec. No. 13 Cael Swensen (South Dakota State) 10-0
Semifinals: No. 3 Robb dec. No. 6 Will Lewan (Michigan) 8-2
Finals: No. 3 Robb dec. No. 4 Jacori Teemer (Virginia Tech) 6-4
165 - No. 10 Antrell Taylor (2-2) DNP
Round of 32: No. 10 Taylor dec. Connor Gaynor (South Dakota State) 8-5
Round of 16: No. 25 Giano Petrucelli (Air Force) dec. No. 10 Taylor 12-9
Cons. of 16 #2: No. 10 Taylor major dec. Evan Yant (Northern Iowa) 11-3
Cons. of 8 #1: No. 30 Stoney Buell (Purdue) major dec. No. 10 Taylor 12-1
174 - Adam Thebeau (1-2) DNP
Round of 32: Thebeau pinned Luke Rada (Harvard) 2:19
Round of 16: No. 5 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) pinned Thebeau 2:12
Cons. of 16 #2: Sal Perrine (Ohio) pinned Thebeau 1:42
184 - No. 7 Lenny Pinto (4-2) 4th
Round of 32: No. 7 Pinto pinned Quayin Short (Wyoming) 0:50
Round of 16: No. 7 Pinto dec. No. 20 Dylan Fishback (NC State) 4-1
Quarterfinals: No. 7 Pinto dec. No. 5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) 12-10
Semifinals: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 7 Pinto 8-4
Cons. Semis: No. 7 Pinto dec. Jaden Bullock (Michigan) 9-6
Third-Place: No. 5 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 7 Pinto 11-7
197 - No. 12 Silas Allred (5-2) 5th
Round of 32: No. 12 Allred pinned Jake Trovato (Sacred Heart) 1:16
Round of 16: No. 12 Allred major dec. No. 21 Evan Bates (Northwestern) 11-2
Quarterfinals: No. 6 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) tech. fall No. 12 Allred 17-1 (5:52)
Cons. of 8 #2: No. 12 Allred tech. fall No. 23 Wyatt Voelker (Northern Iowa) 19-3 (6:09)
Cons. of 4: No. 12 Allred pinned Joey Novak (Wyoming) 4:57
Cons. Semis: No. 3 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) major dec. No. 12 Allred 12-1
Fifth-Place: No. 12 Allred dec. Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) 8-5
HWT - Harley Andrews (1-2) DNP
Round of 32: Andrews major dec. Jordan Greer (Ohio) 8-0
Round of 16: No. 3 Lucas Davison (Michigan) pinned Andrews 2:36
Cons. of 16 #2: Jose Valdez (Northern Iowa) dec. Andrews 3-2
