By Matt Krumrie – TWM Senior Editor
info@thewrestlingmall.com
Questions? We all have them. Answers? We all want them. And in just a few days we will have them.
The 27th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational takes place Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The annual event is considered the best early season national test for teams across the country. This isn’t an open tournament – and teams must bring their ten best wrestlers who are ready to compete to have a shot to contend.
Of the 48 teams 35 are Division I, while seven compete at the NCAA Division II level, four in NAIA and two in NJCAA.
This year’s field may be the deepest in recent memory. Of those 48 teams, 19 are nationally ranked, including 12 Division I teams. These ranked Division I teams (W.I.N. Magazine Dec. 1 rankings used) will compete this weekend: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Cornell, No. 6 Nebraska, No. 7 Lehigh, No. 8 Minnesota, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Boise State, No. 13 Michigan, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 16 Indiana, No. 22 West Virginia, and No. 23 Penn. In addition a total of 96 ranked Division I wrestlers are slated to compete. Among that group is a number of All-Americans and four 2008 NCAA national champions: Angel Escobedo of Indiana (125), J Jaggers of Ohio State (141), Jordan Leen of Cornell (157), and Mike Pucillo of Ohio State (184).
Michigan is the defending tournament champion, and has won three of the past four tournaments. This year’s field appears to be wide open, with the potential for many great matchups and storylines.
Here are ten hot questions that need to be answered this week:
10. Who will emerge on the national scene?
This time of year many wrestling fans are optimistic – their favorite wrestlers and teams have fared well in open tournaments, and maybe looked good in a few dual meets. That new starter appears to be capable of filling in for the graduated senior, or the highly-touted freshman is showing just why he was expected to do great things. However, the CKLV Invite is the first real national test of the year. Success at open tournaments – which are mostly regional-based competitions, is one thing – success at a nationally prominent tournament like this is another. It happens almost every year. A wrestler has an outstanding tournament and makes a name for himself on the national scene. How many people really expected Michigan’s Russell to have the success he did until he won in Vegas last year? Sure, he had solid high school credentials, but did anyone expect the true frosh to be so good so soon until Vegas? It’s not just the champs who emerge in this tournament, however. It’s the guys who place, who win a few extra matches, that get coaches and fans excited about the rest of the season. Perform well here – and you will make a name for yourself.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum: As much as fans want to be optimistic about the season and its team, this tournament is also a good gauge of what wrestlers and teams need to get back and put in the work needed to be successful. This is a tough tournament, the toughest competition many will face all year. A poor tournament isn’t the end all – just a wake up call to what life amongst the nation’s best is really like.
9. What Division II, NAIA or JUCO wrestler will pull the upset?
Wrestlers from the Division II, NAIA or Junior College ranks compete against some of the best in the country at the Division I level. You can bet each and everyone will be out to prove they can wrestle – and possibly beat – that DI wrestler they face. It will happen this weekend, it’s just a matter of when.
8. How will the new qualifying system impact this tournament?
With the new qualifying system in place, every match, every potential win - or loss - could have long-lasting implications. Suddenly, that second round wrestleback between two guys who may eventually be on the bubble of qualifying for the NCAA tournament has greater meaning. Every match counts – and while we won’t know until March what matches could have swayed things, wrestlers need to put themselves in position to leave no doubt when it comes time for the committee to select the final field for the NCAA tournament. Winning here can only help the cause come March.
7. Who will be the best of the west?
The Western Wrestling Conference – that is. Six of the seven WWC teams will compete this week: Air Force, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. Northern Iowa, the perennial conference/West Region champ, will not be competing. It may be early in the season, but you can bet coaches from these teams will be scouting and planning ahead for the dual meet and conference season. See No. 9 for another reason why these matches are important.
6. Will this be Boise State’s coming out party?
Everyone knows this is a talented Boise State team. The Broncos enter the CKLV Invite ranked No. 11 in the country and with 7 nationally ranked wrestlers. They are the clear favorite in the Pac-10 and can show just how well they can do in the conference this weekend as six of the nine Pac-10 schools are competing (ASU, Boise State, Cal Poly, CS Bakersfield, CS Fullerton and UC Davis are the others). But Broncos wrestlers, coaches and fans want more – much more. They want a national top 10 finish come March. They want multiple All-Americans and an individual national champion. It could very well happen – and they could prove just how good they can be by excelling this weekend.
5. What can we expect from Minnesota?
The Gophers climbed to 8th in the nation in the recent WIN rankings – but many questions remain for the young Gophers. Zach Sanders (125), Jayson Ness (133) and Mike Thorn (141) are a formidable 1-2-3 punch, Tyler Safratowich is solid at 157 and Ben Berhow is ranked No. 19 at heavyweight. But what about the rest of this lineup? What can we expect from guys like Scott Glasser (165), Kaleb Young (174) and Chris McPhail (197). How will Berhow progress? How will Sanders and Thorn, two highly-talented redshirt freshman – fare against a national field? And with six other ranked Big Ten teams competing this weekend – can Gophers fans get an idea of what to expect come conference dual and tournament time? This could be an early glimpse.
4. Just how good is Lehigh?
The Mountain Hawks, under the leadership of head coach Pat Santoro, went 4-0 at the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals last weekend, including Lehigh’s first ever dual win over Oklahoma State. That win helped propel the Mountain Hawks into the top ten nationally for the first time in almost three years (ranked No. 7 in the latest W.I.N poll). Freshman 125-pounder John McDonald was named the EIWA Wrestler of the Week on Sunday, after winning all four of his bouts at the Northeast Duals. McDonald’s biggest victory was a 4-3 upset of fifth-ranked Obe Blanc of Oklahoma State, which keyed Lehigh’s 18-13 upset win over the Cowboys. There are currently four Lehigh wrestlers ranked in the top 20 by W.I.N. - Matt Fisk (No. 14 at 133), Trevor Chinn (No. 14 at 149), Alex Caruso (No. 18 at 174) and David Craig (No. 15 at 184). No one doubts that Lehigh will be strong, but this good this soon?
3. Which weight class is the toughest?
With a total of 96 ranked Division I wrestlers competing, it’s safe to say there is some serious talent heading to the desert this weekend. This may be a question that there is no answer for. Do you rank a weight class by its depth throughout, or by the number of returning All-Americans and national champions leading the pack? For example, 157 has 11 ranked wrestlers, including last years NCAA champion – Jordan Leen of Cornell, and runnerup – Mike Poeta of Illinois, while 141 has 11 ranked wrestlers, including 2008 NCAA champion J Jaggers of Ohio State, and 2008 Big Ten champion Kellen Russell of Michigan – who beat Jaggers 4-3 in the championship match of the 2007 CKLV Invite.
That weight class also has six of the top ten ranked wrestlers at that weight class, including:
2. J Jaggers, Sr. Ohio State
3. Zach Tanelli, Sr. Wisconsin
4. Brandon Rader, Sr. West Virginia
6. Kellen Russell, So. Michigan
8. Chris Drouin, So. Arizona State
10. Mike Grey, So. Cornell
What about 174, which has nine ranked wrestlers, including four of the top six:
1. Steve Luke, Sr. Michigan
3. Brandon Browne, Sr. Nebraska
4. Steve Anceravage, Sr. Cornell
6. Mike Cannon, Jr. American
The scenarios could go on and on and on. This is a question that may have no right or wrong answer.
2. Who can repeat as tournament champion?
In addition to a plethora of returning national champions and All-Americans, there are five returning 2007 CKLV Invite champions. Those who won it last year back to defend titles are: Russell at 141, Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State at 149. Caldwell defeated Harvard’s J.P. O’Connor 9-5 in the finals of last year’s CKLV Invite. O’Connor advanced to the finals with a 4-3 win over Ohio State’s Lance Palmer in the semi-finals. Caldwell, O’Connor and Palmer are all back this year. Mike Poeta of Illinois is back to defend his 2007 157 pound title, as is 184-pounder Tyrell Todd of Michgan, who pinned Ohio State's Mike Pucillo 7:22 into overtime to win last year’s tourney title. Dallas Herbst won the 197 pound title and is back to defend his crown.
1. Who will win this tournament?
Michigan is the defending tournament champion and has won three of the last four tournaments. The Wolverines always seem to perform well in Vegas. But they may face their stiffest test in years, as they may not have the depth of other teams to contend this year. The one year in the last four the Wolverines didn’t win it was 2006, when they placed second to Missouri. Ohio State, Cornell and Nebraska appear to be the favorites this year. After that? It appears to be wide open. Cornell placed second in 2005, and since 2002 (the last year tournament results are posted on the official tournament web site – www.cklvwrestle.com) that’s the only time a non Big Ten or Big 12 team has placed in the top two. Penn placed third in 2006, and Hofstra third in 2004. Otherwise, the top two spots have gone to a Big Ten or Big 12 team.
These are just a few of the many questions to be answered in Las Vegas this weekend.
We all have questions – now we want the answers.
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