FLASH: Finals pairings set at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
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by Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
Andrew Howe of Oklahoma in action at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas International at 174 pounds. Photo by Tony Rotundo/Wrestlers are Warriors
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The finals pairings have been set for the 2013 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday morning
Two-time NCAA champion and top seed Logan Stieber of Ohio State advanced with pin of No. 5 seed Nick Lester of Oklahoma in the semifinals at 141 pounds. Stieber will face No. 6 seed Anthony Abidin of Nebraska, who won by injury forfeit when No. 2 seed Devin Carter of Virginia Tech could not compete due to an hamstring injury suffered in the quarterfinals on Friday.
NCAA champion and top seed Kendrick Maple of Oklahoma advanced to the 149 pound finals with 6-1 win over No. 5 seed Chris Villalonga of Cornell. He draws No. 2 seed Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska in the finals.
NCAA champion Andrew Howe of Oklahoma, also top seeded, advanced to the 174 pound finals, where he will face No. 2 seed and returning champion Robert Kokesh of Nebraska.
The lowest seed to reach the finals is No. 8 Adam Coon of Michigan, a true freshman, who handled No. 12 Adam Hager of Utah Valley, 12-3 in the semifinals at 285 pounds. Coon will face No. 2 seed J.T. Felix of Boise State.
There was a second injury default in the semifinals, as No. 2 Travis Rutt of Oklahoma advanced when Nick Heflin of Ohio State could not wrestle.
Three No. 1 seeds were beaten in the semifinals.
The first No. 1 seed to lose in the semifinals was Joe Colon of Northern Iowa at 133 pounds, who fell to Ohio State’s No. 4 seed Johnni DeJulius, 6-2. DiJulius will battle No. 2 seed Cody Brewer of Oklahoma in the final.
At 184 pounds, No. 1 seed Jake Swartz of Boise State was defeated by No. 4 Gabriel Dean of Cornell in the semifinals. Dean scored a last second takedown to win in overtime 4-2. Dean will face No. 7 seed Tim Dudley of Nebraska.
Also losing in the semifinals was No. 1 seed Taylor Meeks of Oregon State, who fell to No. 4 Dan Mitchell of American, 4-2.
The top two teams in the standings, Oklahoma and Nebraska, placed five athletes into the finals. Oklahoma had 133.5 points and Nebraska 125.5 points after the semifinals.
The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds will meet in only four of the 10 finals bouts.
The gold medal and bronze medal finals begin at 3:00 p.m. Pacific time. A live webcast will be provided by Flowrestling and a live blog is on InterMat.
CLIFF KEEN LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL
At Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 6
Finals pairings with seeds listed
125 pounds
No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma)
133 pounds
No. 2 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) vs. No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
141 pounds
No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 6 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska)
149 pounds
No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. No. 2 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
157 pounds
No. 1 James Green (Nebraska) vs. No. 3 Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
165 pounds
No. 1 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia)
174 pounds
No. 1 Andrew Howe (Oklahoma) vs. No. 2 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)
184 pounds
No. 4 Gabriel Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Tim Dudley (Nebraska)
197 pounds
No. 2 Travis Rutt (Oklahoma) vs. No. 4 Dan Mitchell (American)
285 pounds
No. 2 J.T. Felix (Boise State) vs. No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan)
Online brackets for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, visit
The event is being webcast LIVE on FloWrestling through its Flo Pro service. For information, visit
You can follow the event through a live blog on InterMat, provided by Seton Hall Pirate, at:
A complete preview of the event from Amateur Wrestling News is below:
http://awn.theopenmat.com/2013/12/awn-preview-cliff-keen-las-vegas-invitational/
Those who wish to follow it on Twitter can get updates at #CKLV
