Iowa State wins team title at 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, led by individual champion Bastida

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The tenth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones, led by one individual champion and five place winners, improved on a day one lead to win the team title at the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Iowa State scored 130.5 points, with 2022 team champions Nebraska in second with 125.5 points. Rounding out the top five teams were third place Ohio State with 123.5 points, fourth place NC State with 115 points and Oregon State with 98.5 points.

Yonger Bastida became Iowa State’s lone champion and first since 2014 after defeating Michigan’s Lucas Davison in the finals at 285 pounds. Davison scored first with an escape in the second period, but Bastida jumped ahead with a reversal in the third to take a 2-1 lead. The match was tied for a majority of the final period following another Davison escape point, but Bastida captured the 5-3 win with a takedown while nine seconds remained.

Nebraska saw two individual champions in top-ranked Ridge Lovett at 149 pounds and No. 3 Peyton Robb at 157 pounds. Lovett edged out Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson in a 4-3 decision in the finals. The Cornhusker opened up the scoring with an early takedown, and it was an escape point scored in the second that pushed Lovett ahead in the final.

Robb defeated Arizona State’s Jacori Teemer, ranked No. 4, in the finals at 157 pounds to go back-to-back. The score was 4-3 in Robb’s favor following the first period, and he stayed strong throughout for the victory.

Third place Ohio State had its lone victor in No. 5 Jesse Mendez at 141 pounds. Mendez brought down No. 7 Ryan Jack of NC State in the finals by a 5-2 decision. A third period takedown pushed Mendez ahead, where he remained to close out the match.

No. 4 Kai Orine, the top seeded wrestler in the 133-pound bracket, bested No. 11 Evan Frost of Iowa State by 12-4 major decision in the final. Orine controlled the second period action, scoring nine points to take a commanding lead. He closed out the final with two third period escape points, adding one for riding time to reach the 12-4 win.

Joining Orine as a tournament champion for NC State was No. 2 Trent Hidlay at 197 pounds. Hidlay had a strong tournament, defeating fifth-seeded Jaxon Smith of Maryland in a 5-2 decision. The lone takedown of the match in the third period pushed Hidlay into the lead, and Smith was unable to fire back in the closing seconds.

No. 9 seed Nico Provo of Stanford closed out his tournament on top, defeating No. 3 seed Brett Ungar of Cornell in a 5-1 decision. A decisive takedown at the three-minute mark shaped the outcome, as Provo’s strong tournament concluded with a victory.

At 165 pounds, No. 3 seed Izzak Olejnik of Oklahoma State brought down Cornell’s Julian Ramirez, the defending champion at this weight. Olejnik’s late takedown brought his total to four points, following an escape point earned in the second period.

South Dakota State’s Cade DeVos consistently capitalized on opportunities, earning the victory in the 174-pound finals. DeVos gritted out a 9-7 decision over No. 4 seed Travis Wittlake of Oregon State.

Top-seed Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa led early over No. 7 seed Will Feldkamp of Iowa State, firing early to take a 3-1 lead in the first period. Keckeisen controlled the offense and won the match by 14-4 major decision in the finals at 184 pounds.  

CLIFF KEEN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL

At Las Vegas, Nev., December 1-2

125 LBS

1st Nico Provo (Stanford) dec. Brett Ungar (Cornell), 5-1

3rd Caleb Smith (Nebraska) dec. Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), 4-1 SV

5th Jore Volk (Wyoming) med. forfeit Michael Deaugustino (Michigan)

7th Matt Ramos (Purdue) dec. Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State), 7-3

133 LBS

1st Kai Orine (NC State) major dec. Evan Frost (Iowa State), 12-4

3rd Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) dec. Domenic Zaccone (Campbell), 4-2

5th Tyler Knox (Stanford) med. forfeit Derrick Cardinal (South Dakota State), 0-0 0:00

7th Julian Farber (Northern Iowa) dec. Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State), 10-9

141 LBS

1st Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) dec. Ryan Jack (NC State), 5-2

3rd Lachlan Mcneil (North Carolina) dec. Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), 6-3

5th Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State) major dec. Brock Hardy (Nebraska), 13-5

7th Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) major dec. Vince Cornella (Cornell), 13-3

149 LBS

1st Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech), 4-3

3rd Kyle Parco (Arizona State) major dec. Dylan D`emilio (Ohio State), 11-1

5th Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) major dec. Nash Singleton (Oregon State), 13-4

7th Gabe Willochel (Wyoming) med. forfeit Jackson Arrington (NC State)

157 LBS

1st Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 6-4

3rd Ed Scott (NC State) maj. dec. Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 18-7

5th Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) dec. Will Lewan (Michigan), 12-10

7th Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State) dec. Trevor Chumbley (Northwestern), 9-5

165 LBS

1st Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State) dec. Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 4-2

3rd David Carr (Iowa State) dec. Cameron Amine (Michigan), 3-1

5th Garrett Thompson (Ohio) pin Hunter Garvin (Stanford), 5:50

7th Matthew Olguin (Oregon State) major dec. Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), 13-0

174 LBS

1st Cade Devos (South Dakota State) dec. Travis Wittlake (Oregon State), 9-7

3rd Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) dec. Danny Wask (Navy), 10-3

5th Sal Perrine (Ohio) dec. Austin Murphy (Campbell), 8-5 SV

7th Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) dec. Mj Gaitan (Iowa State), 11-8

184 LBS

1st Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) major dec. William Feldkamp (Iowa State), 14-4

3rd Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State) dec. Lenny Pinto (Nebraska), 11-7

5th Sam Wolf (Air Force) dec. Jaden Bullock (Michigan), 10-9

7th Dylan Fishback (NC State) major dec. Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech), 16-4

197 LBS

1st Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec. Jaxon Smith (Maryland), 5-2

3rd Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) dec. Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 7-2

5th Silas Allred Anderson, IN (Nebraska) dec. Sonny Sasso Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech), 8-5

7th Nick Stemmet Yorkville, IL (Stanford) dec. Joey Novak Laramie, WY (Wyoming), 14-7

285 LBS

1st Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) dec. Lucas Davison (Michigan), 5-3

3rd Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) major dec. Boone Mcdermott (Oregon State), 15-6

5th Grady Griess (Navy) med. forfeit Nick Feldman (Ohio State)

7th Cory Day (Binghamton) med. forfeit Lewis Fernandes (Cornell)

TEAM RESULTS

1. Iowa State, 130.5

2. Nebraska, 125.5

3. Ohio State, 123.5

4. NC State, 115

5. Oregon State, 98.5

6. Cornell, 93.5

7. Stanford, 85.5

8. Michigan, 81.5

9. Oklahoma State, 78.5

10. South Dakota State, 74