Past NCAA champions Diakomihalis, Griffith headline Saturday semifinals at 2021 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

Photo of Yianni Diakomihalis by Tony Rotundo

The first day of the 2021 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational wrapped up on Friday night with entertaining quarterfinal action at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Nebraska leads the team race with 79.5 points and seven wrestlers in Saturday’s semifinals.

Ohio State is behind Nebraska in second place with 71 points. The Buckeyes have five wrestlers who will look to punch their ticket to the finals tomorrow.

At all ten weights, the No. 1 seeds in the tournament have kept winning and are still fighting for CKLV titles. This group includes Cornell’s two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (149 pounds), who continued his winning ways with an 8-3 decision over Minnesota’s No. 8 seed Michael Blockhus. Diakomihalis will face Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett – who knocked off Stanford’s fourth-seeded Jaden Abas in the quarterfinals – tomorrow in the 149-pound semifinals.

Another NCAA title winner, returning champion at 165 pounds Shane Griffith of Stanford, punched his ticket to the semifinals with a quarterfinal win. He cruised in his match against Columbia’s No. 10 Joshua Ogunsanya, a 12-4 major decision. Griffith will wrestle Ohio State’s No. 3 Carson Kharchla in tomorrow’s semifinals.

Of note at 133 pounds is Utah Valley’s No. 7 Haiden Drury advancing into the semifinals. He was set to face off against No. 2 Chance Rich of Cal State-Bakersfield in the quarters, but Rich was officially a medical forfeit in the bout. Drury will wrestle Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin in the semifinals.

At 174 pounds, one of the top stories of the tournament continues to be Cal Poly’s Adam Kemp. After defeating Cornell’s No. 3 Chris Foca in the Round of 16, Kemp battled Northwestern’s No. 6 Troy Fisher into multiple ride outs and ultimately ended up with an impressive 4-2 quarterfinal victory. The son of three-time World champion Lee Kemp, he’ll look to make the finals tomorrow. In the semis, he matches up against Ohio State’s No. 2 Ethan Smith.

At heavyweight, Oregon State’s No. 10 Gary Traub knocked off No. 2 Brian Andrews of Wyoming, 3-1, in the quarterfinals to storm into tomorrow’s semifinal round. Traub also defeated Oklahoma’s No. 7 Josh Heindselman by the same score earlier in the tournament. A contender to be the standout of the tournament, Traub will wrestle Nebraska’s No. 3 Christian Lance in the semifinals.

Tomorrow’s semifinal round will begin at 10:00 a.m. pacific time. Consolation matches tomorrow in Las Vegas will begin at 9:00 a.m. pacific. 

All of the action can be watched live on FloWrestling.

2021 CLIFF KEEN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL
At Las Vegas, Nevada, December 3-4

Semifinal pairings

125 pounds
No. 1 Pat Glory (Princeton) vs. No. 4 Jack Medley (Michigan)
No. 6 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) vs. No. 2 Devin Schroder (Purdue)

133 pounds
No. 1 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) vs. No. 4 Devan Turner (Oregon State)
No. 3 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) vs. No. 7 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley)

141 pounds
No. 1 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) vs. No. 5 Parker Filius (Purdue)
No. 3 Chad Red (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado)

149 pounds
No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. No. 5 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)
No. 3 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) vs. No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)

157 pounds
No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 4 Kendall Coleman (Purdue)
No. 3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Quincy Monday (Princeton)

165 pounds
No. 1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) vs. No. 4 Cam Amine (Michigan)
No. 3 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Shane Griffith (Stanford)

174 pounds
No. 1 Michael Labriola (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Cade Devos (South Dakota State)
No. 14 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) vs. No. 2 Ethan Smith (Ohio State)

184 pounds
No. 1 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) vs. No. 5 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State)
No. 3 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)

197 pounds
No. 1 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) vs. No. 4 Eric Schultz (Nebraska)
No. 3 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) vs. No. 2 Patrick Brucki (Michigan)

285 pounds
No. 1 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard)
No. 3 Christian Lance (Nebraska) vs. No. 10 Gary Traub (Oregon State)

Quarterfinal results

125 pounds
No. 1 Pat Glory (Princeton) fall No. 9 Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado), 4:36
No. 4 Jack Medley (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Joe Manchio (Columbia), 6-3
No. 6 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) dec. No. 3 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), 5-3
No. 2 Devin Schroder (Purdue) dec. No. 7 Jacob Allen (Navy), 1-0

133 pounds
No. 1 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) dec. No. 9 Jake Gilva (Minnesota), 5-0
No. 4 Devan Turner (Oregon State) dec. Mason Clarke (Columbia), 10-4
No. 3 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) tech fall Joshua Koderhandt (Navy), 16-1
No. 7 Haiden Drury (Utah Valley) MFF No. 2 Chance Rich (Cal State-Bakersfield)

141 pounds
No. 1 Clay Carlson (South Dakota State) dec. No. 8 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota), 6-3
No. 5 Parker Filius (Purdue) dec. No. 4 Grant Willits (Oregon State), 9-4
No. 3 Chad Red (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State), 3-2
No. 2 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) tech fall No. 7 Lawrence Saenz (Cal Poly), 20-5

149 pounds
No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 9 Michael Blockhus (Minnesota), 8-3
No. 5 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Jaden Abas (Stanford), 9-2
No. 3 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) dec. No. 6 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), 7-4
No. 2 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 7 Mitch Moore (Oklahoma), 12-0

157 pounds
No. 1 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. No. 8 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 8-1
No. 4 Kendall Coleman (Purdue) dec. No. 5 Jacob Wright (Wyoming), 7-5
No. 3 Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. No. 11 Dazjon Casto (Citadel), 3-1
No. 2 Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. No. 7 Will Lewan (Michigan), 6-3

165 pounds
No. 1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly) dec. Matthew Malcom (Nebraska Kearney), 9-0
No. 4 Cam Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Philip Conigliaro (Harvard), 3-1 SV
No. 3 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 6 Julian Ramirez (Cornell), 15-7
No. 2 Shane Griffith (Stanford) maj. dec. No. 10 Joshua Ogunsanya (Columbia), 12-4

174 pounds
No. 1 Michael Labriola (Nebraska) tech fall No. 8 Aaron Olmos (Oregon State), 18-1
No. 5 Cade Devos (South Dakota State) dec. No. 4 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 7-4
No. 14 Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) dec. No. 6 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), 4-2 TB2
No. 2 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 7 Gerrit Hijenhuis (Purdue), 14-6

184 pounds
No. 1 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) dec. No. 8 David Key (Navy), 7-4
No. 5 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) dec. No. 4 Darrien Roberts (Oklahoma), 3-2
No. 3 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) dec. No. 6 Max Lyon (Purdue), 6-3
No. 2 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Travis Stefanik (Princeton), 6-2

197 pounds
No. 1 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec. No. 8 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell), 6-2
No. 4 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. No. 5 Lou Deprez (Binghampton), 2-0
No. 3 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) dec. No. 11 Alan Cothier (Northern Colorado), 5-1
No. 2 Patrick Brucki (Michigan) dec. No. 10 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), 8-5

285 pounds
No. 1 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 8 Joe Doyle (Binghampton), 10-2
No. 4 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Harvard) dec. No. 5 Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 5-3
No. 3 Christian Lance (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 AJ Nevills (South Dakota State), 6-3
No. 10 Gary Traub (Oregon State) dec. No. 2 Brian Andrews (Wyoming), 3-1 SV

Saturday competition schedule
All times listed are U.S. pacific time

Saturday, December 4
9:00 a.m.: Consolation rounds
10:00 a.m.: Championship semifinal round, consolation semifinal round, consolation 5th and 7th-place matches
3:00 p.m.: Championship finals and third-place matches

Team scores after the first session
1. Nebraska, 79.5
2. Ohio State, 71
3. Purdue, 53
4. Michigan, 51
5. Northwestern, 44.5
6. Oregon State, 44
7. Wyoming, 43
8. Cornell, 38.5
9. Cal Poly, 35
10. Oklahoma, 30.5
11. South Dakota State, 29.5
12. Princeton, 27.5
13. Northern Colorado, 26
14. Stanford, 24
15. Utah Valley, 23