Huskers Head to Vegas for Cliff Keen Invitational

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The No. 2 Nebraska wrestling team heads to Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend to partake in one of the premier wrestling tournaments of the year at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
 

The Las Vegas Convention Center will play host to the event, with action set to begin on Friday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. CT. Each weight class is set up in bracket format, with both the championship and consolation Rounds of 64, 32 and 16 being contested from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., when the Quarterfinals and Consolation first round of (8) will take place. 

 

Action resumes Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT with the consolation second round of (8). The championship and consolation semifinals begin at noon, with the fifth and seventh place matches following shortly thereafter. The championship and third place matches are set for 5 p.m.

 

30 Division I teams are expected to participate at the loaded tournament, and 100 ranked wrestlers will be in attendance. 13 of the nation's Top-25 teams in the latest NWCA poll will take the mat in Las Vegas.

 

Live stream and stats will be available on FloWrestling (subscription required) starting at 10:30 a.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 6. Fans can also follow @HuskerWrestling on Twitter for live updates throughout the tournament.
 

• Last Time Out: Nebraska cruised past the Cowboys of Wyoming 28-7 on Friday, Nov. 22 before emerging victorious in a closely-contested dual with then-No. 17 Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Sunday, Nov. 24. The Huskers bring an unblemished 4-0 dual meet record with them to Las Vegas. 
 

• Up Next: The Huskers will take nearly two weeks off from competition before hosting the Oregon State Beavers at the Devaney Center on Dec. 20. The meet will be televised on FS1 with action set to begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available on Huskers.com    

 

#2 Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-0, 0-0 B1G) at Cliff Keen Invitational

Dec. 6 – Dec. 7, 2019

11 a.m. (CT) start on both Friday and Saturday

Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas Convention Center)
 

Nebraska's Projected Lineup*

Weight	Name	Year	Hometown	Record
125	Alex Thomsen	RFr.	Neola, Iowa	5-5
133	Ridge Lovett	Fr.	Post Falls, Idaho	3-1
141	#6 Chad Red Jr.	Jr.	Indianapolis, Ind.	5-1
149	#13 Collin Purinton	Sr.	Banks, Ore.	6-0
157	Peyton Robb	RFr.	Owatonna, Minn.	6-0
165	#4 Isaiah White	Sr.	Chicago, Ill.	6-0
174	#5 Mikey Labriola	So.	Easton, Pa.	6-2
184	#6 Taylor Venz	Jr.	Farmington, Minn.	4-2
197	#10 Eric Schultz	Jr.	Tinley Park, Ill.	7-0
HWT	#13 Christian Lance	Sr.	Nixa, Mo.	5-0

*InterMat rankings used             

Quick Notes

• Nebraska has outscored its four dual opponents by a combined score of 135-28

• Nebraska has won 32 of 40 individual matches in dual competition

• Six starters have undefeated dual records to start the season. Returning All-Americans Chad Red. Jr. (141) and Isaiah White (165) have combined to start the season 6-0 with 21 dual points between them.

• Collin Purinton (149) scored an upset victory over then-#3 Max Thomsen (UNI) on Sunday, Nov. 24 and owns a perfect 3-0 dual record on the young season. He is ranked #13 in the latest InterMat poll.  

• Returning All-Americans Mikey Labriola (174) and Taylor Venz (184) will look to rebound after losses to ranked opponents from UNI. Labriola fell to then-#7 Bryce Steiert 2-1 while Venz was defeated then-#7 Taylor Lujan 15-6. 
• Eric Schultz (197) has amassed a team-leading 38 takedowns against dual competition while only yielding two takedowns. Schultz has three technical fall victories, which is also tops on the team. 

 

Nebraska's History at the Cliff Keen Invitational

• Nebraska has competed at the Las Vegas Invitational a total of 24 times, finishing first in both 2003 and 2008. NU has also finished in second place five times, in 1992, 1995, 2000, 2004 and 2013.

Last Time at the Cliff Keen Invitational: Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2018 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
• Three Huskers made the Cliff Keen Invitational finals, which tied for the most NU wrestlers in the finals since 2013 
• Six of the ten Huskers who competed at the Cliff Keen Invitational placed in the top seven of their weight class.
• Isaiah White (165), Taylor Venz (184) and Eric Schultz (197) all made it to the championship of their weight class. White took home the 165-pound title, while Schultz and Venz both finished in second place

• As a team, Nebraska finished in third place with 105.5 points, its highest finish since the 2013-14 season, when it finished second.

 

Seven Huskers Ranked in Intermat Rankings

• Seven Nebraska wrestlers are currently ranked in the Top 20 of their weight class by InterMat. Isaiah White (165) and Mikey Labriola (174) are the highest-ranked Huskers, as they are #4 and #5, respectively, in their weight classes. 

• Collin Purinton (149) jumped six spots to #13 after a huge win over UNI's then-#3 Max Thomsen on Nov. 24.

• Chad Red Jr. (141) moved up one spot to #6 following wins over Wyoming's Chase Zollman (5-1) and Northern Iowa's Michael Blockhus (18-0).  

• Taylor Venz (184) dropped three spots to #6 following a loss to then-#7 Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa on Nov. 24  

• Eric Schultz held firm at #10 after wins over Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming) and Noah Glaser (UNI). 
• Christian Lance entered the InterMat rankings at #13 with a win over then-#14 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) on Nov. 22.  
 

Lovett's Redshirt Pulled at Northern Iowa 

• Freshman Ridge Lovett saw his first dual meet action of the season against Northern Iowa on Nov. 24 The former four-time Idaho state champion scored first in his bout against Jack Skudlarczyk but ultimately fell 8-2. 

• Lovett's only previous experience in a Husker singlet was at the Daktronics Open, where he compiled a 3-0 record and earned a first-place finish competing unattached in the 133-pound weight class.  

• The Post Falls, Idaho, native came to Nebraska as the No. 19 overall prospect according to FloWrestling.  

 

Venz and Labriola Look to Bounce Back

• Returning All-Americans Mikey Labriola (6th at 2019 NCAA Championships) and Taylor Venz (4th at 2018 NCAA Championships) have enjoyed incredible success at Nebraska. Labriola (174) has a career mark of 36-11 while Venz (184) boasts 57 all-time victories. 

• At Northern Iowa, Labriola was defeated 2-1 by UNI's Bryce Steiert, who was ranked #7 at the time. Neither wrestler scored a takedown in what was a very defensive match.  

• Venz, meanwhile, lost by major decision (15-6) to the Panthers' Taylor Lujan, who was also ranked #7 at the time of their bout.
• Both Venz and Labriola will be looking to get back to their winning ways in Las Vegas.  

 

NU Using "By Committee" Approach at Heavyweight

• Seniors David Jensen and Christian Lance have been splitting time at the heavyweight spot so far this season. 
• Lance defeated Jensen in sudden victory Nov. 10 at the Daktronics Open in their head-to-head matchup earlier this season.

• Jensen pinned Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) at the Nebraska Duals on Nov. 7 but fell to UNI's Carter Isley 6-2 on Nov. 24. 
• Lance won by technical fall over Mason Watt (Chadron State) at the Nebraska Duals on Nov. 7 and scored a 3-2 win over then-#14 Brian Andrews of Wyoming on Nov. 22.