ISU Wrestling Weekend Primer: CKLV and More

AMES, Iowa - No. 12 Iowa State travels west to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, widely regarded as the toughest individual regular season tournament in college wrestling. The Cyclones look to defend their 2023 CKLV team title beginning Friday, Dec. 6 at 11 a.m. (CT) inside the Las Vegas Convention Center.

ISU will also send wrestlers to the Cleveland State and Buena Vista Open tournaments. Participating wrestlers and tournament information can be found at the end of this story.

What: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada - Las Vegas Convention Center
When: Dec. 6-7 // All Day (See session schedule below)

The Links
WATCH: FloWrestling
LISTEN: Varsity App // Cyclones.com
PxP: Joe Sinclair; Analyst: Nate Carr
BRACKETS/LIVE STATS
IOWA STATE MATCH NOTES

CKLV SCHEDULE (Central Time)
Friday, Dec. 6
11 a.m. - Round 1 Pig Tail Championship, Round 2 of (32) Championship, Round 3 Consolation of (32), Round 4 Championship of (16), Consolation 1st of (16) Round 5 Consolation 2nd of (16)

8 p.m. - Round 6 Championship Quarterfinals, Consolation Round 1st of (8), & Round 7 Consolation 2nd of (8)

Saturday, Dec. 7
Noon - Round 8 Championship Semifinals, Round 9 Consolation Semifinals, Consolation Finals 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th Places

5 p.m. - CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th Places

IOWA STATE LINEUP & PRE-SEEDS
125: Adrian Meza - No. 9
133: Evan Frost - No. 2
141: Jacob Frost - Unseeded
149: Anthony Echemendia - No. 3
157: Paniro Johnson - No. 5
165: MJ Gaitan - No. 5
174: Aiden Riggins - Unseeded
184: Evan Bockman - No. 5
197: Christian Carroll - No. 9
285: Daniel Herrera - Unseeded

NOTABLES

This marks Iowa State's second consecutive appearance at the Cliff Keen Invitational. ISU has won the tournament five times in program history, including last season.
Seven Cyclones finished on the podium, including three finalists, at last year's tournament to give ISU a team total of 130.5, edging Nebraska's 125.5. Bonus points were key in lifting ISU to its 2023 CKLV title. The Cyclones won 23 matches with bonus points: five falls, eight tech falls and 10 major decisions.
The Cliff Keen will serve as a great test and measuring stick for the Cyclones. It is one of the deepest regular season tournaments on the NCAA wrestling calendar. In FloWrestling's latest team tournament rankings, 12 of the top 20 teams, including eight of the top 12, will compete in the tournament. Last year's event saw 30 of its placewinners eventually hit the podium at the NCAA Championships, including four individual NCAA champions.
Only three wrestlers in Iowa State's projected lineup wrestled for the Cyclones at the CKLV last season: Evan Frost (2nd, 133) Anthony Echemendia (7th, 141) and MJ Gaitan (8th, 174). Evan Bockman wrestled in the tournament for Utah Valley and went 2-2.
Iowa State has lost two wrestlers from its starting lineup due to season ending injuries in the first month of the season: 141-pounder Casey Swiderski and 165-pounder Connor Euton.

WEEKLY MEDIA AVAILABILITY
Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser, Paniro Johnson and MJ Gaitan spoke to the media on Tuesday. Watch their interviews below.

CLEVELAND STATE OPEN
Iowa State will send four wrestlers to the Cleveland State Open Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio.

What: Cleveland State Open
Where: Cleveland, Ohio - Woodling Gymnasium
When: Dec. 7 - All Day
Brackets/Live Stats: FloArena

Iowa State Entries
125: *Ethan Perryman
157: Cody Chittum
165: *Manny Rojas
197: *Sawyer Bartelt
*Wrestling attached

BUENA VISTA OPEN
A much larger contingent of Cyclones will wrestle Saturday at the BVU Open in Storm Lake, Iowa. A total of 18 Cyclones, wrestling attached and unattached, will compete in the event.

What: BVU Open
Where: Storm Lake, Iowa - Lamberti Rec Center/Dennis Young Track
When: Dec. 7- All Day
Brackets/Live Stats: TrackWrestling

Iowa State Entries
133: *Canon Acklin, *Osmany Diversent, Blake Gioimo, Garrett Grice
157: *Kane Naaktgeboren, Christian Stanek, Logan Stotts
165: *Gabe Carver
174: Cade Schmidt
184: *Cole Carlucci, Caleb Helgeson, Nando Villaescusa
197: Jacob Cates, McCrae Hagarty, *Nate Schon, Rowan Udell
285: Xavier Bruening, CJ Carter
*Wrestling attached

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Canon Acklin

Sawyer Bartelt

Evan Bockman

Xavier Bruening

Cole Carlucci

Christian Carroll

CJ Carter

Gabe Carver

Jacob Cates

Cody Chittum

Osmany Diversent

Anthony Echemendia

Connor Euton

Evan Frost

Jacob Frost

MJ Gaitan

Blake Gioimo

Garrett Grice

McCrae Hagarty

Caleb Helgeson

Daniel Herrera

Paniro Johnson

Adrian Meza

Kane Naaktgeboren

Ethan Perryman

Aiden Riggins

Manny Rojas

Cade Schmidt

Nate Schon

Christian Stanek

Logan Stotts

Casey Swiderski

Rowan Udell

Nando Villaescusa

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics