Huskers Claim Third Straight Cliff Keen Title

LAS VEGAS — Three Huskers claimed individual titles and the Nebraska wrestling team won its third-straight and fifth overall Cliff Keen title on Saturday night at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 
 
Brock Hardy (141), Peyton Robb (157) and Mikey Labriola (174) all finished atop their weight classes as NU amassed 137.5 team points, the most among the 33 schools competing. 
 
Semifinals
#17 Hardy (141) was the first of five Huskers to wrestle in the semifinals. Hardy faced #14 Ryan Jack of NC State. The two saw a scoreless first period, before Hardy tallied an escape and a takedown in the second period to hold the 3-1 lead to start the final period. Jack then tallied an escape and a takedown, but Hardy recorded a late reversal to grab the 5-4 upset. 
 
#4 Robb (157) battled #9 Ed Scott next. Scott recorded an escape in every period, but it was not enough as Robb tallied a pair of takedowns to claim the 5-3 decision. At 174, #3 Labriola matched up with #5 Demetrius Romero of Utah Valley. Labriola became the third Husker to advance to the finals due to Romero’s medical forfeit. 
 
At 184, Lenny Pinto battled Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen, but fell by major decision, 11-2. #23 Silas Allred (197) was the last Husker to compete in the semis as he faced NC State’s #14 Isaac Trumble. Trumble grabbed the early lead and hung on for the 6-1 decision. Both Pinto and Allred then wrestled in the consolation semifinals. 
 
Consolation of 4 
#27 Liam Cronin (125) was the first Husker to compete in the consolation Round of 4, as he faced #33 Kurt McHenry of Michigan. Cronin advanced due to medical forfeit. Bubba Wilson (165) also moved on due to medical forfeit as Ohio State’s #6 Carson Kharchla withdrew. 
 
Consolation Semifinals 
#27 Cronin (125) grabbed the 12-3 major decision victory over Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State to become the first of two Huskers to qualify for the third-place bout. 
 
Wilson (165) defeated #10 Josh Ogunsanya of Columbia by decision, 4-3. Wilson scored first with a takedown in the first period. Ogunsanya responded with a reversal, but Wilson tallied two escapes to hang on for the victory. 
 
At 184, Pinto was pinned by #9 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech at 4:23. Allred (197) fell to #11 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State by decision, 12-5.
 
Fifth-Place Bouts
Pinto (184) was pinned by #27 Cade King of SDSU to finish sixth, and Allred (197) defeated #32 Andy Smith of Virginia Tech by medical forfeit to grab fifth. 
 
Third-Place Bouts
#27 Cronin (125) tallied an escape and a takedown in the third period to defeat #10 Brandon Taylor of Oregon State 4-2 to secure a third-place finish. 
 
At 165, Wilson scored a takedown and two escapes, and the match against Oregon State’s #10 Matthew Olgiun was tied 4-4 and entered overtime. Olgiun worked quickly and pinned Wilson at 7:41. 
 
Finals
#17 Hardy took on #22 Cael Happel of Northern Iowa in the 141-pound title match. Hardy scored a takedown in each of the first two periods to secure the Cliff Keen individual title. 
 
At 157, #4 Robb became the second Husker to claim the individual title as he defeated #11 Kendall Coleman of Purdue, 7-3. Robb used a pair of takedowns, two escapes and the riding time to grab the win. 
 
The third and final Husker to qualify for the Cliff Keen finals was defending champion #3 Labriola (174) who matched up against #2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech). The two saw a scoreless first period before Labriola tallied an escape in the second period and Lewis recorded an escape in the third. In sudden victory, Labriola attacked and scored the takedown to claim his second-straight Cliff Keen title. 
              
Up next, NU will travel to Brookings, S.D. on Sunday, Dec. 18 to take on the SDSU Jackrabbits. The action is set to begin at 2 p.m. (CT).
 
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational 
Dec. 2-3, 2022
Las Vegas, Nev. (Las Vegas Convention Center)
 
Match Results (rankings from InterMat)
125: #27 Liam Cronin (7-1) 3rd 
Round of 32: #27 Liam Cronin major dec. Yanni Vines (Columbia), 15-4
Round of 12: #23 Caleb Smith (App St.) major dec. #27 Liam Cronin, 12-2
Cons. of 16 (#2): #27 Liam Cronin dec. Jore Volk (Wyoming), 6-4 
Cons. of 8 (#1): #27 Liam Cronin pinned Mike Manta (Sacred Heart) (0:40)
Cons. of 8 (#2): #27 Liam Cronin dec. #16 Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech), 7-3
Cons. of 4: #27 Liam Cronin dec. #33 Kurt McHenry (MICH) MFF
Cons. Semis: #27 Liam Cronin major dec. Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 12-3
Third-place Match: #27 Liam Cronin dec. #10 Brandon Taylor (ORST), 4-2
 
133: #21 Boo Dryden (0-2) DNP
Round of 32: #25 Angelo Rini (Columbia) dec. #21 Boo Dryden, 9-6
Cons. of 16 (#1): Dylan Koontz (OSU) dec. #21 Boo Dryden, 6-2
 
141: #17 Brock Hardy (4-0) 1st
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: #17 Brock Hardy pinned #18 Jesse Vasquez (ASU) (1:51)
Quarterfinals:  #17 Brock Hardy pinned #10 Cole Mattin (MICH) (0:39)
Semifinals: #17 Brock Hardy dec. #14 Ryan Jack (NCST), 5-4
Finals: #17 Brock Hardy dec. #22 Cael Happel (UNI), 6-1
 
149: Dayne Morton (1-2) DNP
Round of 32: #4 Jonathan Millner (App State) dec. Dayne Morton, 7-1
Cons. of 16 (#1): Dayne Morton major dec. Jacob Pail (Edinboro), 12-4 
Cons. of 16 (#2): Noah Tolentino (OSU) dec. Dayne Morton, 8-2
 
157: #4 Peyton Robb (5-0) 1st 
Round of 32: #4 Peyton Robb tech. fall Brock Rogers (CSB) (3:55)
Round of 16: #4 Peyton Robb tech. fall Nick Delp (Bucknell) (6:33)
Quarterfinals: #4 Peyton Robb tech. fall Peyten Kellar (OHIO) (6:21)
Semifinals: #4 Peyton Robb dec. #9 Ed Scott (NCST), 5-3
Finals: #4 Peyton Robb dec. #11 Kendall Coleman (PUR), 7-3 
 
165: Bubba Wilson (6-2) 4th
Round of 32: #6 Carson Kharchla (OSU) dec. Bubba Wilson, 8-2
Cons. of 16 (#1): Bubba Wilson tech. fall Evan Gilbert (CSUB) (7:00)
Cons. of 16 (#2): Bubba Wilson dec. Mateo De La Pena (CBU), 9-2
Cons. of 8 (#1): Bubba Wilson major dec. #29 Legend Lamer (Cal Poly), 8-0
Cons. of 8 (#2): Bubba Wilson dec. Tony Negron (ASU), 3-1 
Cons. of 4: Bubba Wilson dec. #6 Carson Kharchla (OSU), MFF
Cons. Semis: Bubba Wilson dec. #10 Josh Ogunsaanya (Columbia), 4-3
Third-Place Match: #30 Matthew Olgiun (ORST) pinned Bubba Wilson (7:41)
 
174: #3 Mikey Labriola (5-0) 1st 
Round of 32: #3 Mikey Labriola maj. dec. Will Miller (App. St.), 17-7
Round of 16: #3 Mikey Labriola dec. Ross McFarland (HOF), 11-6
Quarterfinals: #3 Mikey Labriola dec. #30 Sal Perrine (OHIO), 9-2
Semifinals: #3 Mikey Labriola dec. #5 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) MFF
Finals: #3 Mikey Labriola dec. #2 Mekhi Lewis (Va Tech), 3-1 SV
 
184: Lenny Pinto (3-3) 6th
Round of 32: Lenny Pinto dec. #7 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) MFF
Round of 16: Lenny Pinto major dec. #28 Ben Vanadia (Purdue), 16-6
Quarterfinals: Lenny Pinto dec. #6 Trey Munoz (ORST), 5-4
Semifinals: Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) major dec. Lenny Pinto, 11-2
Cons. Semis: Hunter Bolen (Va Tech) pinned Lenny Pinto (4:23)
Fifth-Place Match: #27 Cade King (SDSU) pinned Lenny Pinto (1:17)
 
197: #23 Silas Allred (4-2) 5th  
Round of 32: #23 Silas Allred pinned Nolan Springer (Bucknell) (1:17)
Round of 16: #23 Silas Allred pinned Carson Brewer (Ohio) (2:53)
Quarterfinals: #23 Silas Allred dec. #16 Gavin Hoffman (OSU), 5-2
Semifinals: #14 Isaac Trumble (NCST) dec. #23 Silas Allred, 6-1
Cons. Semis: #11 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) dec. #23 Silas Allred, 12-5
Fifth-Place Match: #23 Silas Allred dec. #32 Andy Smith (Va Tech) MFF
   
HWT: Cale Davidson (2-2) DNP
Round of 32: Cale Davidson dec. Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), 4-3
Round of 16 (#1): #1 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) pinned Cale Davidson (1:52)
Cons. of 16 (#2): Cale Davidson dec. Daniel Conley (Columbia), 4-0
Cons. of 8 (#1): #18 Grady Griess (NAVY) dec. Cale Davidson, 2-0