Kent State University
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Flashes to be Tested at Las Vegas Invitational
12/1/2016 10:39:00 AM | Wrestling
Nine Kent State grapplers will face their most difficult challenge of the regular season Friday and Saturday (Dec. 2-3) at the 35th annual  Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The Golden Flashes will be among 35 teams competing inside the Las Vegas Convention Center. Action begins at noon Eastern (9 Pacific) on both days. The championship round is slated for 6 p.m. (3 Pacific) on Saturday.
In their most recent tournament, the Flashes placed third of 12 teams at the Navy Classic, just one point out of second place. Â But with three times as many teams, this weekend's two-day tournament will be a whole new level of competition. Â Nine teams in the field are ranked in the NWCA's Top 20.
Live video can be seen with a FloPro subscription on FloWrestling.org.
Sophomore 133-pounder Anthony Tutolo will put his undefeated record on the line. Â A number of other Golden Flashes will be competing Saturday in the Storm Open hosted by Lake Erie College in Painesville.
Competing Teams
|
Air Force |
American |
No. 19 Arizona State |
Army |
|
Binghamton |
Boise State |
Bucknell |
Cal Poly |
|
California Baptist |
CSU Bakersfield |
No. 14 Cent. Michigan |
Clarion |
|
Columbia |
No. 8 Cornell |
Eastern Michigan |
Edinboro |
|
Harvard |
Iowa State |
Kent State |
No. 16 Minnesota |
|
Navy |
Nebraska-Kearney |
North Idaho |
Northern Colorado |
|
No. 4 Ohio State |
Oregon State |
Purdue |
No. 15 Stanford |
|
No. 11 Michigan |
Utah Valley |
No. 6 Virginia Tech |
West Virginia |
|
Western Wyoming |
No. 18 Wisconsin |
Wyoming |
|
*NWCA Rankings
Kent State Tournament Entrants
133: No. 16 Anthony Tutolo (10-0)
141: Chance Driscoll (6-5)
149: Tim Rooney (7-6)
157: No. 19 Casey Sparkman (10-2)
165: Isaac Bast (8-4)
174: Jairod James (10-1)
184: Jerald Spohn (8-6)
197: Stephen Suglio (7-4)
285: Devin Nye (8-5)
*InterMat Rankings
Last Season and Tournament History
Last season, Kent State finished eighth of 40 teams as three Golden Flashes earned spots on the podium. Missouri won the team title, while Cornell finished second. Kent State has had an individual champion in each of its last three trips to the tournament (Ian Miller 2015, Dustin Kilgore 2012, Nic Bedelyon 2011). Chance Driscoll and Stephen Suglio are the only ones in this year's lineup with experience at last years' CKLV Invitational. Suglio competed at heavyweight last season, but is now at 197.
Quick Shots
- Casey Sparkman was named Kent State's Hometown Bank Student-Athlete of the Week after going 2-0 at the Thanksgiving Throwdown with a 6-4 victory over No. 13 Jake Ryan of Ohio State.
- Nine Flashes placed in the Top 6 spots at the Navy Classic (Nov. 19).
- Devin Nye leads the team with five pins.
- Cory Simpson and Isaac Bast each recorded their first career dual wins last week.
- The Flashes' eight straight years with at least one All-American is the 10th longest active streak in the nation.
- Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 144-67 in dual meets
- The Golden Flashes do not have a single senior on their roster
- Kent State concluded its 2015-16 season with a 16th place finish at the NCAA Championships and two All-Americans.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having fifth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.325
Up Next
The Golden Flashes open up Mid-American Conference competition Sunday, Dec. 11, visiting Buffalo at 2 p.m., inside Alumni Arena.
Players Mentioned
