Wisconsin Badgers
Cliff Keen Invitational
This Week in Badger Wrestling: Nov. 29-Dec. 5
December 03, 2015 | Wrestling
Wisconsin heads to Las Vegas for Cliff Keen Invitational
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NO. 15 BADGERS VOYAGE TO VEGAS
- Wisconsin (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) takes part in its third tournament of the year, as the Badgers travel to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Invitational, Dec. 4-5, at Cashman Center.
- Forty schools are set to compete at the event, including four other Big Ten teams--Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan.
- The Cliff Keen Invitational features a highly touted lineup, as 11 schools--nearly 30 percent--are ranked in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll. Cracking the top 25 is No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 9 Michigan, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 17 Iowa State, No. 18 Minnesota, No. 19 Virginia, No. 23 Oregon State, No. 24 West Virginia and No. 25 (tie) Northern Iowa.
| #15 Wisconsin at Cliff Keen Invitational | |
| Date | Fri.-Sat., Dec. 4-5 | All Day |
| Location | Las Vegas | Cashman Center |
| Watch | FloPro |
| Updates | Live Stats | @BadgerWrestling |
| Notes | Wisconsin |
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NOTES TO KNOW
1 RETURN TO THE MAT: Isaac Jordan missed Wisonsin's matchup with UW-Whitewater and the MSU Open due to injury. He came back at the Navy Classic as strong as ever, though, sweeping the event to take first place at 165 pounds. In five matches, Jordan picked up two first-round falls (1:51 and 1:53). His toughest battle came in the quarterfinal, as he beat Michael Coleman of Navy by a score of 6-5.
2 IN THE POLLS: The Badgers have remained fairly steady in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches poll, moving between 14th and 15th so far this season. UW is one of nine Big Ten schools ranked in the top 25. Also included in the poll is No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 Rutgers, No. 11 Illinois and No. 18 Minnesota. Three Wisconsin wrestlers appear in the InterMat and FloWrestling top-20 rankings. Isaac Jordan (165) is ranked third by InterMat and second by FloWrestling, while Ricky Robertson (174) sits at 13th and 18th, respectively. Ryan Taylor (133) is third in both polls.
3 NAVY CLASSIC: Wisconsin had an impressive showing at the Navy Classic, as the Badgers picked up two first-, one second- and fourth-, three fifth- and two sixth-place finishes. Isaac Jordan took first at 165 pounds and Brock Horwath won at heavyweight, while 125-pounder Johnny Jimenez earned a second-place result. Horwath had arguably the most dominant showing, winning once by fall (1:38) and three times by at least five points. In the trio of decisions he allowed just two points in total. Ryan Christensen was fourth in the 184-pound weight class. He won his first three matches of the tournament before dropping a result to No. 10 Abram Ayala of Princeton. Christensen responded by winning the consolation semifinal, but came up just short in the third-place match, losing, 2-0, in sudden victory-1 to Kent State's No. 19 Cole Baxter, who he had previously beaten. UW's fifth-place wrestlers were Luke Rowh (141), Jared Scharenbrock (157) and Seth Liegel (165). In sixth was Rylan Lubeck (149) and Jake Stilling (184). Christensen defeated Stilling by major decision in the in consolation semifinal. Andrew Crone (149), TJ Ruschell (157), Nic Veling (197) and Eric Peissig (197) competed but did not place at the Navy Classic.
4 MSU OPEN: In its first tournament of the year at the MSU Open in East Lansing, Michigan, UW entered 23 wrestlers total, eight of which were unattached. Four of the eight unattached competitors placed fifth or better. Hunter Ritter won at 184 pounds, while Cole Martin finished third in the 141-pound bracket. Mason Reinhardt (184) and Eli Stickley (141) were behind their teammates in fifth. Johnny Jimenez was Wisconsin's top competitor, as the 125-pound grappler earned a second-place finish. Three Badgers had fourth-place results, including Rylan Lubeck (149), TJ Ruschell (157) and Ryan Christensen (184). Ruschell had the narrowest loss of the third-place matches, as Ohio's 12th-ranked Sparty Chino edged him, 3-2. Jake Stilling marked the fifth UW wrestler to in the top five of their weight class, as he finished at No. 5 in the 184-pound event.
5 ON POINT: Wisconsin freshmen had a big showing at the Pointer Open on Nov. 7 after finishing with three first-place finishes, three runner-ups and one third-place finisher. Eli Stickley, Eric Schmid and Izaec Quintanilla all brought home first-place crowns from the Pointer Open. Despite placing third, Hunter Ritter went 7-1 at the event, losing, 3-1, in a tight match that was decided in sudden victory-1. Combined with his results from the MSU Open, Ritter posts the team's best record at 10-1.
Players Mentioned
