Big Ten Teams Looking For Jackpot In Las Vegas

It’s time to bet big and let it ride! Our annual trip to Las Vegas is here and there are five Big Ten teams that will be looking to hit the jackpot. Ok, I’m sorry, that’s enough betting puns. Let’s talk about the guys from the B1G that will be looking to take home this year’s CKLV title.

Can Nebraska impress upon last year’s 2nd place finish?

Nebraska has a strong team this year as they have returned nine of 10 starters from a season ago but boast incredible experience at every weight. Last season, they placed 2nd behind Iowa State but could certainly top that finish this year. Ridge Lovett returns and will look to repeat as the champ at 149 as he is on a path for a rematch against returning NCAA Champ Caleb Henson from Virginia Tech, who gets the top-seed above Lovett in the No. 2 spot. Returning placers Caleb Smith (125), Brock Hardy (141) and Lenny Pinto (174) are back and sitting in very prominent spots – especially Smith as the top-seed at 125 – to impress upon their finishes of 3rd, 6th and 4th, respectively, from last year. Notably, Silas Allred, who was 5th last year, isn’t registered to compete at this year’s tournament as he looks to assert himself in his new weight class. And speaking of guys in new weight classes, Antrell Taylor, who also moved down and is the top-seed at 157, will be looking to overcome his DNP result from last year along with Jacob Van Dee at 133, who hasn’t had the best start to the year, and Harley Andrews at heavyweight. Based on the current seeds, the Huskers are projected to finish 3rd behind Ohio State and Oklahoma State.

No Chris Cannon + Northwestern brings up and coming squad

There won’t be any sightings of Chris Cannon competing this weekend for Northwestern, but the Wildcats are bringing some fire power to Vegas as Trevor Chumbley will be leading his team back to Sin City with his eyes on a higher finish than his eighth place result a season ago. Along with Chumbley, there are few guys to keep an eye on this weekend. The first is 10th-seeded Dedrick Navarro at 125. Navarro will most-likely see one of the hottest 125-pounders in the country right now in Vince Robinson of NC State in the earlygoing. Navarro currently has 4-2 record on the year. Along with Navarro, another guy to watch is Maxx Mayfield at 165. Mayfield gets the eighth seed and will face a very impressive Brock Mantanona of Michigan to kick things off in a match you won’t want to miss. As stated by Coach Storniolo in the pre-season he has a good bit of newcomers and this weekend will be a huge test for them.

Michigan bringing experience and youth

Dylan Ragusin will be excited for this tournament and will have a chance to attack a deep field of talent. Additionally, Sergio Lemley should have a chance to get some consistent and strong competition from his first match of the day with the depth of talent at 141. Hoping to see the ever-elusive Lemley versus top-seeded Jesse Mendez match, which we could see in the semifinals. It’ll be interesting to see how Chase Saldate and Jacob Cardenas compete in this tournament as well. Cardenas has competed here in the past, placing fourth last year while with Cornell, while Saldate will take his first trip to CKLV. Cardenas enters as the No. 2 seed behind only NCAA Champion AJ Ferrari, now wrestling for Cal State Bakersfield. Several of the weights for Michigan are largely known commodities, but 125, 165, and to some extent, 285 will be interesting to see who competes here for Michigan. 125 has been a combination of Christian Tanefeu and Nolan Wertanen. It appears that Wertanen is getting the nod this weekend and the chance to compete in a deep competitive pool. Brock Mantanona has been their top scorer at 165, so seeing how he fares in this deep field of competition will likely have something to do with whether he redshirts this season or jumps into full time competition as a true freshman. Josh Heindselman, the recent transfer from Oklahoma, will eventually be their guy at heavyweight, but for the time being it looks like they’re sticking with Dzhabrail Kurshidov. 

Can Mendez continue his reign? + Sasso's biggest test in return

The Buckeyes are in an excellent position to shine in Las Vegas. Jesse Mendez leads the way for a strong and deep squad who is ready to compete for a team trophy. Mendez has looked as sharp as ever early on this season, and the rare opportunity to have a defending national champ come in as the second ranked guy in the country appears to have provided the chip on the shoulder that helps someone like him push himself to the next level. He enters this tournament, as he does most tournaments, as the favorite to win. Meanwhile, we also have Paddy Gallagher looking to see where he stacks up against a deep 157 bracket. The junior will have a chance to use this tournament as a springboard into a more prominent place in the public perception. Nick Feldman will have a chance to make a statement here as well. Despite being technically undefeated this year, he’s dropped in the rankings after losing to Taye Ghadiali of Campbell at the All-Star Classic. He will have a very talented and experienced field to get through to make the finals, but I expect him to be ready to go and looking to show what he’s capable of. Last, but certainly not least, we’ve seen Sammy Sasso a couple of times this season and he’s looked good. This weekend will be a great test for him as he enters as the No. 2 seed at a loaded 165. This is the stiffest competition that he’ll face so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see how he responds within the tournament format. An interesting thing of note is that they don’t have anyone listed at 174, and there has been a change at 184 with Seth Shumate being registered. It’ll be interesting to see how these results impact the competitive landscape for the Buckeyes as the season goes on.

Ramos looking to continue dominance 

CKLV is known as one of the tougher tournaments of the year for a reason. For example, you can be ranked third in the country and seeded second here. This will be Matt Ramos’ first shot at Caleb Smith this season, assuming they meet in the finals. Greyson Clark has had a slower start to the season than I’m sure he had hoped, but he’ll have a chance here to go up against some very strong competition and show the field what he’s capable of. Another true sophomore competing for the Boilermakers is Joey Blaze who will also have an opportunity to attack a very deep weight class. 157 is insanely deep and has a wide range of outcomes based on this tournament. I expect there to be a ton of shake ups specifically at this weight with some youth and talent looking to make names for themselves on the backs of veterans in their path. 165 will have Stoney Buell looking to build on some early season success. He enters the tournament as the 22nd ranked wrestler at 165, but I fully expect him to have a big tournament, and to build on what has been a competitive schedule to this point in the season for him. Additionally, James Rowley will be in position to get some nice wins and raise his position in the rankings. 184 feels like it has been inconsistent this season. Now would be a good time to attack some of the competition and set himself up for a run at NCAAs.