The CKLV Invitational is one of the nation's most competitive tournaments, featuring a total of 40 teams - five ranked in the top 10 - and nearly 40 percent of all of the nation's ranked wrestlers.
THE SHORT STORY: 125 LBS.
Tomasello's 125-pound title came with a 5-4 decision in the final over Virginia Tech's Joey Dance. Tied at 4-4 late in the third period, Dance was called for stalling and that proved to be the difference as Tomasello capped his weekend with his first-career CKLV title (he finished third last year).
The sophomore from Parma, Ohio got the first takedown of the match and led 2-1 following the first period, and then went ahead 3-1 with a quick escape to begin the second period. Dance evened things up with a second-period takedown but the wrestlers then exchanged escapes to make the score 4-4.
NOTING TOMASELLO'S TITLE
In the semifinals, Tomasello (9-0) defeated 17th-ranked and 12th-seeded Ryan Milhoff of Oklahoma by decision, 11-3.
Joey Dance is ranked No. 3 nationally in the latest InterMat poll. Tomasello is No. 1.
Dance was the ACC champion last year and came into the match with a record of 11-0. He was an All-American in 2013.
Six of Tomasello's nine wins this year by bonus points.
The win over Dance was the 60th career victory for Tomasello (60-4).
Tomasello ran his winning streak to 26 consecutive matches, dating back to last season
His victory avenges a loss to Dance during a regular season dual meet last season.
THE SHORT STORY: 141 LBS.
Jordan had one of the biggest days of his young career on Saturday, getting a 5-2 victory over top-seeded Solomon Chishkov in the semifinals and then following that up with a 7-3 win in the finals against third-seeded Todd Preston of Harvard.
In the finals, Jordan raced out to a 4-1 first-period lead thanks to a pair of takedowns. Preston made the score 4-1 to end the first stanza, but another Jordan takedown in the second extended his advantage to 6-2. Preston escaped towards the end of the second period, but was unable to get any closer (no points were scored in the third). Jordan tacked on an additional point for riding time.
Jordan's semifinal win over top-seeded Solomon Chishkov was keyed by two first-period takedowns. Ahead 4-1, he allowed just one more escape at the beginning of the second period and fought off Chishkov's comeback attempt for a 5-2 decision.
NOTING JORDAN'S TITLE
Jordan's semifinal opponent, Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech), was 11-0 on the year, ranked No. 8 in last week's InterMat poll and the No. 1 seed.
It was Jordan's first win this year over a rankled wrestler.
Todd Preston from Harvard was seeded third and ranked No. 13 nationally.
Jordan ran his season record to 12-0, making him one of three starters who are still perfect thus far is 2015-16.
Eight of his 12 wins have been by either fall, major decision or technical fall. He had two bonus point wins this past weekend.
Ohio State has now had the winning wrestler at 141 lbs. at the CKLV Invitational for five straight years (Logan Stieber 2011-14, Jordan 2015).
Ranked No. 16 in the latest InterMat poll, Jordan was the fifth seed. He has risen at least one spot in each of the last two weeks.
In the consolation wrestlebacks, Nick Tavanello scored often in a 10-3 decision against Hofstra's Mike Hughes and then secured a fifth-place finish with his fall over Nick Gajdzik of NC State. Tavanello (11-2) is now tied for the team lead with five falls this season. Kenny Courts (10-2) also was a fifth-place finisher, winning three matches on Saturday, including his final match of the tournament by fall over Matthew Miller of Navy in 2:36.
JUST THE HIGHLIGHTS
Champions: Nathan Tomasello (125 lbs., 9-0), Micah Jordan (141 lbs., 12-0)
Fifth place: Kenny Courts (184 lbs., 10-2), Nick Tavanello (285 lbs., 11-2)
CLIFF KEEN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL HISTORY
Ohio State has finished in the top-five of the CKLV Invitational standings for five consecutive years.
The Buckeyes were second last year and won the title in both 2011 and 2012
The last time Ohio State had two CKLV champions was 2013 when Stieber (141) and Johnni DiJulius (133) claimed titles.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will meet ninth-ranked Missouri next Saturday, Dec. 12, in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers finished fourth overall at last year's NCAA Championships and feature junior J'Den Cox, ranked No. 2 at 197 lbs. and the 2014 NCAA champion. OSU and Missouri met last year at St. John Arena with the Tigers claiming a 20-19 victory based on the fourth tiebreak criteria.
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