How Tough was the 2023 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational?

We are officially in CKLV week! That’s the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the toughest regular season tournament in the nation. It’s only a few days away. Last year, the CKLV reasserted itself as the best tournament in the sport. While it held the unofficial title for a few years prior, the 2023 tournament was an embarrassment of riches - so loaded it was almost comical. Not only was it the best regular season tournament of the year, but you’d have to go back over a decade to find a tournament that compares to it. 

National powers Iowa and Penn State typically eschew competition at the CKLV. Still, they were the only teams that finished in the top ten at the 2024 NCAA Championships that were not in Vegas last December. We’ll have more on that later. 

This morning, we’re looking at the 2023 CKLV and how it correlated to the 2024 NCAA Championships. With the results from the 2024 national tournament available, we have even more tools to accurately demonstrate just how difficult the 2023 tournament actually was. 

This is in reference to wrestlers who were in action at the 2023 CKLV:

2024 NCAA Champions (4): Jesse Mendez (Ohio State - 141), Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech - 149), David Carr (Iowa State - 165), Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa - 184)

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