» Michael DeAugustino (125 pounds), Will Lewan (157), Cameron Amine (165) and Lucas Davison (Hwt) all advanced to the semifinals.
» Jaden Bullock (184) also is alive in the wrestlebacks and will place at CKLV for the first time in his career.
» Michigan sits in seventh place in the team standings with 67.5 points after the first day at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational; Iowa State leads the team race with 88.5 points.
Site: Las Vegas, Nev. (Westgate Paradise Event Center)
Event: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Day 1 of 2)
Score: 7th Place of 35 Teams (67.5 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Dec. 2 — at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational – Day 2 (Las Vegas, Nev.), 10 a.m. PST
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team advanced four into the championship semifinal round to headline the first day of competition at the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday (Dec. 1) at the Westgate Paradise Event Center. With one more still alive in the consolation bracket, U-M sits in seventh place in the team standings with 67.5 points.
The Wolverines swept their evening quarterfinal bouts, with graduate student Michael DeAugustino (125 pounds), graduate student Will Lewan (157), fifth-year senior Cameron Amine (165) and graduate student Lucas Davison (Hwt) all winning and advancing into the semifinal rounds.
DeAugustino, seeded second and ranked fifth nationally at 125 pounds, rallied in the third period to defeat South Dakota State’s 16th-ranked Tanner Jordan 6-3 in the semifinals. DeAugustino trailed 2-0 after a second-period reversal and rideout, but scored takedowns out of two third-period scrambles, including the winning takedown with :18 left in the match.
He opened the tournament with a 12-0 major decision before earning a 7-2 decision over North Carolina’s 27th-ranked Spencer Moore with takedowns in the first and second periods. DeAugustino returns to the CKLV semifinals for the first time since 2019. He’s 4-0 on the season.
Lewan, seeded fourth and ranked sixth at 157 pounds, returns to the semifinals for the second year in a row after using an overtime takedown to edge Ohio’s 19th-ranked Peyten Kellar 5-2 in the quarterfinals. He snapped Kellar down, chased the corner and pulled the Bobcat wrestler into a crab ride for the takedown with :26 left. Lewan opened the day with bonus, rolling to an 18-2 technical fall over Sacred Heart’s Brandon Teresa with two takedowns, a reversal and four back points in 5:14. It was his second tech fall on the season; he improved to 5-0.
Amine, seeded second and ranked third at 165 pounds, edged Binghamton’s 21st-ranked Brevin Cassella 4-2 on a first-period takedown in the quarterfinals to advance to the CKLV semis for the second time in three years — he missed the tournament with injury last season. He also earned a first-round tech fall with a 25-8 win over Columbia’s Kyle Mosher with seven takedowns, including five to break it open in the third period. He also improved to 5-0 this season.
Davison, seeded first and ranked third, returned to the heavyweight semifinals for the second straight year — he finished runner-up to Michigan’s Mason Parris last season while at Northwestern — with three bonus wins to open the competition. He earned an 11-2 major decision over Virginia Tech’s 18th-ranked Hunter Catka in the quarterfinals. Davison finished on three takedowns, a pair of single legs and a go behind, and accumulated 1:22 in riding-time advantage.
Davison did not allow a point in the morning session with a 15-0 technical fall and first-period fall. He earned his pin — the first of his season — against Nebraska’s Harley Andrews in the second round, securing a four count off a leg turk before transitioning to a headlock to get the fall at 2:36. Davison improved to 5-0 on the season with five bonus wins.
Michigan swept its first round of wrestleback matches in the evening session but went 1-for-4 in the bloodround. Senior/junior Jaden Bullock, unseeded at 184 pounds, reeled off four wins after a first-round loss to lock up a spot on Saturday’s podium. He used a second-period double leg to edge Ohio State’s eighth-ranked Gavin Hoffman in the bloodround and earned a pair of bonus wins with a major decision and a pin.
Graduate student Shane Griffith, seeded first and ranked third, withdrew from the tournament with a 3-1 record after earning back-to-back bonus wins after a close 4-2 second-round defeat to Stanford’s Lorenzo Norman. Griffith bounced back with a first-period technical fall over Harvard’s Luke Rada, scoring on a quick single-leg takedown before using a combination of tilts and turks to rack up 14 back points in just 2:17.
Freshmen Sergio Lemley and Dylan Gilcher posted 3-2 record at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Lemley avenged an earlier-season loss with a second-period fall against Northwestern’s Joel VanderVere in the wrestlebacks, taking the Wildcat down with a turk to turn him and pin him at 4:21.
Michigan will return to action Saturday (Dec. 2) for the second and final day of competition at the 2023 Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. U-M will hit the mat at 10 a.m. PST for the semifinals and continued wrestleback rounds, while the championship finals are slated for a 3 p.m. PST start. All matches will take place at the Westgate Paradise Event Center.
Top 10 Teams (After Day 1)
1. Iowa State 88.5 2. Ohio State 81 3. Nebraska 77.5 4. Cornell 69.5 5. Oregon State 69 6. NC State 68.5 7. MICHIGAN 67.5 8. Stanford 61.5 9. South Dakota State 57.5 10. Virginia Tech 48.5
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seeds
125 Pounds — #2 Michael DeAugustino
First Round – major dec. Ryan Meek (Ohio), 12-0
Second Round – dec. #15 Spencer Moore (North Carolina), 7-2
Quarterfinals – dec. #7 Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State), 6-3
Semifinals – vs. #2 Brett Ungar (Cornell)
133 Pounds — Wilfried Tanefeu
First Round – pinned by Richie Koehler (Rider), 4:44
Consolations – tech. fall by #7 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State), 21-4 (4:58)
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
141 Pounds — #12 Sergio Lemley
First Round – tech. fall Luis Ramos (CSU Bakersfield), 19-2 (5:46)
Second Round – major dec. by #5 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa), 16-7)
Consolations – pinned Joel VanderVere (Northwestern), 4:21
Consolations – dec. #14 Mckenzie Bell (Rider), 5-2
Consolations – dec. by #11 Tagen Jamison (Oklahoma State), 7-6
Eliminated with a 3-2 record
149 Pounds — Dylan Gilcher
First Round – dec. Jeffrey Boyd (Citadel), 4-2
Second Round – major dec. by #1 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), 11-1
Consolations – dec. Drew Witham (Long Island), 5-1
Consolations – dec. Derek Raike (Ohio), 8-5
Consolations – major dec. by #10 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State), 16-4
Eliminated with a 3-2 record
157 Pounds — #4 Will Lewan
First Round – tech. fall Brandon Teresa (Sacred Heart), 18-2 (5:14)
Second Round – dec. #13 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State), 4-1
Quarterfinals – dec. #12 Peyten Kellar (Ohio), 5-2 SV
Semifinals – vs. #1 Peyton Robb (Nebraska)
165 Pounds — #2 Cameron Amine
First Round – tech. fall Kyle Mosher (Columbia), 25-8 (7:00)
Second Round – dec. Isaiah Estrada (North Carolina), 6-3
Quarterfinals – dec. #10 Brevin Cassella (Binghamton), 4-2
Semifinals – vs. #3 Izzak Olejnik (Oklahoma State)
174 Pounds — #1 Shane Griffith
First Round – dec. Sal Perrine (Ohio), 4-1
Second Round – dec. by Lorenzo Norman (Stanford), 4-2
Consolations – tech. fall Luke Rada (Harvard), 17-0 (2:17)
Consolations – major dec. #8 Alexander Faison (NC State), 14-3
Withdrew with a 3-1 record
184 Pounds — Jaden Bullock
First Round – dec. by #16 Tony Negron (Arizona State), 4-1
Consolations – major dec. Kendall LaRosa (Cal Poly), 9-1
Consolations – dec. Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley), 6-4
Consolations – pinned Anthony D’Alesio (Long Island), 1:09
Consolations – dec. #6 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), 4-3
Consolations – vs. #12 Dylan Fishback (NC State)
197 Pounds — #16 Bobby Striggow
First Round – dec. by Jack Wehmeyer (Columbia), 8-2
Consolations – dec. by Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech), 3-1
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
Heavyweight — #1 Lucas Davison
First Round – tech. fall Jack Forbes (Utah Valley), 15-0 (3:58)
Second Round – pinned Harley Andrews (Nebraska), 2:36
Quarterfinals – major dec. #8 Hunter Catka (Virginia Tech), 11-2
Semifinals – vs. #5 Taye Ghadiali (Campbell)
