It’s hard to argue that the Cliff Keen Invitational is not college wrestling’s top in-season tournament each year. This year marks the third straight year NC State will be among the teams competing in Las Vegas.

Last year, 37 out of the 80 2024 All-Americans competed at the Cliff Keen Invite. This year will feature eight of the top 12 teams ranked in this week’s Flowrestling rankings 

“Anytime you can get into an arena and have that many guys going on and placing at NCAAs, you know that is the toughest tournament in the country,” NC State coach Pat Popolizio said. “There is not another tournament in the country (during the season) that mirrors what goes on in Las Vegas.

“We love going to it. We know with the amount of competition there every year, our guys need to zone in and focus. We gave ourselves a month of completion to be ready for this level of competition.”

Not all 10 starters will be in action for NC State in Las Vegas this weekend.

Christian Knop is still out after having to injury default in the dual against Appalachian State on Nov. 15. Stepping into his spot at 197 pounds will be sophomore Andrew Macchiavello, the younger brother of 2018 national champion Michael Macchiavello.

Kai Orine and Dylan Fishback will also not compete this weekend. Orine won the 133-pound weight class in Las Vegas last year, while Fishback also reached the podium with a seventh-place showing.

Early-Season Standouts

A pair of Wolfpack wrestlers have turned heads with their early season results, and both were not in the lineup last year as they redshirted. They will also compete in perhaps the top two weight classes at the Cliff Keen — 125 pounds and heavyweight.

One was expected to make the jump into the top-10 this year, while the second started as a backup and has caught the attention of many after his great start to the season as an unknown.

Isaac Trumble redshirted last year after starting his first two seasons at 197 pounds. Now at heavyweight, Trumble is ranked fifth nationally. He is also a past Cliff Keen champion back in his 197-pound days.

“Isaac wrestled three returning All-Americans in a matter of eight days,” Popolizio said. “He has showed some really good results and has hit the ground running. He can win gritty matches, and he can win high-scoring matches.”

His first two matches at heavyweight were against a pair of 2024 All-Americans. Trumble started with a 2-1 win over #7 Taye Ghadiali of Campbell then fell the next day to past NCAA finalist #4 Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State. That still sits as Trumble’s lone loss this year as he is 7-1 with both four ranked wins and four bonus-point wins.

His top win thus far was a gritty 2-0 win over 2024 All-American and #4 Yaraslau Slavikouski of Rutgers. After a scoreless first, Trumble used a second-period escape and a third-period ride out for the shutout win.

“The move up to heavyweight has obviously been a good move,” Popolizio said. “He is a guy that is going to be a threat. He is a very tough guy to wrestle, he has such an unorthodox style. But he is still learning heavyweight.”

Vince Robinson redshirted his first year on campus last year, but his insertion into the lineup at 125 pounds now sees him ranked 16th in the county. 

“Vince just has to continue to be who he is,” Popolizio said. “In my time here, he has been one of the most entertaining wrestlers we have had as far as output.”

NC State started the season with seventh-year Jakob Camacho as the starter at 125 pounds. But Robinson’s performance at the Journeymen’s Collegiate Classic made the coaching staff reevaluate that spot.

Robinson went 3-0 in that event, all top-20 wins (#13, #16, #19) to win his pool. He followed that up with a win over #9 Dean Peterson of Rutgers in the dual. Robinson led 11-4 in the second period when Peterson injury defaulted. 

He is a perfect 11-0 on the season and the highest-ranked freshman at 125 pounds.

“He loves the limelight and competition,” Popolizio said. “He has been a great spark this year and he is doing all the right things off the mat. It’s been a phenomenal success story and I’m excited to see what he is capable of doing as the season goes on.

“He is going into this tournament confident, he is a tournament guy. He is going to let things fly and he will have a great opportunity this weekend to see the best guys in the country.”

The Wolfpack currently has four starters that redshirted last season. In addition to Robinson and Trumble, Matty Singleton redshirted to move up to 174 pounds and Koy Buesgens redshirted his first season on campus and is at 149 pounds.

Roster Move

In a rarity in college wrestling, NC State will lose a transfer after the first semester. Two-time ACC champion Owen Trephan will graduate from NC State this month and then transfer to Lehigh for his final semester of eligibility. He is already ranked 10th in the national rankings.

With Trumble moving up to heavyweight and having another year of eligibility past this season, he earned the starting spot after a 4-0 win at NC State’s wrestle-offs.

“I think with both of them being here, it has been a positive for both guys,” Popolizio said. “I’m happy Owen found a home. We had a plan going into this season and we executed it as a program being in front of this situation. 

“Anybody that does NC State right, we want to do them right. And I think we accomplished that with Owen.”