DAKE, STIEBER and KILGORE: Three Killers In Vegas
Willie Saylor, Editor

When: NOV 30th and DEC 1st

Finals: 3pm Pacific | 6pm Eastern
Semi Finals: 10:30 am Pacific | 1:30pm Eastern
Live stream is December 1st @ listed times

Where: LIVE on FLO

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is annually one of the nation’s most intense battlegrounds. Always an early season event, the CKLV Invite, now in it’s 31st year, whets our parched palates for intense DI Wrestling action.

The field will be chock full of stars and All Americans. Take for instance 141 and 149, where all four CKLV finalists are back from last year (Hunter Stieber, Ohio State; Mike Mangrum, Oregon State; Eric Grajales, Michigan; Cole Von Ohlen, Air Force).

But that’s just getting things started. Four of the nation’s #1 ranked wrestlers are in the field at this year’s Vegas. And all but Boise State’s Jason Chamberlain (149lbs) are NCAA Champions and the some of the biggest names in the game. You don’t want to miss them in action.

165lbs - #1 Kyle Dake - Cornell

Legendary. And that’s no hyperbole.

Dake is attempting to become the first wrestler in NCAA history to win four titles at four different weight classes. And after edging returning NCAA Champ, David Taylor in a nip-and-tuck All Star bout, Dake is off and running.

Dake is perhaps the best in the nation at two important categories: defense and scrambling. When the rare instance occurs that a wrestler is in on an attack against Dake, it’s asking for a highlight real counter.

133lbs - #1 Logan Stieber - Ohio State

It was at the Cliff Keen Invite two years ago when then-Freshman Logan Stieber suffered an injury that would force him to be shut down for the rest of that season. But the Junior World Silver Medalist came back last year to do the unthinkable, winning an NCAA title by dethroning its incumbent champ, Jordan Oliver.

Stieber just keeps getting better and better. Dominant in all positions, he puts points up on the board at a fast clip with non-stop action.

197lbs - #1 Dustin Kilgore - Kent State

GorillahKillah. That’s his Twitter handle. And an aptly named one at that. Kilgore is a beast. Two years ago he ran through the NCAA bracket where he dispatched the prevailing favorite, Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State, in the finals with a fall for the title.

Last year he took an Olympic Redshirt season as he trained for the Men’s National Team, trained at the Olympic Training Center, and competed on the University World Team.

The result: Kilgore is back and better than ever. In addition to his imposing size and physically dominating style, Kilgore is now as confident and as technical as he’s ever been. A sight to behold, Kilgore has been mauling all comers.

Every weight class will be ultra-competitive. But these three killers make this year’s Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational a special year. Don’t miss out on the action as they try to attain the first feather in their caps to the 2012-2013 season. Watch the semi’s and finals on Tech Wave as Flowrestling brings you the coverage live.