Forgive me for bringing this to your attention so late.  I should have seen this coming, you should have been warned in advance. 

Watch 2018 Cliff Keen Las Vegas | Nov 30-Dec 1

Cliff Keen Las Vegas continues to as a launching point for high level competition for the D1 season.  The last few years, it’s been the toughest by far.  It had over 100 ranked wrestlers last year in the field (there’s only 200, period). 

But it's possible we hit the jackpot (horrible Vegas joke, please keep reading it gets better),  133 at Cliff Keen Las Vegas is the weight I'm most excited for for the 2018 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Team List

Ranked Participants At 133

#2 Nick Suriano - Rutgers

#3 Stevan Micic - Michigan

#5 Luke Pletcher - Ohio State

#7 Ethan Lizak - Minnesota

#10 John Erneste - Missouri

#11 Dylan Duncan - Illinois

#12 Korbin Myers - Virginia Tech

#13 Montorie Bridges - Wyoming

#14 Josh Terao - American

#15 Cam Sykora - ND State

#16 Colin Valdiviez - Northwestern

#17 Micky Phillippi - Pittsburgh

#18 Sean Nickell - CSU Bakersfield

#20 Tucker Sjomeling - Nebraska

Ok, so here's the quick and dirty because who wants to count? 14 of the 20 ranked will be here, but here’s what gets me the most fired up at 133 at Cliff Keen Las Vegas.  

High Octane, High Entertainment

The group of four of Suriano/Micic/Pletcher/Lizak is not only uber-credentialed, but has a varied group of skill sets that will create compelling and exciting match ups.

Suriano and Pletcher fit the more traditional mold - Great position, quick attacks, and fundamental from the mat.

Micic brings a unique, European element - Elbow control, arm drags and a variety of attacks makes him tough to gameplan for as few wrestle like the NCAA finalist. 

Ethan Lizak is a match to match wildcard.  A year ago he was upset at CKLV by Taylor LaMont, and given the power and depth in this field, him falling pre-semis shouldn’t stun us.  However, if he’s humming, Lizak is the best top wrestler here and is one good auto-top period away from beating anyone. 

There's matchups we've seen here: Suriano over Lizak, Micic and Pletcher have split.  But there's still plenty of mystery in the match ups apart from those bouts. 

Who Leaves Vegas A Winner?

Each year the brutal field yields breakout performances.  Last year Austin DeSanto came into the tournament unranked, then left the #7 guy in the country after downing Stevan Micic, Montorie Bridges and Dennis Gustafson.  Who could forget when True Freshman Hunter Stieber took out NCAA Champ Kellen Russell and Mitchell Port at the 2011 CKLV?  Micky Phillppi, Montorie Bridges and John Erneste are three guys I could see making deep runs here.  You can cement your case for a strong seed with two good days here.

Team Race Implications

All the big dogs for the team race have a game 133 in the mix.  The quarters, semis and finals results here could go a long way in determining who brings home the Cliff Keen Las Vegas championship trophy.  Ohio State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri all will vie for the team trophy and each have All American’s at 133.