It's CKLV week, and with over 100 ranked wrestlers coming to Vegas, our previews need to be broken up into pieces. Today we're going over 141, 149 and 157 pounds. There is an absurd number of hammers registered for each weight class, and that is not hyperbole, as you shall soon discover. 

Between these three weights there are 36 total ranked wrestlers out of a total possible of 60. Additionally, you can expect to see some junior college and lower division studs, as well as bubble contenders and studs that aren't ranked but will be the end of the year.

Yes, there is a veritable smorgasbord of quality wrestling on tap for us all in Las Vegas. 

Watch Cliff Keen Las Vegas Live on Flo

Nov. 30 - Dec. 1 | 12PM Eastern

Teams are allowed one entry per weight, so don't expect redshirts and backups to make it to Vegas. Brackets will eventually be on FloArena and pre-seeds will be here Wednesday or Thursday night.

141 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Joey McKenna, Ohio State

#3 Jaydin Eierman, Missouri

#5 Mitch McKee, Minnesota

#7 Michael Carr, Illinois

In The Mix

#8 Matt Findlay, Utah Valley State

#10 Chad Red, Nebraska

#11 Josh Alber, Northern Iowa

#15 Don Demas, Oklahoma

#16 Nicholas Gil, Navy

#18 Nate Limmex, Purdue

#19 Kanen Storr, Michigan

#20 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern

Sammy Krivus, Virginia

Sam Turner, Wyoming

Last year the big story to come out of Vegas in this division was the emergence of Yianni Diakomihalis as a force to be reckoned with. The freshman Cornellian won the weight class, going through Wyoming's Bryce Meredith, the previous season's national runner-up, in the semifinals.

Cornell will be back in Vegas, but Yianni is easing himself back into competition after an offseason of rehab by entering the Mat-Town Open instead. Spoiler alert: Yianni won the Mat-Town Open. 

As such, the two likeliest candidates to walk away with the 2018 CKLV 141-pound crown are Joey McKenna and Jaydin Eierman. McKenna was upset by a surging Eierman in the bloodround of the 2017 NCAA tournament. But McKenna got his revenge in the third-place match of the 2018 tournament. It will be their rubber match, at least in folkstyle, if these two see each other in Vegas. McKenna also beat Eierman in the finals of the 2018 U.S. Open in freestyle, for what it's worth. 

No matter the style, the funky Eierman and the fundamental McKenna are a fascinating contrast in styles, and two of the best young lightweight talents in American. 

Mitch McKee could also smash his way into the finals. The Minnesota brawler has never looked better, now up a weight class from the previous two years. The true junior finally got past his folkstyle nemesis, Kaid Brock, earlier this month. Don't be surprised if McKee crashes the party at the top of the podium.

Michael Carr is another one capable of running the table at this weight. Although he's 0-1 on the season, that single loss was a 12-10 shootout with Eierman. Carr's got plenty of funk in his style to match Eierman, so even if he falls short in a potential rematch, it will one of the matchups to circle in the bracket. 

125 & 133 Preview | 165, 174 & 184 Preview | 197 & 285 Preview

Watch Mitch McKee finally beat Kaid Brock in folkstyle:

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Chad Red will look to improve on his fourth-place finish from last year, but he's currently mired in an early-season rut, having dropped two matches already, including one to Matt Findlay. Findlay is trying to make the Utah Valley fans forget that they will likely be without the services of Taylor LaMont this season. Besides the win over All-American Red, Findlay scored a convincing victory over Wisconsin's Tristan Moran. 

Josh Alber was a CKLV finalist last year, but if you couldn't tell from the number of ranked guys on this list, it's going to be a tall order to repeat that accomplishment. Alber is in his final season and has yet to make the podium in March despite qualifying three times.

If you're looking for action, make sure you put your notifications on for Dom Demas. That guy looks for the high flying upper body attacks early and often. 

Nic Gil and Nate Limmex are two veterans that are looking to turn that corner and make noise in the postseason. The CKLV will be a great test to see how ready they both are to make that jump. 

And if I want this preview to make deadline I'll have to elide my comments regarding the rest of the field, but just know that everyone else on the list (and plenty more who enter) are extremely rad dudes whose matches will be thoroughly entertaining.  

Spey's Spredictions

1. Joey McKenna, Ohio State

2. Mitch McKee, Minnesota

3. Jaydin Eierman, Missouri

4. Matt Findlay, Utah Valley

149 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Micah Jordan, Ohio State

#3 Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers

#4 Grant Leeth, Missouri

In The Mix

#6 Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa

#8 Brock Zacherl. Clarion

#9 Mitch Finesilver, Duke

#10 Austin O'Connor, North Carolina

#13 Tommy Thorn, Minnesota

#15 Josh Heil, Campbell

#17 Ryan Blees, Virginia Tech

#18 Russell Rohlfing, CSU-Bakersfield

#20 Jared Prince, Navy

Kristian Olivas, Fresno State

Frank Garcia, Binghampton

Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma

Jake Thompson, Western Wyoming

If the banner pic didn't tip you off, this is the weight class I'm most jazzed about, because of the three-way showdown between Micah Jordan, Anthony Ashnault, and Grant Leeth. 

Sure, #1-ranked Matt Kolodzik will not be in Vegas, but we've already seen Ashnault vs Kolodzik four times (they're 2-2) and Leeth vs Kolodzik once (Kolodzik won 4-3 in the 2018 NCAA quarterfinals). But Micah, Anthony, and Grant? They've all never wrestled each other in college. Will Schnaulty mob? Will Micah manhandle? With Leeth lambaste? We shall soon find out!

Amazingly, both Ashnault and Leeth started their college careers in 2014, while Jordan is the relative newcomer, having begun in 2015. Leeth, thanks to NCAA injury waivers, somehow still has two more years of eligibility. But hey, who are we to complain about more Grant Leeth wrestling in the NCAA? 

CKLV Teams List

Watch Micah Jordan advance in the semifinals of last year's CKLV over Josh Shields up at 157-pounds:

Speaking of rejoicing in guys wrestling in the NCAA, All-American Max Thomsen will be back in action for the first time this season. Hooray!

You also have two veterans who are looking for their first trip to the podium in Mitch Finesilver and Brock Zacherl. Both are reluctant members of the three-time qualifiers, zero-time All-Americans club, hoping to not join an even more ignominious group by going 0-4 at NCAAs.

Redshirt freshman Austin O'Connor is hoping to do more than just qualify for the NCAA tournament in his first attempt. The rangy Illinois native is off to an excellent start this fall after a very solid redshirt campaign.

Tommy Thorn is the last of five All-Americans to be discussed. He will be joined by eight other national qualifiers in our group of contenders. And not to be left out is Jake Thompson of the Junior College powerhouse, Western Wyoming.

Spey's Spredictions

1. Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers

2. Micah Jordan, Ohio State

3. Grant Leeth, Missouri

4. Austin O'Connor, North Carolina

157 Pounds

Contenders

#3 Alec Pantaleo, Michigan

#4 Tyler Berger, Nebraska

#5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, Ohio State

#6 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

In The Mix

#7 Kennedy Monday, North Carolina

#8 Steve Bleise, Minnesota

#10 Taleb Rahimi, Pittsburgh

#11 Paul Fox, Stanford

#13 Justin Thomas, Oklahoma

#17 Hunter Willits, Oregon State

#18 Griffin Parriott, Purdue

#20 John Van Brill, Rutgers

BC LaPrade, Virginia Tech

Jarrett Jacques, Missouri

Eric Barone, Illinois

Samuel Freeman, Western Wyoming

Matt Malcom, Nebraska-Kearney

Alec Pantelo is one of five 2017 CKLV champs making a return trip to Vegas. Pletcher at 133, McFadden at 174 (the 165-pound champ in 2017), Myles Martin at 184 and Kollin Moore at 197 are the other four returning titlists.

Pantaleo is 2-0 against the next highest ranked competitor, Tyler Berger, both wins coming by the score of 9-3. Pantaleo is also 4-0 against Micah Jordan, who won his challenge matches against teammates Ke-Shawn Hayes, forcing Hayes up a weight class to where he is entered at CKLV. 

Always a big move threat, Pantaleo brings a terrifying combination of strength and speed to the mat. Berger and Hayes have a dangerous set of skills of their own, but they'll have to avoid giving up a feet-to-back against Pantelo if they want to unseat the reigning champ. 

Another wrestler with a unique arsenal is Ryan Deakin and his condor-like wingspan. Deakin came up just short in his All-American quest last season as a redshirt freshman, but was rock solid all season long, losing only seven times, with four of those coming to Brandon Sorenson and Zain Retherford. Expect Deakin to be very much in the mix this season.

Complete CKLV Schedule

Watch Pantaleo beat Berger in the semifinals of the 2017 CKLV:

Kennedy Monday has the long and lanky frame that can cause so many problems. It's hard to prepare for his skillset when so few people possess Monday's ability and physical composition. I'm hoping we see Monday and Pantaleo in the semifinals.

Bleise and Rahmani are two vets who have been to multiple NCAAs but have yet to break through to the final eight. Rahmani has a funky, disorienting style, whereas Bleise is more prone to straight on smashing his opponents into pieces. Unfortunately, a broken hand may keep Bleise out of action in Vegas, although he did beat Andrew Shomers with the same broken hand, so fingers crossed!

Paul Fox is an All-American and bloodround finisher in his two trips to the NCAAs. Luke Weiland got as far as the round of 16 in his first NCAA tournament in Cleveland. Willits and Parriott are two young talents looking for the first trip to the Big Dance and are not to be underestimated. 

John Van Brill will try to get himself back on track after getting derailed earlier this season at the Journeymen Fall Collegiate Classic that saw him drop two matches to unranked wrestlers. 

Two more to keep your eye on are national qualifier Eric Barone and highly esteemed true freshman Jarrett Jacques. Lastly, be on the lookout for Samuel Freeman, another junior college standout from Western Wyoming, and Matt Malcolm, who is holding it down for DII Nebraska-Kearney. 

Spey's Spredictions

1. Alec Pantaleo, Michigan

2. Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

3. Tyler Berger, Nebraska

4. Kennedy Monday, North Carolina