'Cats Head to Vegas For High-Profile CKLV Invitational

Friday, December 3

Las Vegas, NV

Northwestern

CKLV Invitational

Photo by: Sam Janicki (sjanickiphoto.com)

'Cats Head to Vegas For High-Profile CKLV Invitational

12/2/2021 10:20:00 AM | Wrestling

NORTHWESTERN WRESTLING: TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Day One Info	Day Two Info	LOCATION	Watch	Brackets/Stats
Friday, Dec. 3: Rounds of 32 + 16: 11 am CT Quarterfinals: 8 pm CT	Saturday, Dec. 4: Semifinals: Noon CT Finals: 5 pm CT	Las Vegas	FloWrestling ($$)	FloArena (Free)
Social: Twitter: @NUWrestle \| Instagram: @NUWrestle

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Northwestern wrestling heads to Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend for the highly-anticipated Cliff Keen Las Vegas (CKLV) Invitational.

Each year, the CKLV Invitational is considered one of the two most prestigious early season wrestling tournaments in the nation, alongside the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern. The 2021 edition proves to be no different, as many of the nation's top wrestlers will collide.

Checking in at No. 8 in the nation in FloWrestling's latest team tournament rankings, Northwestern will once again send a competitive group of grapplers to the mat at CKLV this year. The Wildcats have had champions in each of their last two trips to CKLV, with Ryan Deakin and Sebastian Rivera bringing home titles in 2018, along with Deakin earning his second-straight title in 2019. In total, the 'Cats sent four wrestlers to the podium in 2019 on their way to a ninth-place team finish.

Pre seeds for this year's tournament were released earlier this week, with seven different Wildcat wrestlers listed among the top contenders in their respective weight classes:
(View full list of pre-seeds HERE):

At 133 lbs, Chris Cannon checked in with the No. 1 pre seed in his class. This weekend marks the first action for Cannon in his redshirt sophomore campaign with NU. He currently ranks No. 6 in the nation after finishing seventh at the 2021 NCAA Championships on his way to All-American status in his first season in the 'Cats' lineup. Last month, Cannon also placed fifth at 61 kg in the U23 World Championships will take place in Belgrade, Serbia.

At 149 lbs, No. 4-ranked Yahya Thomas ranks third in the pre seeds in a loaded weight class that will feature four of the top six wrestlers at 149 lbs. Thomas is no stranger to tournament wrestling, having earned a career-best third-place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championships to secure All-American status. After entering the championships as an at-large No. 25 overall seeds, Thomas defeated five Top-10 seeds on his way to a 5-1 showing. In 2019, Thomas recorded six wins as the eighth seed at CKLV en route to a third place finish.

No stranger to the top of the rankings, Ryan Deakin checked in as the No. 1 pre seed at 157 lbs. The last time Deakin took the mat at CKLV in 2019, he was ranked No. 3 in the nation before earning two decisive wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked wrestlers on his way to his second CKLV title. Deakin will look to make it three-straight titles in Vegas this weekend.

Fresh off a perfect 4-0 first-place showing in the heavyweight division at the Michigan State Open, Lucas Davison will look to continue to red-hot breakout to the 285 lb weight class this weekend in a competitive weight class. At 197 lbs, Andrew Davison adds another Davison brother to the mix in the NU lineup, checking in at a No. 13 pre seed in his class.

This will also mark the first CKLV trips for second-year standouts Troy Fisher and David Ferrante. At 174 lbs, Fisher earned a No. 6 pre seed also looks to replicate a phenomenal start to the season, having finished first in his class at the Michigan State Open last month, capped off by a 16-7 major decision victory in the championship bout. Just below fisher at 165 lbs, Ferrante earned a No. 8 pre seed.

Fans can follow along CKLV action on Friday and Saturday on FloWrestling.

*All rankings are courtesy of FloWrestling