CKLV Central: Lucas Davison, Yahya Thomas Headline 'Cats Heading into Day 2

Friday, December 2

Las Vegas, NV

Northwestern

CKLV Invitational

Photo by: Sam Janicki (sjanickiphoto.com)

CKLV Central: Lucas Davison, Yahya Thomas Headline 'Cats Heading into Day 2

12/1/2022 10:13:00 AM | Wrestling

NORTHWESTERN WRESTLING: TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Day One Info	Day Two Info	LOCATION	Watch	Brackets/Stats
Friday, Dec. 2: Rounds of 32 + 16: 11 am CT Quarterfinals: 8 pm CT	Saturday, Dec. 3: Semifinals: Noon CT Finals: 5 pm CT	Las Vegas, Nevada	FloWrestling ($$)	FloArena (Free)
Social: Twitter: @NUWrestle \| Instagram: @NUWrestle

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Northwestern wrestling is back in action this weekend at the high-profile Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, taking place on December 2-3.

Every match at the CKLV Invitational is broadcast live on FloWrestling

Coming off a historic 2021 campaign in which Northwestern finished 6th in the nation at the NCAA Championships with four All-Americans and one of just three schools in the country to qualify 10 wrestlers for the championship, the Wildcats have plenty of momentum heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Head Coach Matt Storniolo's squad is currently ranked No. 14 in the NWCA coaches poll while holding a No. 8 team tournament ranking in FloWrestling's poll.

Six Wildcats are currently ranked among the Top 25 in the nation in their respective weight classes, and each of them will be competing in a loaded CKLV field this weekend.

***

At 125 lbs, Michael DeAugustino is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation and is seeded No. 1 in the CKLV brackets. DeAugustino placed 4th in the nation on his way to his second-career All-American honors at last year's NCAA Championships and earned a dominant 15-3 major decision over Virginia's Patrick McCormick in his first match of this season. This will be DeAugustino's first trip to the CKLV Invitational since his redshirt first-year campaign in 2019-20, when he went 5-1 on his way to a 3rd place podium finish.

At 133 lbs, Chris Cannon is ranked No. 7 in the nation and earned a No. 4 pre-seed in the CKLV bracket. The two-time All-American has finished 7th at the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons and earned a 2nd-place finish last year at Vegas, going 4-1.

In the heavyweight class, Lucas Davison is ranked No. 6 in the nation and also earned a No. 4 pre-seed in the 285 lb CKLV bracket. Davison went 5-2 at last year's CKLV on his way to a fifth place podium finish and continued to pick up momentum throughout the rest of the season as he earned a career-best Top-6 national finish at the NCAA Championships to secure All-American status.

Always a threat in the 149 lb bracket, Yahya Thomas is ranked No. 7 in the nation and also secured a No. 4 pre-seed in this year's CKLV field. Thomas earned a 4th-place finish in last year's CKLV tournament. Thomas, who finished third in the nation during the 2021 NCAA Championships, is one of four returning All-Americans to this year's Wildcat lineup. Prior to the start of this year's NCAA season, Thomas represented Team USA at the U23 World Championships in the 70kg division, earning a 4th place finish.

In the 157 lb division, Trevor Chumbley will look to continue his red-hot start to the season. Chumbley is 6-0 on the year and has risen to No. 24 in the nation in the 157 lb class and earned a No. 6 pre-seed in Vegas. The 157 lb division has been dominated by Northwestern in recent years, with Ryan Deakin winning each of the last three CKLV titles.

Troy Fisher is currently ranked No. 21 in the nation at 174 lbs and rounds out the list of six Wildcats to be seeded at this year's CKLV, earning a No. 9 seed. Last year in Vegas, Fisher earned a Top-5 podium finish at 174 lbs, going 5-2 on the weekend.

Rounding out the lineup for the Wildcats at CKLV will be Joel VanderVere at 141 lbs in his first season in the NU lineup as well as NCAA qualifiers from last season in David Ferrante at 165 lbs, Jack Jessen at 184 lbs and Andrew Davison at 197 lbs.

VIEW ALL CKLV PRE-SEEDS

The Wildcats' trip to Vegas comes in the midst of their non-conference ramp up before the start of the Big Ten season in January, 2023. This past month, the 'Cats sent several of their wrestlers to East Lansing for the MSU Open which saw Trevor Chumbley go 5-0 en route to a 1st place finish in the 157 lb bracket. Troy Fisher (174 lbs) and Andrew Davison (197 lbs) each went 4-1 and earned podium finishes of their own at 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

In their lone non-conference dual of 2022, the Wildcats earned a 20-13 win at Virginia picking up victories in six of their 10 bouts, with Fisher and DeAugustino each picking up bonus points.

Following their trip to CKLV, Northwestern returns to the mat at the end of December for the 58th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill (Dec. 29-30). This season's Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will mark a historic occasion, as the most prestigious wrestling non-conference wrestling tournament in the nation will be adding a women's division for the first time ever.

GET YOUR MIDLANDS TICKETS

Full 2022 CKLV Schedule (all times Central)

Friday, December 2nd

11 am - Round 1 Pig Tail Championship, Round 2 of (32) Championship, Round 3 Consolation of (32), Round 4 Championship of (16), Consolation 1st of (16) Round 5 Consolation 2nd of (16)
8 pm - Round 6 Championship Quarter Finals & Consolation Round 1st of (8)

Saturday, December 3rd

11 am - Round 7 Consolation 2nd of (8)
12 pm - Round 8 Championship Semi-Finals, Round 9 Consolation Semi Finals, Consolation Finals 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th Places
5:00 pm - CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 1st & 2nd, 3rd & 4th Places

*All rankings from FloWrestling