Northwestern University Athletics
Friday, December 5
Las Vegas, Nev.
All Day
Northwestern
vs
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Photo by: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics
Wrestling Prepares for Prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
12/4/2025 4:21:00 PM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Northwestern wrestling continues its 2025–26 campaign this weekend, heading west for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas (CKLV) Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Competition inside the Las Vegas Convention Center begins Friday morning at 11 a.m. CT, then continues with the evening session at 8 p.m. CT. Saturday's action starts at noon CT, followed by the final session at 5 p.m. CT, featuring the championship and third-place bouts.
The CKLV Invitational annually brings together one of the deepest fields in college wrestling, and this year is no exception. Northwestern will face high-level competition from across the country, including several programs ranked in the latest NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll. No. 3 Iowa State will be in attendance, along with No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Virginia Tech and No. 8 South Dakota State. Big Ten foes No. 15 Michigan and Purdue are also expected to compete, offering the Wildcats an early benchmark against conference opponents.
Northwestern brings a 10-man lineup to Las Vegas, headlined by a pair of pre-seeded wrestlers. Sean Spidle (No. 4) enters competition at CKLV with an undefeated record after grinding out a pair of shutout decisions in the season's first dual matches. He was tabbed the No. 13 wrestler at 133 lbs in the latest InterMat rankings, his highest rank of the season so far. Joining him is Sam Cartella, InterMat's No. 31 wrestler at 149 lbs. Cartella received a No. 12 seed in Las Vegas following a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open, where he allowed just four total points and recorded both a pin and a technical fall.
The tournament will be streamed on FloSports. Full brackets will be available closer to the event start.
PROBABLE NORTHWESTERN LINEUP:
125: Dedrick Navarro
133: #13 Sean Spidle
141: Billy Dekraker
149: #31 Sam Cartella
157: Gunnar Myers
165: Jacob Bostelman
174: Eddie Enright
184: J.D. Perez
197: Alex Smith
285: Gabe Christenson
UP NEXT
Following their trip to Las Vegas, the 'Cats will return to Evanston to prepare for their first home action of the season. Northwestern will host Lock Haven on Friday, Dec. 19. First whistle from Welsh-Ryan Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and action will be streamed on B1G+.
The CKLV Invitational annually brings together one of the deepest fields in college wrestling, and this year is no exception. Northwestern will face high-level competition from across the country, including several programs ranked in the latest NWCA Division I Men's Wrestling Coaches Poll. No. 3 Iowa State will be in attendance, along with No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Virginia Tech and No. 8 South Dakota State. Big Ten foes No. 15 Michigan and Purdue are also expected to compete, offering the Wildcats an early benchmark against conference opponents.
Northwestern brings a 10-man lineup to Las Vegas, headlined by a pair of pre-seeded wrestlers. Sean Spidle (No. 4) enters competition at CKLV with an undefeated record after grinding out a pair of shutout decisions in the season's first dual matches. He was tabbed the No. 13 wrestler at 133 lbs in the latest InterMat rankings, his highest rank of the season so far. Joining him is Sam Cartella, InterMat's No. 31 wrestler at 149 lbs. Cartella received a No. 12 seed in Las Vegas following a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open, where he allowed just four total points and recorded both a pin and a technical fall.
The tournament will be streamed on FloSports. Full brackets will be available closer to the event start.
PROBABLE NORTHWESTERN LINEUP:
125: Dedrick Navarro
133: #13 Sean Spidle
141: Billy Dekraker
149: #31 Sam Cartella
157: Gunnar Myers
165: Jacob Bostelman
174: Eddie Enright
184: J.D. Perez
197: Alex Smith
285: Gabe Christenson
UP NEXT
Following their trip to Las Vegas, the 'Cats will return to Evanston to prepare for their first home action of the season. Northwestern will host Lock Haven on Friday, Dec. 19. First whistle from Welsh-Ryan Arena is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and action will be streamed on B1G+.
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