Virginia Wrestles At Cliff Keen Invitational Friday
Brackets/Results | Watch Live ($) | Cliff Keen Tournament Central
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 24 Virginia wrestling team (3-1) opens competition at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday (Dec. 6) with eight wrestlers competing in the two-day event. Wrestling begins at 12 p.m. ET on both days at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Coverage of the event will be provided by FloWrestling with a subscription based live stream of each mat and with live results and brackets. Links to both are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates throughout the day by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVAWrestling).
The 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational features wrestlers from 32 teams, including 13 programs currently ranked in the top 25 of the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association rankings. Four of those programs have the top-ranked wrestler nationally in their weight class heading into the tournament.
2019 CLIFF KEEN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE (Times listed are Eastern)
Friday, December 6
12 p.m. – Rounds 1 – 5
9 p.m. – Championship Quarterfinals, Consolation Rounds
Saturday, December 7
12 p.m. – Round 7: Consolation 2nd of 8
1 p.m. – Championship Semifinals, Consolation Semifinals/Finals and 5th – 8th Place Matches
6 p.m. – Championship Finals, 3rd & 4th Place Matches
CAVALIERS IN THE RANKINGS
The Cavaliers head into the weekend ranked as the No. 24 team nationally and have three wrestlers ranked individually at their weight class in the latest InterMat wrestling. Leading the way for the Cavaliers is senior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) at 125 pounds with a ranking of No. 2 at the weight class. Redshirt junior Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) is ranked No. 9 at 197 pounds, while redshirt sophomore Denton Spencer (Waverly, Ga.) is ranked No. 20 at 149 pounds.
VIRGINIA’S LINEUP
125: No. 2 Jack Mueller (1-0)
133: Louie Hayes (6-1)
141: Brian Courtney (6-2)
149: No. 20 Denton Spencer (8-1)
157: Justin McCoy (7-2)
165: Krystian Kinsey (4-4)
174: No Entry
184: Michael Battista (8-5)
197: No. 9 Jay Aiello (8-0)
HWT: No Entry
LAST TIME AT THE CLIFF KEEN INVITATIONAL
Virginia had three wrestlers place at the 2018 edition of the Cliff Keen Invitational with Aiello leading the way with a third-place finish at 197 pounds. Joining him on the podium were Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.) with a seventh-place finish and Will Schany with an eighth-place finish. As a team, Virginia finished 16th in the standings with 51.5 points.
VIRGINIA WRESTLERS EXPERIENCE SUCCESS AT CLIFF KEEN INVITATIONAL
Several current members of the squad have experienced success at the Cliff Keen Invitational with Aiello, Muller and Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) all placing in previous years. In addition to Aiello’s third-place finish a year ago, Mueller turned in a third-place finish in the 2017 edition of the tournament, while Hayes picked up a seventh-place finish that year. Mueller did not compete in the 2018 Cliff Keen Invitational. In all, the Cavaliers have had five wrestlers place at the last two Cliff Keen Invitationals. Virginia did not participate in the 2016 Cliff Keen Invitational
UP NEXT FOR THE CAVALIERS
Virginia will take two weeks off before returning to the mat in competition at the Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern. The two-day event will be held at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and begins on Sunday, Dec. 29 before concluding on Monday, Dec. 30.