LAS VEGAS – Sun Devil Wrestling had a strong showing across the board on day one of the 43rd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday at the Westgate Paradise Event Center. The brotherly duo of Kaleb and Kyler Larkin, alongside redshirt sophomore Nicco Ruiz, headlined the well-rounded effort as the trio each secured a spot in the semifinals of their respective weight classes.
Notably, freshman Kyler Larkin took out 133-lb No. 2 seed/No. 6 nationally ranked Tyler Knox of Stanford by decision 8-3 to punch his ticket. Redshirt sophomore Kaleb Larkin went a perfect 3-0 in the 149-lb division, while winning by decision for the first time of his career over No. 8 seed Alek Martin (South Dakota State). Larkin’s first 11 career wins all came by bonus points (4 MD, 4 TF, 3 F) prior to his victory by decision.
Arizona State saw five wrestlers make their way to the quarterfinals, as the aforementioned trio of the Larkins and Ruiz were joined by graduate students Chance McLane and Davis Szuba. McLane and Szuba both fell short of the semis but will compete in the consolation round with a chance to place as high as third.
The Sun Devils will have plenty at stake tomorrow, with three chances for individual titles and a plethora of wrestlers gunning for success in the consolation round. McLane and Szuba will also have opportunities to reach the podium through the consolation bracket. As a team, ASU remains very alive in the overall scoring, as the squad currently sits in fourth with 52.5 points.
Team standings
1: Iowa State (107 points)
2: West Virginia (66.5 points)
3: Stanford (61.5 points)
4: Arizona State (52.5 points)
5: Michigan (51.5 points)
6: South Dakota State (49.5 points)
7: Wyoming (46.5 points)
8: Oregon State (44.5 points)
The tournament will conclude on Saturday, with the semis set to get underway at 10 a.m. PST/11 a.m. MST. The consolation finals will follow suit and run all morning and afternoon. The championship finals are slated for 3:00 p.m. PST/4:00 p.m. MST, where the Sun Devils will hope to be well represented. Fans can tune into Flo.TV to stream all the action.
Full individual results / Friday, Dec. 3
125 | Damian Moreno (1-2)
Round of 32: MD 12-4 over No. 3 seed Brady Roark (South Dakota State)
Round of 16: Marcelo Milani (Cornell) Dec. 8-3 over Moreno
Consolation of 16: Sefton Douglass (Wyoming) Dec. 3-1 over Moreno
133 | No. 7 seed Kyler Larkin (2-0)
Round of 16: MD 14-3 over No. 10 seed Jarvis Little (Appalachian State)
QF: Dec. 8-3 over No. 2 seed Tyler Knox (Stanford)
141 | No. 11 seed Pierson Manville (2-2)
Round of 32: Dec. 2-1 over Billy DeKraker (Northwestern)
Round of 16: No. 6 seed Elijah Griffin (Rider) Dec. 9-2 over Manville
Consolation of 16-2: TF (20-4 / 4:34) over Nathan Jerore (Michigan)
Consolation of 8-1: No. 3 seed Julian Tagg (SDSU) Dec. 10-7 over Manville
149 | No. 1 seed Kaleb Larkin (3-0)
Round of 32: MD 15-4 over Dylan Layton (Rider)
Round of 16: TF (20-5 / ) over Noah Tolentino (Oregon State)
QF: Dec. 7-3 over No. 8 seed Alek Martin (SDSU)
157 | No. 8 seed Chance McLane (2-1)
Round of 32: TF (19-3 / 5:15) over Nick Alvarez (Franklin & Marshall)
Round of 16: Dec. 8-1 over Jagger French (Cal Poly)
QF: No. 1 seed Ty Watters (West Virginia) TF (15-0 / 6:18) over McLane
165 | No. 2 seed Nicco Ruiz (3-0)
Round of 32: MD 17-3 over Jack Lledo (Ohio)
Round of 16: Dec. 5-3 over Joseph Cangro (Harvard)
QF: Dec. 5-1 over No. 10 seed Cesar Alvan (Columbia)
174 | Leo Tukhlynovych (3-2)
Round of 32: Eddie Enright (Northwestern) MD 11-1 over Tukhlynovych
Consolation of 16-1: Dec. 7-2 over Aidan Zarella (Sacred Heart)
Consolation of 16-2: F (3-3 / 3:28) over Enrique Munguia (Rider)
Consolation of 8-1: F (5-2 / 6:24) over Dominic Wheatley (Franklin & Marshall)
Consolation of 8-2: Cash Stewart (Cal Poly) MD 14-4 over Tukhlynovych
184 | Shay Addison (2-2)
Round of 32: No. 12 seed James Rowley (Purdue) Dec. 7-2 over Addison
Consolation of 16-2: Dec. 4-2 over No. 11 seed Christian Hansen (Cornell)
Consolation of 8-1: Dec. 8-2 over Caleb Uhlenhopp (Utah Valley)
Consolation of 8-2: No. 9 seed Ceaser Garza Dec. 11-10 over Addison
197 | Max Acciardi (0-2)
Round of 32: No. 10 seed Zayne Lehman Dec. 6-0 over Acciardi
Consolation of 16-2: No. 9 seed Zyan Hall F (6-1 / 2:33) over Acciardi
HWT | No. 8 seed David Szuba (1-1)
Round of 16: Dec. 13-7 over No. 9 seed Devon Dawson (Northern Illinois)
QF: No. 1 seed Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) TF (21-5 / 6:04) over Szuba