Hokies take flight west to Las VegasHokies take flight west to Las Vegas
Wrestling

Hokies take flight west to Las Vegas

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BLACKSBURG – The #10 Virginia Tech wrestling team will travel west to Las Vegas to compete in the prestigious 40th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3. Action begins at 12 p.m. EST on both days on Flowrestling with a subscription.
 
Hokies take on Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
When: December 2 & 3, 2022
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 12 p.m. EST
How to Watch: Flowrestling
Live Updates & Stats: FloArena and/or Hokies Wrestling Twitter
Tickets: https://cklvwrestle.com/tickets/
Tournament schedule & info can be found at top left of page
 
 
The Hokies are sending seven competitors to the prestigious tournament that features 33 teams – nine in the top-25, a total of 108 ranked wrestlers – 45 in the top-10, and at least nine ranked competitors in each weight class. Tech will be led by redshirt senior No. 2 Mekhi Lewis as the highest placer on Tech's current roster after a runner-up finish in 2018 as a freshman. Lewis went on to win his first ACC title and then become the program's first national champion that same year at the 2019 NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
Also making another appearance in Las Vegas is graduate No. 9 Hunter Bolen at 184-pounds. Bolen placed third in 2019 where he avenged his loss to Taylor Lujan in the third-place bout after dropping their first meeting in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. Bolen finished the year with an ACC championship and entered the 2020 NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed before the tournament was canceled due to COVID. Bolen will now look to improve his previous finish against a loaded field including five higher-ranked competitors.
 
Making their debuts in Vegas are No. 16 Eddie Ventresca, No. 9 Sam Latona, No. 13 Tom Crook, Drew Nicholson, and No. 32 Andy Smith. Ventresca enters to secure his third tournament title of the season while Latona, Crook, and Smith will look to capture their second tournament title of the season and Nicholson will navigate a deep bracket to improve upon his Keystone Classic performance two weekends ago.
 
Hokies Competing at CKLV

  • No. 16 Eddie Ventresca (125-pounds, redshirt freshman)
  • No. 9 Sam Latona (133-pounds, redshirt junior)
  • No. 13 Tom Crook (141-pounds, freshman)
  • Drew Nicholson (165-pounds, graduate)
  • No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (174-pounds, redshirt senior)
  • No. 9 Hunter Bolen (184-pounds, graduate)
  • No. 32 Andy Smith (197-pounds, redshirt junior)

 
 
Hokies vs the Field

  • 125 – No. 16 Eddie Ventresca (8-1)
    • Enters as the #5 seed
    • Features a total of 12 ranked wrestlers
    • Four higher ranked competitors, three in the top-10
  • 133 – No. 9 Sam Latona (8-1)
    • Enters as the #5 seed
    • Total of 14 ranked wrestlers
    • Four higher ranked opponents – three in the top-5, four in the top-10
  • 141 – No. 13 Tom Crook (5-0)
    • Snags the #3 seed in his first CKLV
    • 16 nationally ranked competitors, 11 in the top-22
  • 165 – Drew Nicholson (5-3)
    • Unseeded in his CKLV debut
    • 13 ranked wrestlers, three in the top-15
  • 174 – No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (3-0)
    • Lewis enters his second CKLV as the #1 seed
    • Total of 12 nationally ranked wrestlers
    • Five in the top-10 national rankings
  • 184 – No. 9 Hunter Bolen (4-1)
    • Bolen enters as the #6 seed
    • Another loaded weight with 12 ranked competitors
    • Five higher ranked opponents, seven in the top-10
  • 197 – No. 32 Andy Smith (4-1)
    • In his first CKLV, Smith will enter as the #9 seed
    • 10 ranked competitors
    • Nine higher ranked competitors, eight in the top-25

 
Hokies in Sin City History

  • Three Hokies have been crowned Cliff Keen Invitational champions – David McFadden (165-pounds, 2017), Joey Dance (125-pounds, 2016), and Ty Walz (285-pounds, 2015)
  • Tech has had 12 finalists – fourth most among competing teams
  • The Hokies rank fifth in total place-winners with 38

 
 
Follow all the action from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Flowrestling, FloArena, and Hokies Wrestling Twitter.