University of Missouri
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Session II
Missouri Wrestling Uses Talent Not Luck In Vegas Invitational
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Las Vegas, Nev. - Improving on both team and individual standings from last year's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the Missouri wrestling team finished the day in third place with 114 points, while five Tigers will bring home top five finishes. Nebraska won the Invitational (139.5), followed by Michigan in second place (133.50).
Senior captain Jeremy Spates (149) and redshirt freshman Ben Askren (174) recorded second place finishes while senior J.P. Reese (141) and redshirt freshman Matt Pell (184) earned third and senior Kenny Bureson (157) walked away with a fourth place showing. The placings were the first ever for Spates, Askren and Pell, while Reese improved over last year's fourth place finish, and Burleson landed in the same spot.
"I would have to say for a team competing without two of its top starters (Paul Collum, 133 and Mike Whitehead, HWT), we came out of this Invitational with a pretty good showing," head coach Brian Smith said.
The first Tiger to advance to the final rounds of the two-day tournament, Spates (No. 8) defeated (No. 3) Ryan Churella of Michigan in a 7-5 decision but fell victim to Big 12 competitor seventh-ranked Travis Shufelt of Nebraska after getting pinned in 5:29. Ironically enough, the last time Spates was pinned came at the hands of Jesse Jantzen of Harvard on Jan. 4, 2003, at the Lone Star Duals. Jantzen, ranked No. 1 in the nation at 149 pounds, weighed in at 157 pounds for the Invitational and handed fellow Tiger Burleson his second loss of today's tournament.
Pinning his first opponent of the day (Thad Pike, North Dakota State) in a time of 2:19, Askren (No. 7) was one of only two Tigers to advance to the championship rounds of the Invitational. In Askren's first appearance at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational he walked away with a second place finish after falling to No. 3 Ryan Lange (Purdue) in a 3-2 decision
Wrestling at 141 pounds, 10th-ranked Reese (Rochester Hills, Mich.) started the day by recording his 37th career-pin. Dropping Douglas Withstandley of Purdue in 1:15, Reese advanced to round six where he won a 7-0 decision over Blake Gunter (Wyoming). In a battle for third place, Reese won out with a 7-2 decision over No. 13 Clark Forward of Michigan. Matt Murray (Nebraska), who had defeated Reese in yesterday's quarterfinals, finished the day in second place behind Robert Becker of George Mason.
With Reese's 37th career pin, and second of the tournament, he moved ahead of Missouri's Rick Romeo (1977-82) with most pins in a career and is slowly closing in on recent graduate Kevin Herron (41).
In an outstanding showing by redshirt freshman Pell (184), the Luxemburg, Wis., native found his way back to a third place finish, earning wins over Greg Gifford (Fresno State, pin-1:09) and No. 13 Nick Frost (Arizona State, pin-2:44). In his final match of the Invitational, Pell outpowered No. 5 Ryan Halsey (Cal Poly) in a 6-2 decision. Pell entered the Invitational with honorable mention honors in the latest Intermat rankings.
"I feel like I had a good two days at the tournament," Pell said. "I really wish that I had a chance to wrestle in the finals, but I'm happy with the way my final match went. It was really exciting."
The match between Frost and Pell was familiar to many spectators, as they met for the second time of the season. Frost previously defeated Pell twice at the Missouri Open on Nov. 23, and recorded a third place finish.
"Matt is really an exciting wrestler to watch," Smith said. "I have to constantly remind myself that he's only a freshman. Every time he steps out on the mat he improves and gains a little more confidence. His win today was big, and I expect him only to get better as the season goes on."
Eighth-ranked Burelson (157) finished his day in fourth place with a 4-2 record. Suffering a setback after losing to No. 1 ranked Ryan Bertin (Michigan) in a 4-1 decision, Burleson returned to the mats and scored a 9-2 decision over No. 18 Matt Lebe (West Virginia). In the final match at 157 pounds, Burleson fell to No. 1 Jesse Jantzen of Harvard in a 6-4 decision.
Also competing in day two of the Invitational were juniors Jeff Foust (197) and Tyron Woodley (165). Foust finished day one of the Invitational with a 2-1 record, but lost to Landon Seelfedt of Cal State Fullerton in his first match of the day (6-3 decision).
In one of the most competitive weight classes of the Invitational (165), Woodley was knocked out of contention by No. 5 John Clark of Ohio Sate in a 3-2 decision.
"We suffered a few disappointing losses today," Smith said. "But, on the other hand, we had some really big wins. I keep reminding the team that it's only December, we have a long way to go before March 18 (NCAA Championships) come around."
Competing at the 2002 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Minnesota won the team title with 131 points, while Missouri finished in 10th with 73.5.
The Tigers will return home to Columbia to prepare for their upcoming home dual against Indiana on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 1 p.m., in the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse.
For full results of the 22nd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational visit www.wrestlingmall.com or copy and paste http://www.wrestlingmall.com/htmls/tournamentresults.asp?TournamentID=4375.
Weight Name Tour. Record Place 125 Austin DeVoe 0-2 DNP 133 Brett Watkins 1-2 DNP 141 J.P. Reese 6-1 Third 149 Jeremy Spates 4-1 Second 157 Kenny Burleson 4-2 Fourth 165 Tyron Woodley 4-2 DNP 174 Ben Askren 4-1 Second 184 Matt Pell 5-1 Third 197 Jeff Foust 2-2 DNP HWT Clint Freeman 2-2 DNP
