University of Missouri
Las Vegas Invitational
Askren Claims Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Title
12/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 3, 2005
Las Vegas - Junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) claimed his second straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title at 174 pounds and junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) took second at 165 pounds to close the two-day tournament in the Cashman Center of Las Vegas. As a team, the Tigers finished third out of 52 teams with 102.5 points, an improvement over last year's sixth-place finish. 2004 Invitational championship team Michigan successfully captured their third title in four years (145 points) and Cornell finished second with 116 points.
Askren improved to 16-0 on the season after scoring a major decision victory over seventh-ranked Mike Patrovich of Hofstra. This marked the second straight year that Askren earned his Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title after besting a Hofstra wrestler. Ranked No. 1 in the nation, Askren scored first with a takedown and allowed Patrovich an escape only to take him down again and close the period with a 4-1 lead. Tallying seven takedowns, including one at the sound of the buzzer, Askren cut Patrovich four times allowing the Hofstra wrestler to only score on escapes. Of Askren's 16 wins this campaign, 13 have been earned after pinning his opponent, two by technical fall and one by injury default. Tonight's match was Askren's first victory by less than a fall or technical fall since his 7-2 decision over Pete Friedl of Illinois at the 2005 NCAA Championships in St. Louis.
Wrestling at 165 pounds, fourth-ranked Pell squared off with third-ranked Ryan Churella of Michigan and lost a hard-fought battle, 8-2. Taking the early lead, Churella scored a first period takedown but Pell was able to escape for one point. Choosing down to start the second, Pell escaped after Churella was hit with a stall call. It would prove to be Pell's last point of the match as Churella went on to win in front of a largely Michigan populated crowd. Competing in last year's Invitational, Pell finished fifth at 184 pounds.
Four Missouri wrestlers finished among the top-eight at the prestigious tournament as senior Austin DeVoe (Columbus, Kan.) took fifth at 125 pounds and freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) took eighth at 184 pounds.
The Missouri wrestling team will return home and host Ohio State, Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. (CST) in the Hearnes Center.
165 Matt Pell 4-1 at the tournament #4 Matt Pell (MU) major decision Rob Maxwell (Cal Poly): 10-1 #4 Matt Pell (MU) technical fall Keenan McCurdy (Nebraska-Kearney): 21-6 #4 Matt Pell (MU) major decision Steve Anceravage (Cornell): 18-6 #4 Matt Pell (MU) decision Mike Poeta (Illinois): 4-2 #4 #3 Ryan Churella (Michigan) decision Matt Pell (MU): 8-2174 Ben Askren 6-0 at the tournament #1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Ray Lamb (Buffalo): 2:30 #1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Nick Padazan (Pittsburgh): 2:12 #1 Ben Askren (MU) technical fall Mike Grogan (UVA): 19-1 #1 Ben Askren (MU) fall Jeremy Larson (Oregon State):2:56 Day 2 #1 Ben Askren (MU) injury default Donny Reynolds (Illinois) Day 2 #1 Ben Askren (MU) major decision Mike Patrovich (Hofstra): 16-5
Championship Finals Wt. Name Result Opponent: Score 125 #16 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) decision #13 Jeremy Mendoza (Arizona State): 7-4 133 #1 Shawn Bunch (Edinboro) decision #8 Matt Valenti (Penn): 5-3 141 #7 Josh Churella (Michigan) fall #11 Derek Moore (Cal Davis): 6:47 149 #11 Gregor Gillespic (Edinboro) major decision #7 Doug Withstandley (Purdue): 14-3 157 #17 Steve Luke (Michigan) decision #1 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois): 4-3 (2OT) 165 #3 Ryan Churella (Michigan) decision #4 Matt Pell (MU): 8-2 174 #1 Ben Askren (MU) major decision Mike Patrovich (Hofstra): 16-5 184 Ben Wissel (Purdue) decision Pete Friedl (Illinois): 6-2 197 Kyle Cerminara (Hofstra) decision Jerry Rinaldi (Cornell): 5-3 HWT Greg Wagner (Michigan) decision Cain Velaszuez (Arizona State): 6-1
Top Five Team Finishes 1 Michigan (145 points) 2 Cornell (116 points) 3 Missouri (102.5 points) 4 Edinboro (101 points) 5 Arizona State (92 points)
Updated Records Wt. Name: Season (Career) 125 Austin DeVoe: 14-4 (57-35) 133 Tyler McCormick: 5-3 (25-17) 141 Chris McCormick: 16-3 (67-45) 149 Josh Wagner: 8-5 (26-14) 157 Michael Chandler: 10-4 (10-4) 165 Matt Pell: 8-1 (74-23) 174 Ben Askren: 16-0 (83-8) 184 Raymond Jordan: 12-3 (12-3) 197 Jeff Foust: 7-2 (77-31) HWT Sean Connole: 14-8 (14-8)
Players Mentioned
