California Baptist University
Cliff Keen Invitational
Five Wrestlers Compete at the Prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational
12/6/2024 8:42:00 PM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS, NV--- California Baptist University wrestling competed five wrestlers at the 42nd annual Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nevada, in one of the most prestigious wrestling tournaments of the year.
Numerous All-Americans and several ranked programs were present at the Las Vegas Convention Center, including #3 Oklahoma State, #8 Michigan, #10 Northern Iowa, #11 Cornell, and #7 Virginia Tech. CBU brought five wrestlers to the competition, including #33 Elijah Griffin (141), Drayden Morton (165), Carter Schmidt (174), Daniel Manibog (157), and Nathan Haas (184).
The first win of the day for CBU came from Morton in dramatic fashion as he earned the second-ranked win of his career with a 4-3 decision over #21 Luka Wick of Cal Poly. Morton would come close to pulling off another ranked win but fell short in a 2-1 decision to #28 Cesar Alvan of Columbia in the Consolation Round of 16. Schmidt would pick up another win for the Lancers at 174lbs, with Schmidt besting Aidan Zarella of Sacred Heart via decision to move onto the Consolation Round of Eight. In the Round of Eight, Schmidt faced #28 Brody Baummann of Purdue, and the Boilermaker would come out on top via technical fall.
Haas had the most impressive day for the Lancers, posting a 9-3 decision victory over Caleb Uhlenhopp of Utah Valley in the Round of 16 to punch his ticket to the Quarterfinals. Haas would match up against 3x National Qualifier Evan Bockman of Iowa State in that round and would fall via a decision 8-2. Haas would enter the consolation bracket and face Dennis Robin of West Virginia. Haas would battle hard in the match, picking up a pair of reversals and a takedown, but Robin would ultimately come away with the 11-9 decision win.
NEXT: The Lancers will have a week off before heading to the East Coast for a pair of duals against Clarion University and #20 West Virginia.
Players Mentioned
