Indiana University
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 4-5)
Escobedo Named Most Outstanding Wrestler at LV Invite
12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 5, 2009
PRIMM, Nev. - Four Hoosiers placed at the 28th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, including Angel Escobedo and Nate Everhart; and their individual championships in the 125 lbs. and 285 lbs. weight classes, respectively. Escobedo was named the tournament's "Most Outstanding Wrestler."
As a team, the Hoosiers finished in sixth place out 44 schools competing in the event. Twelve of the nation's top-25 teams were in the field.
Escobedo, ranked second nationally, improves his season record to 12-0 after gathering a half-dozen wins en route to his tournament title. He took out two nationally-ranked opponents in the process, including a 4-2 decision over #3 Anthony Robles of Arizona State in the finals.
In his semifinal match, Everhart firmly placed himself in the All-American conversation with a 4-3 triumph over No. 4 Mitch Monteiro (Cal St. Bakersfield). He then followed that up with another one-point victory over No. 7 Tucker Lane from Nebraska in the finals. It was incorrectly reported Saturday that Everhart lost his championship match. The corrected results are above.
Young advanced to the semifinals of the championship bracket as well before dropping back-to-back matches by a combined three points against two wrestlers ranked in the nation's top-6. He rebounded in his final match of the weekend, however, defeating Hofstra's P.J. Gillespie, 8-5, for fifth place.
Powless was Indiana's fourth placer out in Nevada, coming in at eight place.
COMPLETE IU RESULTS
125 lbs.
#2 Escobedo pins Perrelli (Cornell), 5:22
#2 Escobedo dec. over #3 Robles (Arizona State), 4-2
165 lbs.
#3 Howe (Wisconsin) dec. over #13 Young, 3-2
#6 Rendos (Bucknell) dec. over #13 Young, 7-5
#13 Young dec. over Gillspie (Hofstra), 8-5
197 lbs.
#5 Simaz (Cornell) pins Powless, 4:51
Smith (Rider) pins Powless, 6:21
285 lbs.
#10 Everhart dec. over #4 Monteiro (Cal St. Bakersfield), 4-3
#10 Everhart dec. over #7 Lane (Nebraska), 3-2
DAY ONE RECAP
Four Hoosiers remain in contention at the 28th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Angel Escobedo, Paul Young and Nate Everhart have all advanced to the semifinals of the championship bracket; and are just two wins shy of bringing home a prestigious tournament crown. Matt Powless is also still battling, advancing to the wrestleback quarterfinals.
As a team, the Hoosiers are in sixth place after Day One out in Nevada. There are a total of 44 schools competing in the event, including 12 teams ranked in the nation's top-25.
Each of the IU semifinalists are not only unbeaten on Friday, but also undefeated for the season. The trio has won a combined 35 matches compared to zero losses.
Escobedo's tournament run began with a pigtail match and concluded with a 13-5 major decision over No. 20 Jason Lara from Oregon State in the quarterfinals. He gathered four wins, three major decisions and a tech fall on the day.
Meanwhile, Young and Everhart tallied three W's en route to their semifinal appearances. Young pinned his first two adversaries before topping a nationally-ranked opponents as well. The Bloomington, Ind., native posted a 9-5 triumph over West Virginia's Donnie Jones, who is ranked No. 19. Everhart's opening match was a laugher as he rolled to a 17-1 tech fall. He followed that up with a pair of decisions to put himself in the semifinals.
Powless is guaranteed to place and can finish as high as third. He won four of five matches on Friday with his one loss coming against #13 Logan Brown (Purdue) by a score of 3-2. Powless will square off with #5 Cameron Simaz of Cornell in his first bout on Saturday.
Indiana's Semifinal Match-Ups
125 lbs.- Angel Escobedo vs. Frank Perrelli (Cornell)
165 lbs.- Paul Young vs. Andrew Howe (Wisconsin)
285 lbs.- Nate Everhart vs. Mitch Monteiro (Cal State-Bakersfield)
All 10 Hoosiers won at least one match on Friday. In addition to the semifinalists, four more IU wrestlers notched multiple victories.
Intermat (www.intermatwrestle.com) is providing a live blog throughout the event, including complete results updates as the tournament progresses.
Wrestling will continue on Saturday morning, starting at 9 a.m. pacific time (Noon EST). The championship matches are slated to begin at 3 p.m. pacific (6 p.m. EST).
COMPLETE IU RESULTS
125 lbs.
#2 Escobedo maj. dec. over Mustari (Northern Colorado), 15-4
#2 Escobedo maj. dec. over Fields (Purdue) 14-2
#2 Escobedo tech falls Phillipps (California Baptist), 23-8
#2 Escobedo maj. dec. over #20 Lara (Oregon State), 13-5
133 lbs.
Napier (Nebraska) dec. over Ortega, 5-3
Ortega pins Portillos (CSU-Pueblo), 2:47
Thomas (Illinois) dec. over Ortega, 18-12
141 lbs.
#15 Bailey (Oklahoma) dec. over Monaco, 3-1
Monaco dec. over Liguori (Harvard), 3-1
Archuleta (Purdue) dec. over Monaco, 6-1
149 lbs.
#16 Coughlin dec. over Morrill (Utah Valley), 6-5
#16 Coughlin dec. over Dallaserra (Wyoming), 7-5
Kessler (Rider) dec. over #16 Coughlin, 5-2
Bertucci (Purdue) dec. over #16 Coughlin, 4-0
157 lbs.
Konz maj. dec. over Sanchez (New Mexico Highlands), 13-4
#3 O'Connor (Harvard) maj. dec. over Konz, 13-1
Konz dec. over Stella (Buffalo), 3-1
Gaethje (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. over Konz, 10-0
165 lbs.
#13 Young pins Sesar (SF State), 2:30
#13 Young pins Granata (Cal St.-Bakersfield), 3:55
#13 Young dec. over #19 Jones (West Virginia), 9-5
174 lbs.
#18 Perry dec. over Godley (NC State), 7-4
#10 Manuel (Purdue) dec. over #18 Perry, 2-1
#18 Perry dec. over Barczak (Illinois), 10-6
DesRoches (Cal Poly) maj. dec. over #18 Perry, 14-6
184 lbs.
Cameron dec. over Schmidtke (Oklahoma), 6-3
Pipher (Western State) dec. over Cameron, 7-5 (SV)
Saunders (UNC Greensboro) maj. dec. over Cameron, 13-2
197 lbs.
Powless pins Dill (California Baptist), 4:34
#13 Brown (Purdue) dec. over Powless, 2-1
Powless maj. dec. over Tortora (Hofstra), 10-1
Powless dec. over Hahn (Bucknell), 2-0
Powless dec. over Hamel (Buffalo), 5-3
285 lbs.
Everhart tech falls McCovey (North Idaho), 17-1
Everhart dec. over Frey (Drexel), 7-1
Everhart dec. over Jack (Oregon State), 6-3
