ADDITIONAL INFO
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior captains Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher each went 5-0 in ascending to the top of podium at the 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Ohio State was the only school in the competition to bolster multiple individual champions.
It represents the second tournament title for each this season after also taking top honors at the Michigan State Open. Each duo member improves to 14-0 on the year.
Ohio State (109.5 team points) finished as tournament runner-up, ending a three-year winning streak but extending a run of nine consecutive trips to Vegas inside the top-5. The Cornhuskers of Nebraska totaled 118 points to secure first place.
In addition to the pair of champions, four more Buckeyes placed in the regular season’s most competitive tournament. Sammy Sasso made a run to the 149-pound finals while Ethan Smith garnered a 4-2 mark to finish fourth at 165 pounds. Dylan Koontz (133 lbs) and Malik Heinselman (125 lbs) placed sixth and eighth, respectively.
Pletcher capped off his title run by disposing of three straight nationally-ranked opponents, snagging bonus points in the quarterfinals and semifinals. On the year, Pletcher is 7-0 vs. top-25 opponents and has outscored them by a combined tally of 103-41 (+62) with five bonus point scoring efforts.
Moore was dominant over the course of two days, ripping through the 197-pound bracket with two tech falls and a pin. After sending away four non-conference adversaries to start, Moore was met with a B1G challenge in the finals. There, he tacked on more bonus points with a 16-6 major decision over Purdue’s Christian Brunner. Moore’s 14-0 season mark includes bonus points in 12 bouts.
TOP-10 TEAM STANDINGS
*FloWrestling tournament rankings included
1st | No. 3 Nebraska (118 points)
2nd | No. 5 Ohio State (109.5)
3rd | No. 7 Arizona State (103)
4th | No. 8 Northern Iowa (94)
5th | No. 16 Purdue (92.5)
6th | No. 6 Iowa State (82.5)
7th | No. 22 Minnesota (79.5)
8th | No. 4 North Carolina State (77.5)
9th | No. 13 Northwestern (77)
10th | No. 18 Oklahoma (66.5)
BOUT-BY-BOUT RESULTS
125 lbs | Malik Heinselman
Rd. 1 | No. 2 Jack Mueller (Virginia) def. Heinselman | PIN, 1:42
WB Rd. 1 | bye
WB Rd. 2 | Heinselman def. Kyle Randall (Sacred Heart) | D, 10-3
WB Rd. 3 | Heinselman def. No. 18 Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) | INJ, 3:00
WB Rd. 4 | Heinselman def. Jack Medley (Michigan) | D, 7-3
WB QFs | Joey Prata (Virginia Tech) def. Heinselman | D, 4-2
7th-place Bout | No. 15 Jacob Schwarm (Northern Iowa) def. Heinselman | PIN, 1:38
133 lbs | Dylan Koontz
Rd. 1 | Koontz def. No. 12 Josh Kramer (Arizona State) | SV-1, 8-6
Rd. 2 | Koontz def. Anthony Petrillo (Sacred Heart) | MD, 12-1
Quarterfinals | Koontz def. Jarrett Trombley (North Carolina State) | D, 5-4
Semifinals | No. 6 Chas Tucker (Cornell) def. Koontz | D, 8-3
WB Semifinals | Todd Small (Iowa State) def. Koontz | D, 5-3
5th-place Bout | Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) def. Koontz | D, 6-5
141 lbs | No. 1 Luke Pletcher
Rd. 1 | Pletcher def. Lukus Stricker (Harvard) | D, 9-5
Rd. 2 | Pletcher def. Noah Baughman (Cornell) | D, 9-2
Quarterfinals | Pletcher def. No. 23 Cole Mattin (Michigan) | TF, 26-11
Semifinals | Pletcher def. No. 6 Chad Red (Nebraska) | MD, 11-3
Finals | Pletcher def. No. 4 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) | D, 10-6
149 lbs | No. 10 Sammy Sasso
Rd. 1 | Sasso def. Brigg Hoopes (Utah Valley) | TF, 19-4
Rd. 2 | Sasso def. No. 19 Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) | D, 8-1
Quarterfinals | Sasso def. No. 7 Griffin Parriott (Purdue) | PIN, 4:49
Semifinals | Sasso def. No. 6 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) | MFF
Finals | No. 12 Brayton Lee (Minnesota) def. Sasso | D, 6-4
157 lbs | Jaden Mattox
Rd. 1 | Mattox def. Colton Carlson (South Dakota State) | PIN, 2:46
Rd. 2 | No. 19 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma) def. Mattox | D, 7-0
WB Rd. 2 | Mattox def. No. 11 Will Lewan (Michigan) | MFF
WB Rd. 3 | Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) def. Mattox | D, 5-1
165 lbs | No. 12 Ethan Smith
Rd. 1 | Smith def. Bernie Truax (Cal Poly) | D, 9-5
Rd. 2 | Smith def. Shayne Oster (Northwestern) | D, 12-6
Quarterfinals | Smith def. No. 16 Tommy Bullard (North Carolina State) | D, 4-3
Semifinals | No. 4 Isaiah White (Nebraska) def. Smith | TB-1, 4-2
WB Semifinals | Smith def. Shayne Oster (Northwestern) | D, 5-4
3rd-place Bout | No. 16 Tommy Bullard (North Carolina State) def. Smith | PIN, 6:23
174 lbs | No. 11 Kaleb Romero
Rd. 1 | bye
Rd. 2 | Romero def. No. 10 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) | D, 5-2
Quarterfinals | No. 5 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) def. Romero | D, 2-1
WB Rd. 4 | No. 9 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) def. Romero | D, 1-0
184 lbs | Gavin Hoffman
Rd. 1 | Hoffman def. Tyler Bates (Kent State) | D, 2-1
Rd. 2 | No. 5 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) def. Hoffman | MD, 10-1
WB Rd. 2 | Hoffman def. Dominic Kincaid (Fresno State) | D, 6-2
WB Rd. 3 | Zach Carlson (South Dakota State) def. Hoffman | D, 6-3
197 lbs | No. 1 Kollin Moore
Rd. 1 | Moore def. Ricardo Rodriguez (Grand Canyon) | PIN, 0:34
Rd. 2 | Moore def. Stan Smeltzer (Virginia Tech) | TF, 19-4
Quarterfinals | Moore def. No. 20 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) | D, 5-3
Semifinals | Moore def. No. 10 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) | TF, 16-1
Finals | Moore def. No. 11 Christian Brunner (Purdue) | MD, 16-6
HWT | No. 8 Chase Singletary
Rd. 1 | Singletary def. Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado) | D, 2-1
*Singletary withdrew from the tournament with a medical forfeit
PRE-FINALS INTERVIEWS WITH TEAM CAPTAINS⤵️
