Cal Poly to Compete in Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational This Weekend
11/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly will send 10 wrestlers to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, one of the more prestigious early season tournaments on the college schedule, this weekend.
Following weigh-ins, competition at the Las Vegas Convention Center begins Friday at 9 a.m. Quarterfinals are set for 6 p.m. Friday, with the semifinals Saturday at 10 a.m.
The championship and consolation finals of the 35th annual tournament will be contested at 3 p.m.
Cal Poly will be led by Travis Berridge (pictured above), Yoshito Funakoshi and Sohrab Movahedi.
Berridge (174 pounds) sports a 6-2 record with one fall and is 3-0 in dual meets. Funakoshi (133) is 8-5 on the year (4-3 in duals) while Movahedi (184), 5-1 overall, is coming off a first-place finish in the Roadrunner Open two weeks ago.
Mustang 285-pounder Spencer Empey placed second in the Roadrunner Open and is 6-5 for the season.
Other Mustangs scheduled to compete at Las Vegas include David Gonzalez (4-4) at 125 pounds, Colton Schilling (4-2) at 141, Joshy Cortez (4-6) at 149, Colt Shorts (7-5) at 157, Blake Kastl (5-5) at 165 and Thomas Lane (3-6) at 197.
A total of 35 teams are scheduled to compete in the two-day tournament, including all six Pac-12 wrestling members. The lineup of teams includes No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 7 Cornell, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Stanford, No. 13 Michigan, No. 17 Minnesota, No. 18 Arizona State, No. 19 Iowa State, No. 24 West Virginia and No. 25 Central Michigan.
Last Mustang to place in the event was Kastl, who finished eighth at 149 pounds in 2013. Devon Lotito placed third at 133 pounds in 2012. Ryan DesRoches claimed the 174-pound title in 2011 while 141-pounder Boris Novachkov and 285-pounder Atticus Disney both placed fifth.
Tickets, available at the door only, are $40 for an all-session pass, $20 for just the championship finals and $15 for each of the three preliminary sessions.
