The tournament, which starts Friday at the Convention Center in Las Vegas, will welcome 11 of the InterMat top 25 teams in the country, including four in the top ten. The tournament field is led by No. 1 Minnesota, but for the Gophers to keep that ranking they'll need to see their way past No. 3 Ohio State and a very scary No. 4 Cornell.
Here's a look at four things to watch at this year's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
The ascendancy of Nahshon Garrett
With the tough-but-lovable Jesse Delgado currently out of the Illinois lineup, the new top contender come March seems to be Cornell's Nahshon Garrett.
The weight of his opponent is only a small factor in predicting his triumphant postseason. Cornell matures their talent better than almost any program in the country and Garrett -- who went to the wire with Delgado in the 2014 NCAA finals -- is sharper this season because of that growth. Also, add in new stalling rules and Garrett is the favorite for large hardware.
To prove those words Garrett will need a dominant tournament performance in Vegas. He'll likely face Josh Martinez (Air Force) or David Terao (American) in the semifinals, and either Joey Dance (Virginia Tech), Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) or Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) in the finals.
What will it mean if Garrett rolls through the tournament easily? Not much in terms of rankings, but it should display to fans that he has indeed sharpened his game and can compete on weight in December. A dominant performance puts him in contention for No. 1 heading into the holiday break, and likely, the NCAA tournament.
Devin Carter returns to 141 pounds
Most wrestling fans in their twenties and thirties know that the inglorious activity of cutting weight is about as fun as a pep rally in a Moscow funeral home. For those who've reached nostalgia, let Devin Carter's sunken cheek bones be your reminder that there is nothing honorable (or healthy) about death cuts.
Carter will be making his reappearance at 141 pounds for what seems like a trio of reasons.
First is that he lost to teammate Sal Mastriani at a tournament, which probably certified to the coaching staff that the youngster could be an All-American and help the team achieve another ACC title and top ten performance at NCAAs (odd since he must do it in the room too). Second, that Carter might be undersized at 149 pounds. Third, that Logan Stieber -- who ostensibly wasn't healthy after his first cut to 141 -- will be more vulnerable in 2015 allowing Carter a chance for his first NCAA title and a Larry Owings moment.
Maybe that was part of the decision-making process, maybe not, but the Vegas tournament will show fans if Carter is healthy at 141, if he was just wrestling poorly during his loss to Mastriari, or if he had real trouble competing at 149.
I'm soft on Carter's performance at Vegas. He's a tough human, but after a loss and move down, it'll be interesting to see how he performs in the first few matches. I tend to think he'll start slow and then face a familiar result in the finals against Stieber.
Dylan Ness-James Green rematch
Dylan Ness cost me money at the NCAA tournament, and for that I can never forgive his acrobatics in pinning James Green in the quarterfinals. Despite my financial loss I see their likely rematch in the finals as the most anticipated bout of the tournament.
Dylan Ness pinned James Green in the NCAA quarterfinals last season (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Still, there is something about Ness that remains unpredictable, a quality that you can't train to beat, but only cope with once you're in the match. If Green can answer the riddle of Ness in Vegas then it's likely he will do so again at the NCAA tournament.
Also, this is the first big coaching challenge for Jordan Burroughs. It will be interesting to see Green's growth and the Cornhusker staff's game plan.
The Battle for the Mount Rushmore State: Storley-Kokesh
Close friends Robert Kokesh and Logan Storley embrace after a match at NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Atop the rankings are two stalwarts of the weight, Storley (Minnesota) and Kokesh (Nebraska). The two have shed plenty of blood on the mats together, with Storley owning a 3-1 match advantage, but with a new year comes offseason growth and for fans that means a recalibration of who has the upper hand to start the long season.
I like Kokesh, but his lack of consistency against the top four is worrisome. Still, like with Green, there is the addition of Burroughs to consider along with enough familiarity that good game planning could account for a few points.
Storley will be looking to establish his dominance of the weight. Should he get past Kokesh it could be the start of an undefeated season for the Gopher -- a guy able to extend a tactical lead on the pack that's been crowding the top of the rankings for the past couple of years. If Storley loses to Kokesh, or is upset in an earlier round, it will only confirm that the weight class is once again in flux and that any answers provided by Vegas are only good until the Southern Scuffle and Midlands.
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