Five Huskers Advance to Semis in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. – Five of Nebraska’s wrestlers advanced to the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational after Friday’s action at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The No. 10 Huskers are in second place with 75 points heading into Saturday. Oklahoma leads the team scoring with 84.5 points.

Reigning All-Americans James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) were two of NU’s wrestlers who posted perfect records on Friday. Green opened with a 9-3 decision over The Citadel’s Aaron Walker before taking down Randall Languis of Ohio State by a 21-8 major decision.

In the quarterfinals, Green posted a 7-3 decision over Iowa State’s John Nicholson. Green is set to face Michigan’s Brian Murphy in Saturday’s semifinals.

Kokesh notched major decisions over Oregon State’s Joe Latham, 10-1, and Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State, 14-2, to go along with a pin over Army’s Brian Harvey in 3:45. Kokesh will face No. 11 Stephen Doty of Virginia on Saturday.

At 184 pounds, TJ Dudley opened with a pin over American’s Jason Grimes in 5:00 before a pair of one-point decisions. In the second round, Dudley defeated Arizona State’s Blake Stauffer, 4-3. In the quarterfinals, the NU redshirt freshman trailed No. 9 Kenny Courts of Ohio State 7-1 before storming back for a 9-8 victory. Dudley faces No. 18 Benjamin Stroh of Wyoming in the semifinals.

After an opening-round bye, Anthony Abidin (141) outlasted Wyoming’s Cole Mendenhall by a 10-6 decision before notching a 7-4 decision over Harvard’s Todd Preston in the quarterfinals. Abidin will face No. 3 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech on Saturday.

At 149 pounds, Jake Sueflohn tore through his three matches to earn a berth in the semifinals against No. 7 Eric Grajales of Michigan. On Friday, Sueflohn opened with a 13-5 major decision over American’s Cole Moseley. Sueflohn added a technical fall over Harvard’s Nick Stager, 17-2, and a 10-2 major decision over Ohio State’s Ian Paddock.

Austin Wilson (165) and Collin Jensen (HWT) each advanced to the quarterfinals of the Cliff Keen Invitational before falling to top-five opponents. Before Wilson fell, he won a 15-0 technical fall and pinned Jesse Stafford in 2:49. Jensen registered a pair of decisions. Both Huskers will compete in the consolation bracket on Saturday.

At 133 pounds, Colton McCrystal earned a pin in his first match of the day before falling to Navy’s Colton Rasche. McCrystal managed a pair of victories in the consolation bracket to advance to Saturday’s action in Las Vegas.

Tim Lambert (125) and Spencer Johnson (197) each lost their opening match to fall into the consolation bracket. Both picked up a win in the consolation bracket, but were ultimately eliminated.

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational concludes on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. CT. Live brackets are available on EscapeSports.com at the following link: http://openliveresults.escapesports.com/2013-OPEN-Standalone-2013_Cliff_Keen_LV_Invitaional-1386385008.html.