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College wrestling notebook: Hendrickson pins his way to CKLV title, Penn State defeats Lehigh at PPL Center, upsets galore in Las Vegas

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by Savannah Asmann, USA Wrestling

WVU's Peyton Hall wins the title at 165 pounds at the 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

The Cliff Keen Wrestling Invitational has come and gone for the 2024 season. The tournament was marked by a number of upsets, strong performances on the backside, and a dominant performance by Oklahoma State to capture the team title. The season continued with plenty of action for college wrestling fans to enjoy. Check out a few things that happened during week six.

Upset of the week

There were plenty of upsets at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend. Cal Poly’s Zeth Romney, ranked at No. 15 in the latest FloWrestling rankings, became the program’s first wrestler in 15 years to win a title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Romney defeated No. 6 Evan Frost of Iowa State in the finals at 133 pounds, 7-3. Romney was the fifth seed in the bracket while Frost was the No. 2 seed. Romney was also the lowest seeded athlete to win a title.

Dual of the week

No. 1 Penn State defeated No. 14 Lehigh, 36-3, in front of nearly 10,000 fans at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Sunday. The Nittany Lions moved to 2-0 while the Mountain Hawks dropped to 1-2. Penn State won 9 of the 10 matches, as Lehigh’s No. 1 Ryan Crookham posted a 4-2 decision over No. 10 Braeden Davis. It’s worth mentioning that No. 23 Josh Barr bumped up to 197 pounds for the dual and defeated Np. 6 Michael Beard, 11-3.

No. 1 Penn State 36, No. 14 Lehigh 3

125: #16 Luke Lilledahl PSU dec. #15 Sheldon Seymour LEH, 4-1

133: #1 Ryan Crookham LEH dec. #10 Braeden Davis PSU, 4-2

141: #3 Beau Bartlett PSU dec. Carter Bailey LEH, 5-0

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness PSU maj. dec. Matt Repos LEH, 17-3

157: #4 Tyler Kasak PSU dec. Logan Rozynski LEH, 5-2

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink PSU tech fall Thayne Lawrence LEH, 18-1 (TF; 4:37)

174: #2 Levi Haines PSU pinned Rylan Rogers LEH, WBF (4:12)

184: #1 Carter Starocci PSU maj. dec. Jack Wilt LEH, 15-1

197: #23 Josh Barr PSU maj. dec. #6 Michael Beard LEH, 11-3

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet PSU tech fall Calvin Lachman LEH, 15-0 (TF; 2:07)

* One team point deduction, unsportsmanlike conduct

Performance of the week

Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson pinned three opponents and defeated Iowa State’s Daniel Herrera in Las Vegas this weekend. In the finals, Hendrickson pinned Isaac Trumble in the first period, helping Oklahoma State to a top finish in the team race. In 2023, both Hendrickson and Trumble won gold at the U23 World Championships in Tirana, Albania. The heavyweight was also named the Outstanding Wrestler at the tournament.

Move of the week

West Virginia’s Peyton Hall defeated Oklahoma State’s Cameron Amine in the 165-pound final at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday. After the semifinals, Hall became West Virginia’s first finalist at this event since 2007 for West Virginia. Hall’s victory came in overtime, take a look at the move that secured him a title.

Photos of the week

Tony Rotundo attended the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this weekend, shooting some of the best photos of this college wrestling season. Check out 20 of Tony’s photos from the finals in Las Vegas.

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