TEMPE, Ariz.— No. 6 Arizona State (2-2) takes a break from the dual season, starting 2017-18 vs. four straight ranked opponents, with their first of two December invitationals - this weekend, the 36th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 1-2).
FloWrestling ranks two CKLV matchups in its top five of the weekend, with No. 6 Ryan Millhof/No. 3 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) coming in at No. 5 and No. 5 Josh Shields/No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) at No. 2.
Shields (8-0/157 lbs), Millhof (5-0/125 lbs), and Zahid Valencia (4-0/174 lbs) also bring undefeated records for the season into this weekend's competition.
In 2016, the Sun Devils finished seven overall (83 pts) as four advanced to the championship semifinals - Shields, Anthony Valencia, Z. Valencia, and Tanner Hall - with Zahid Valencia becoming just the second Sun Devil freshman to win a title at CKLV.
Live video (for pay) will be available on FloWrestling.org with live brackets and scoring on FloWrestling's FloArena. Coverage begins at 8 am PT on Friday and continues through Saturday.
All-session tickets are $40 (including the championship finals), with single session tickets $20 (championship finals) and $15 (prelim rounds). Tickets can be purchased on the day of competition at the Las Vegas Convention Center (3150 Paradise Rd. Las Vegas) with CASH ONLY.
UP NEXT
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is the first of two big invitationals for the Sun Devils in the month of December as they take a break from the dual season. After CKLV, ASU will have a break from competition until the end of December when they head to Northwestern's Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30).
SHIELDS AND VALENCIA EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Josh Shields (157) and Zahid Valencia (174), both undefeated on the season, were honored for their performances Nov. 10/12 as Shields was named National College Wrestler of the Week by The Open Mat and Valencia received the same honor from FloWrestling.
Valencia was also named NCAA Wrestler of the Week.
Within a week, Valencia defeated the previous No. 1 Mark Hall (Nov. 5) at the NWCA All-Star Classic as well as No. 4 Myles Amine (Michigan) and No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State). Shields defeated No. 7 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) and No. 5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State).
VALENCIA MOVES BACK TO NO. 1
After defeating reigning national champion Mark Hall (Penn State), 3-2, at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 5, Zahid Valencia moved back to No. 1 at 174 lbs. in several polls including Intermat, FloWrestling, and TrackWrestling.