The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships might not be until late March, but the ASU wrestling team gets an early taste of the big stage this weekend when they travel to Sin City for the 30th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
The Sun Devils plan on competing one wrestler in each of the ten double-elimination, bracketed weight classes, just as they would at Nationals. The format of the event, coupled with the high number of elite grapplers competing, serves as an early season gut-check for ASU.
“There’s a slew of very good teams,” redshirt junior Levi Cooper said. “It will be the first time that we see the Pac-12 competition this year, and we still have a lot of young guys where this will be their first big tournament. It’s probably the toughest tournament we wrestle in all year long.”
As ASU inches closer toward its first conference dual on Dec. 29 against Boise State, the coaching staff continues to emphasize that every Sun Devil needs to make progress each time he steps out on the mat.
“We’ve had a few injuries, so we’re kind of piecing a team together right now,” ASU assistant coach Travis Pascoe said. “We’re just trying to move forward. With a guy like Cooper, we’re looking to win the tournament. With some of the younger guys, we’re looking to gain some experience on the mat in a big tournament situation.”
There are 10 Top 25 teams represented at the event, but the youthful Sun Devils look forward to the challenge. A solid showing at an early season showcase such as the Cliff Keen Invitational can instantly boost a wrestler’s national profile.
“Vegas is like a mini-Nationals,” redshirt senior Kyle DeBerry said. “If you look at it statistically, if you place in the top six at this tournament, you are going to get ranked in the Top 25 in the country.”
Ironically, the Sun Devils’ freshmen-laden roster actually works to their advantage, DeBerry explained, because their opponents make the false assumption that a youthful ASU isn’t going to fight tooth-and-nail over every match.
“We’re really young, so people count us out right off the bat,” Deberry said. “This is a very good opportunity for our group to really start making a name for ourselves. More than half the line-up is redshirt freshmen, but they’re all quality wrestlers and we just got to believe in them.”
While ASU’s youngsters may be underrated, No. 6 heavyweight Cooper sure isn’t. After upsetting then-No. 1 ranked Zach Rey of Lehigh last weekend, the All-American is considered by many to be a surefire contender for the national crown this spring.
And though his own and others’ expectations seem heighten with every victory, Cooper remains unaffected by the growing hype.
“I actually felt a lot of pressure before this whole season started,” Cooper said. “Now that I’ve lost a match and I know I can wrestle with anyone in the country, my mindset is more or less excited because I get to go mix it up with the best guys in the country. I know on any given weekend, I can be the best guy around.”
Throughout all the excitement that’s bound to accompany an individual event like this, Cooper and his teammates will stay focus on not repeating any of the blunders that were made during last week’s trip to New York.
“This tournament is going to be very important for us to try and limit the amount of mistakes that we make,” Cooper said, “and make sure that we don’t make the same mistakes we made in the past.”
The action begins at 9 a.m. Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with the wrestling picking back up again on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Reach the reporter at kjnewma2@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
