Chad Bellis stood out for App State Wrestling at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday, advancing to the top 12 in a 133-pound bracket that featured 11 ranked wrestlers, thanks to an overtime victory against 17th-ranked Brett Ungar from Cornell. Bellis, along with Kaden Keiser (149 pounds), Luke Uliano (174 pounds), and Carson […]
Chad Bellis stood out for App State Wrestling at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday, advancing to the top 12 in a 133-pound bracket that featured 11 ranked wrestlers, thanks to an overtime victory against 17th-ranked Brett Ungar from Cornell.
Bellis, along with Kaden Keiser (149 pounds), Luke Uliano (174 pounds), and Carson Floyd (197 pounds), made it to the evening session of the esteemed double-elimination tournament.
Bellis posted a 2-2 record including a second-period pin against Northwestern’s Massey Odiotti, a 4-1 win over Ungar achieved with a takedown with 1:12 remaining in the Sudden Victory period, and two narrowly contested losses to top-10 contenders. He started the tournament with a 6-3 defeat to 10th-ranked Tyler Knox from Stanford, and nearly came back with a third-period takedown to narrow the score to 8-6 before falling 10-6 to fourth-ranked returning All-American Dylan Ragusin from Michigan, a match that would decide a spot in the final eight.
Bellis, Keiser, and Floyd each secured pins in their second bouts after first-round defeats to top-11 adversaries, while Uliano managed to win two of his first three contests after starting with a Round of 32 matchup.
Floyd faced a 6-2 loss against No. 11 Zach Glazier from South Dakota State, achieved a pin against Cal Poly’s Jared Priest in the first period, and then lost 7-2 to Purdue’s Ben Vanadia.
Keiser was defeated 11-4 by No. 6 Anthony Echemendia from Iowa State, scored a pin against Utah Valley’s Tanner Frothinger in the first period, and then lost 4-1 against 29th-ranked Koy Buesgens from NC State, with a first-period takedown making the difference.
Uliano, similar to Bellis, wrapped up with a 2-2 record featuring two losses against top-15 rivals: a 7-1 defeat to No. 3 Cade Devos from South Dakota State and a 12-5 loss to No. 14 Jared Simma from Northern Iowa. He began the tournament with an 8-2 decision victory over Riley Davis from Wyoming and, after losing to Devos, bounced back with a 9-0 major decision win over Maxwell Wilner from Arizona State.
An average of 13 ranked wrestlers were present in each bracket, as App State’s eight competitors on Friday also included Noah Luna (125), Riley Edwards (141), Anthony Conetta (157), and Logan Eller (184). Four of their defeats were against ranked opponents.
App State Results in Las Vegas
125: Noah Luna
#3 Matt Ramos, Purdue L, TF 17-2
Carson Wagner, Binghamton L, Dec 8-3
133: Chad Bellis
#10 Tyler Knox, Stanford L, Dec 6-3
Massey Odiotti, Northwestern W, Fall 4:35
#17 Brett Ungar, Cornell W, Dec 4-1 (SV)
#4 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan L, Dec 10-6
141: Riley Edwards
Emilio Ysaguirre, Arizona State L, MD 17-5
Jacob Frost, Iowa State L, MD 16-3
149: Kaden Keiser
#6 Anthony Echemendia, Iowa State L, Dec 11-4
Tanner Frothinger, Utah Valley W, Fall 2:14
#29 Koy Buesgens, NC State L, Dec 4-1
157: Anthony Conetta
Caleb Fish, Oklahoma State L, TF 18-1
#21 Rafael Hipolito, Virginia Tech L, MD 17-3
174: Luke Uliano
Riley Davis, Wyoming W, Dec 8-2
#3 Cade Devos, South Dakota State L, Dec 7-1
Maxwell Wilner, Arizona State W, MD 9-0
#14 Jared Simma, Northern Iowa L, Dec 12-5
184: Logan Eller
#29 Ross McFarland, Hofstra L, MD 18-7
#24 William Ebert, Binghamton L, Fall 1:32
197: Carson Floyd
#11 Zach Glazier, South Dakota State L, Dec 6-2
Jared Priest, Cal Poly W, Fall 2:20
Ben Vanadia, Purdue L, Dec 7-2
Information provided by Appalachian State Athletics