Wrestling | 11/29/2023 10:00:00 AM
BALTIMORE, Md. (Nov. 29, 2023) —The Bears will be traveling to the west coast this weekend, heading to Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the 41st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 1-2) at the Westgate Paradise Event Center. Action will begin at 12 p.m. EST on Friday and 1 p.m. EST Saturday, with the championship round slated for 6 p.m. EST. All matches will be streamed live on FloWrestling.
This year's field at the Cliff Keen Invitational will feature 35 teams, including 16 teams ranked in the most recent NWCA poll.
Morgan State will be making its first appearance in the tournament, which hosts numerous top programs from around college wrestling. In addition to the Bears, headlining the participating teams are No. 2 NC State, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Cornell, No. 8 Iowa State, No. 9 Nebraska and No. 10 Virginia Tech.
Senior Jacob Marsh and freshmen Shawn Rynarz and Kingsley Menifee along with seven other Morgan wrestlers will be looking to make waves in a stacked field this weekend.
Formerly known as the Las Vegas Classic, the tournament was renamed the Cliff Keen Invitational in 1993 to honor former Michigan wrestling coach and collegiate wrestling icon Cliff Keen. The tournament was created by three-time NCAA champion Mark Churella Sr. (1976-79) while he served as UNLV head coach and is still run by him and his sons and fellow Wolverine alums Mark Jr. (2001) and Ryan (2003-06).
NOTABLES
• Leading the return of NCAA Division I, Varsity-level men's wrestling to Maryland's largest Historically Black College or University (HBCU), Morgan State University announced the hiring of Kenny Monday as the Athletics Department's new men's wrestling coach, effective Aug. 24, 2022. Monday, the first Black wrestler in history to win an Olympic gold medal, is a National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, three-time Olympian and former NCAA All-American standout, who brings a championship-level coaching pedigree and an expansive yet impressive resume to a Bears' wrestling program looking to restart after a 25-year hiatus. Monday comes to Morgan after serving as the director of wrestling and head wrestling coach at Spire Academy, since 2021.
• Morgan was wrestling in its first competition in 25 years after the program was reinstated this season to make it the only HBCU with a Division I wrestling program.
• In October 2021, the University announced its plans to revive the men's wrestling program at Morgan with the support a $2.7-million gift from HBCU Wrestling (HBCUW), a new initiative reestablishing wrestling programs on HBCU campuses. The gift, which is among the largest received from a private donor to the University, provides funding for the program and supports up to nine full scholarships annually.
Full pre-seed lists can be found on Flowrestling, which will be live streaming the invite on Friday and Saturday.
- Kevin Lopez, 125
- Shawn Ryncarz, 133
- Blake Bryant, 141
- Aaron Turner, 149
- Eric Tecson, 157
- Jacob Marsh, 165
- Cortilius Van, 174
- Kingsley Menifee, 184
- Nathanic Kendricks, 197
- Sam Alsheimer, HWT
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more.
• Follow us on social media:
Facebook: /MorganStateBears
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
