Top-ranked Diakomihalis and Martin among ranked wrestlers competing in CKLV

Photos: Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis and Ohio State’s Myles Martin are top-ranked wrestlers who will face plenty of challenges at this weekend’s Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

Nov. 26, 2018

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational will be held for the 37th time this weekend and at least 105 of 200 wrestlers who appear in WIN’s November 26 rankings, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, could face off Friday and Saturday in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

There are 43 wrestlers ranked among the Top 8 of their weight class, including a pair of top-ranked wrestlers in Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis (141) and Ohio State’s Myles Martin (184).

Last year, Diakomihalis won the CKLV championship in 2017 as a true freshman and then eventually the NCAA championship last March. He is ranked No. 1 at 141 pounds. At this year’s event, the Big Red sophomore could face Ohio State’s second-ranked Joey McKenna or Missouri’s No. 3-ranked Jaydin Eierman.

Martin, an NCAA champion and two-time finalist, could meet Illinois’ No. 2 Emery Parker, Nebraska’s No. 3 Taylor Venz and Virginia Tech’s No. 5 Zack Zavatsky.

Very few teams competed last weekend. Penn State, with seven ranked wrestlers, remains the top-ranked team with 111 TPI points. Ohio State, also with seven rated wrestlers has 83 points, followed by Iowa (77.5) and Oklahoma State (66.5). Both the Hawkeyes and Cowboys feature a ranked wrestler at all 10 weights.

Rounding out the Top 10 are North Carolina State (53.5), Michigan (53), Minnesota (46.5), Missouri (44.5), Arizona State (40.5) and Cornell (40). NC State has five individuals ranked in the top eight, the other five teams have either four or three potential placers on paper at this point in the season.

WIN’s Tournament Power Index (TPI) awards team points for individuals ranked in the respective weight classes based on how many potential All-Americans each school could produce at the 2019 NCAA Championships, March 21-23, in Pittsburgh, Pa.

WIN’s TPI point totals are broken down by the following individual rankings: 1st – 20 (16 AA points + 4 advancement points); 2nd – 16 (12+4); 3rd – 13.5 (10+3.5); 4th – 12.5 (9+3.5); 5th – 10 (7+3); 6th – 9 (6+3); 7th – 6.5 (4+2.5); 8th – 5.5 (3+2.5). Additional points for other rankings include: 9th/12th – 2; 13th/16th – 1.5; 17th-20th – 1. TPI points will be lower than the final actual NCAA tournament points because it does not include bonus points.

WIN’s first dual-team rankings will be announced next Monday, Dec. 3.

WIN’s Nov. 26 Tournament Power Index (TPI)

WIN’s Nov. 26, 2018 Individual Rankings

125 pounds

133 pounds

141 pounds

149 pounds

157 pounds

165 pounds

174 pounds

184 pounds

197 pounds

Heavyweight