Vegas Baby, Vegas

The Purdue wrestling team heads to Las Vegas this weekend for the 26th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational.

Nov. 28, 2007

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team heads to Las Vegas this weekend for the 26th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The two-day tournament begins Friday at 9 a.m. (PST) at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

One of the most prestigious collegiate wrestling events in the nation, this year's tournament features 13 of the top 25 teams in the country and the nation's top-ranked wrestlers in five of the 10 weight classes. Other Big Ten schools in attendance include No. 9 Wisconsin, 10th-ranked Michigan, No. 16 Ohio State and No. 18 Illinois.

The Purdue lineup this weekend remains a very youthful one as the Boilermakers continue to miss senior 133-pounder Sean Schmaltz and sophomore heavyweight Chris Kasten due to injury. The Boilermakers send five first-years and no seniors into the tournament, with the majority of their experience coming in the middle of the pack. No. 12 junior Jake Patacsil leads the group at 149-pounds and hopes to be one of the few pre-seeded Boilermakers at the event. He is 5-1 on the early season with three technical falls and a pin.

Also carrying a wealth of experience and some recent success into the weekend are sophomores Nick Bertucci and Justin Fraga. Bertucci knocked off Purdue junior 157-pound starter Jake Murphy in last week's wrestle-off to earn the trip to Vegas and hopes to pick up where he left off at the season-opening tournament. Bertucci won the Eastern Michigan Open with a flawless 6-0 record. Fraga is 5-2 on the year at 165 pounds, but has seen a ton of action in his young career. He placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and earned a trip to the NCAA Championships in his rookie season.

Friday's sessions begin at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., while Saturday's action resumes at 9 a.m. with the championship finals starting at 5 p.m. For more information and tournament results visit http://www.cklvwrestle.com.