North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling To Compete In Las Vegas Tournament
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 5, 2002
RALEIGH, N.C. - Fresh off a solid fourth-place showing at the Navy Classic two weeks ago, the NC State wrestling team will compete December 6-7 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Tournament, a 65-team event that features many of the nation's best college wrestling teams, including defending national champion Minnesota.
NC State, with a lineup of just 11 wrestlers in a Navy field that allowed teams to use two wrestlers at each of the 10 weight classifications, placed four wrestlers in the championship round, with junior Scott Garren winning the individual championship at 157 pounds. The Cliff Keen tournament requires each team to field just one wrestler in each classification. As was the case at Navy, the Wolfpack will not field a heavyweight in the Las Vegas Invitational.
"This is truly an outstanding tournament, and will be a tremendous test for our team," Wolfpack coach Bob Guzzo said. "We wrestled really well for the most part at Navy, but we'll have to continue to improve in order to have that kind of success at Las Vegas. This is a rigorous field, much like the NCAA finals. We've said all along that we have a team that is ready to compete nationally, and we'll get a chance to show that this weekend in Las Vegas."
Senior George Cintron (2-1), the two-time defending ACC champion at 125 pounds, will anchor the Wolfpack lineup. Senior Clarence Davis (2-3) will be at 133, with junior Ryan McCallum (3-3) at 141, junior Jake Giamoni (2-1) at 149, Garren (3-0 and ranked No. 18) at 157, sophomore Kevin Gabrielson (2-2) at 165, junior Dustin Kawa (2-1) at 174, junior Jon Godwin (2-2) at 184, and redshirt freshman Daniel Humphries (2-2) at 197.
