North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wrestling Heads To Las Vegas
12/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 4, 2003
RALEIGH, N.C. - In 30 years as head wrestling coach at NC State, Bob Guzzo has never shied away from difficult competition, and the Wolfpack faces a tough task this weekend in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which begins at 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time on Friday and runs all day Friday and Saturday.
The Cliff Keen Invitational, considered to be the kickoff to the college wrestling season, will feature 45 teams, including top-ranked Illinois and eight other teams ranked in the latest rankings by Intermat.com. Five of the top 10 teams in the country will be at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
"We've been part of this tournament for the past three years now, and it's helped our kids get ready for the season by exposing them to some of the toughest competition in the country," Guzzo said. "There's not a tournament anywhere in the country this side of the NCAA Championships that compares to this one. We face a really tough schedule every year, and this year is no different with Illinois, Oklahoma, Lehigh and Iowa State, and the competition we'll face in Vegas will definitely help our kids get ready for that."
NC State is 1-0 in dual-match competition thus far this season, and placed fifth in the Navy Invitational two weeks ago. Senior 149-pounder Jake Giamoni and senior 165-pounder Dustin Kawa have been the pacesetters for the Wolfpack. Giamoni, ranked No. 13 by Intermat, and Kawa, No. 19 by Intermat, both are 4-0 and won their individual weight classification at the Navy Invitational. Senior 157-pounder Scott Garren, No. 16 in the Intermat rankings, is 2-0, but had to default from the Navy Invitational after just one round for medical reasons.
Those three form the backbone of the NC State lineup, but two newcomers and two holdovers from a year ago also are off to strong starts. Junior 133-pounder Daniel Pacitti is 5-1 following a third-place finish at Navy, while junior 141-pounder Alex Hernandez is 4-2 and finished fifth at Navy. Redshirt-freshman 125-pounder Jeff Breese has rebounded from a slow start to even his record at 3-3, which includes a sixth-place finish at the Navy Invitational. At 184 pounds, sophomore Daniel Humphries is 3-2 with a third-place finish at Navy to his credit.
"We've really wrestled well so far," Guzzo said. "We've got our three veterans in the middle of the lineup in Giamoni, Garren and Kawa, but we also have a bunch of new kids who have done a terrific job for us so far. They'll all have to wrestle well this weekend, because this tournament will give us a real stern test."
