Northwestern followed up an encouraging win at Virginia with a 10th-place finish at the 40th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The 33-team field was loaded with 10 other NWCA top-25 teams, providing the Wildcats with a nice early-season benchmark.
NU totaled 81.5 points with five different wrestlers finishing in scoring positions. This performance placed Northwestern above No. 9 Virginia Tech and No. 24 Cal Poly.
All-American heavyweight Lucas Davison led the way with a second-place finish in his division. He beat No. 23 Tyrell Gordon of Northern Iowa and No. 14 AJ Nevills of South Dakota State en route to the championship match, earning bonus points along the way.