LAS VEGAS — Four Boilermakers will wrestle on to Day 2 at the Cliff Keen Invitational in the Westgate Paradise Event Center.
It is the first time Purdue will have four CKLV placewinners since the team’s sixth-place banner finish in 2021. As a team, the Boilers are in 10th place among 32 teams.
No. 1 seed Joey Blaze (165 lbs) and No. 4 Stoney Buell (157) are two wins away from gold, both advancing to the semifinals in their weight classes. No. 5 Brody Baumann (174) and No. 8 Ben Vanadia (197) engineered wins in the consolation bracket late Friday to stay alive into Saturday’s Session 3.
Blaze, holding Purdue’s first 1-seed in Vegas since Matt Ramos in 2023, has so far gone unchallenged with two technical falls and a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals. Purdue’s highest-ranked star combined to outscore his foes 39-6 on Day 1.
Blaze will face his first ranked test of the season Saturday against Princeton’s 4-seed, Ty Whalen, ranked No. 15 in the country at 165. A trip to the CKLV title match is up for grabs.
Former 2024 NCAA qualifier Buell remains undefeated as a redshirt senior, putting forth the best wrestling of his career thus far. He secured an 11-2 major decision and a 5-1 decision to set up a massive rematch with South Dakota State’s 5-seed Cael Swensen in the quarters.
Buell took an early 3-0 lead until Swensen evened the match with just over a minute remaining. The Boiler slithered out for an escape point and held on for a clutch 4-3 decision. Next up for Buell: a Saturday matinee with the No. 1 wrestler in the country, Ty Watters of West Virginia.
Baumann started 2-0 and looked to be cruising before tweaking his knee in his quarterfinal match with WVU’s 4-seed Brody Conley. Battling through the pain, he fell to the consolation ladder but won a 16-13 decision to advance to Day 2 and nab his spot on the podium.
Vanadia had a team-high two ranked victories on Friday, defeating No. 28 Zyan Hall (Navy) and No. 33 Karson Tompkins (Air Force). Sandwiched in between that was a tough 15-4 loss to top-seeded Rocky Elam, but he did land the first takedown all season on the No. 2-ranked grappler.
Purdue is back at it Saturday for Session 3 at 1 p.m. ET. The fourth and final session is set for 6 p.m. ET. Matches will stream live on FloWrestling.
RESULTS
[] = seed | # = national ranking from InterMat
125 | Ashton Jackson – DNP (0-2)
Round of 32: [9] #23 Diego Sotelo (MICH) – L, 2-0 dec.
Cons. Round of 16: #33 Chris Vargo (EDIN) – L, 5-0 dec.
133 | (9) #26 Blake Boarman – DNP (0-2)
Round of 32: Gunner Andrick (WVU) – L, 4-1 dec. (SV-1)
Cons. Round of 16: [10] Jarvis Little (APP) – L, 4-2 dec.
141 | (5) #19 Greyson Clark – DNP (1-2)
Round of 32: Jacob Mann (PRIN) – W, 4-1 dec. (SV-1)
Round of 16: [12] Jack Consiglio (STAN) – L, 13-2 MD
Cons. Round of 16: Billy DeKraker (NW) – L, 5-1 dec.
149 | Gavin Brown – DNP (3-2)
Round of 32: [10] Willie McDougald (WVU) – W, 2-1 dec.
Round of 16: [7] #23 Eligh Rivera (PRIN) – L, 9-5 dec.
Cons. Round of 16: Hunter Hollingsworth (OKLA) – W, 5-2 dec.
Cons. Round of 8 #1: Dylan Layton (RIDER) – W, 15-0 TF (2:46)
Cons. Round of 8 #2: [5] #11 David Evans (UTV) – L, 8-4 dec.
157 | [4] #19 Stoney Buell – Placement Clinched (3-0)
Round of 32: Garrett McChesney (EDIN) – W, 11-2 MD
Round of 16: Mark Takara (UTV) – W, 5-1 dec.
Quarters: [5] #20 Cael Swensen (SDSU) – W, 4-3 dec.
UP NEXT – Semis: [1] #1 Ty Watters (WVU)
165 | [1] #4 Joey Blaze – Placement Clinched (3-0)
Round of 32: Evan Manzo (CSUB) – W, 20-2 TF (4:03)
Round of 16: Brett Smith (NIU) – W, 14-3 MD
Quarters: Shawn Taylor (WVU) – W, 5-1 dec.
UP NEXT – Semis: [4] #15 Ty Whalen (PRIN)
174 | [5] #21 Brody Baumann – Placement Clinched (3-1)
Round of 32: Collin Guffey (STAN) – W, 15-6 MD
Round of 16: Ben Smith (HARV) – W, 8-1 dec.
Quarters: [4] #19 Brody Conley (WVU) – L, 8-0 MD
Cons. Round of 8: Tommy Bennett (NIU) – W, 16-13 dec.
UP NEXT – Cons. Round of 4: Eddie Enright (NW)
184 | [12] #26 James Rowley – DNP (3-2)
Round of 32: Shay Addison (ASU) – W, 7-2 dec.
Round of 16: [5] #13 Brian Soldano (OKLA) – L, 9-6 dec.
Cons. Round of 16: Brian Burburija (AF) – W, 4-0 dec.
Cons. Round of 8 #1: #30 TJ McDonnell (ORST) – W, 12-5 dec.
Cons. Round of 8 #2: [10] #31 Sal Perrine (OHIO) – L, 8-1 dec.
197 | [8] #23 Ben Vanadia – Placement Clinched
Round of 32: BYE
Round of 16: [9] #28 Zyan Hall (NAVY) – W, 5-0 dec.
Quarters: [1] #2 Rocky Elam (ISU) – L, 15-4 MD
Cons. Round of 8: [11] #33 Karson Tompkins (USAF) – W, 10-7 dec.
UP NEXT – Cons. Round of 4: [5] #11 DJ Parker (OKLA)
285 | [10] #32 Hayden Filipovich – DNP (0-2)
Round of 32: BYE
Round of 16: [7] #27 Christian Carroll (WYO) – L, 22-5 TF (3:26)
Cons. Round of 16: Tristan Kemp (CBU) – L, 4-2 dec.