The West Virginia University wrestling team, currently ranked No. 18, is set to compete in the 2025 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The event will take place at the Westgate Hotel Paradise Event Center in Las Vegas from December 5 to 6, with matches scheduled to begin at noon on the opening day and streamed by FloWrestling.
West Virginia enters the tournament with a 5-0 record, marking its best season start since 1992. In their most recent match on November 23, the Mountaineers secured a 28-10 victory over Rider at Hope Coliseum.
Redshirt junior Brody Conley, competing at 174 pounds, leads the team with an undefeated 10-0 record this season. Conley has one win against a ranked opponent and has won four matches by fall. Ian Bush, another redshirt junior wrestling at 184 pounds, has also started strong with nine wins out of ten matches and holds a 2-1 record against ranked opponents.
Six Mountaineers have earned seeds for the invitational. Ty Watters, a redshirt sophomore at 157 pounds, is seeded No. 1. Graduate student Jett Strickenberger is seeded fourth at 125 pounds; graduate student Willie McDougald is tenth at 149 pounds; Conley holds the fifth seed at 174 pounds; Bush is seeded eighth at 184 pounds; and redshirt freshman Rune Lawrence is sixth at 197 pounds.
Reflecting on last year’s performance, West Virginia finished eleventh—its highest placement since finishing twelfth in 2007. Fifth-year wrestler Peyton Hall led the team by winning the title at 165 pounds in the previous edition of the tournament.
This marks the first time since the 2016-17 season that West Virginia will participate in consecutive Cliff Keen Invitationals.
For more details about West Virginia wrestling, visit WVUsports.com or follow WVUWrestling on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.