LAS VEGAS - Nico Provo (125), Tyler Knox (133) and Daniel Cardenas (157) have advanced to the semifinals on the opening day of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
No. 24 Stanford is eighth as a team with 65.0 points as a total of six Cardinal remain alive in the tournament. Wrestling in the consolation bracket are redshirt freshman Hunter Garvin (165), true freshman Lorenzo Norman (174) and senior Nick Stemmet (197).
The Cardinal registered several upsets on the day, including Provo's 8-1 decision over No. 1 seed Matt Ramos of Purdue in the quarterfinals. Ramos, a 2023 NCAA finalist and ranked No. 2 nationally by Intermat, is the highest ranked win of Provo's young career. Provo will face No. 11 Jore Volk (Wyoming), the No. 5 seed, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Knox, a true freshman who was unseeded in the tournament, tallied a pair of ranked wins, including an 11-3 major decision over No. 15 Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State in the first round. Up next for Knox is No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Evan Frost of Iowa State in the semifinals at 133 pounds.
Ranked No. 9 nationally and the No. 6 seed in the tournament, Cardenas edged No. 18 Cody Chittum of Iowa State to advance to the quarterfinals and registered an 8-5 decision over No. 21 Meyer Shapiro of Cornell to punch his ticket into the semis. The sophomore will meet Pac-12 foe No. 2 seed and fourth-ranked Jacori Teemer of Arizona State on Saturday in the semifinals.
Making his season debut, redshirt freshman Hunter Garvin, ranked No. 29 nationally at 165 pounds and the No. 13 seed, went 4-1 on the day to remain alive in the wrestle backs. Three of his four wins came by bonus points, including a fall and a pair of major decisions, one of which was a win over No. 25 Giano Petrucelli of Air Force.
True freshman Lorenzo Norman, who was unseeded, also turned in an upset for Stanford, knocking off former Cardinal national champion Shane Griffith in the second round to reach the quarterfinals. Griffith, who is No. 3 nationally at 174 pounds, was the tournament's No. 1 seed.
Senior Nick Stemmet finished the day with a 5-1 record at 197 pounds. Ranked No. 13, Stemmet posted a fall and two technical falls as well as a 7-3 decision over No. 18 Max Shaw of North Carolina.
Garvin, Norman and Stemmet will wrestle in the consolation of 4 on Saturday morning.
Jason Miranda finished the tournament 3-2, while No. 9 Jaden Abas was 1-2 having to medically forfeit out of the consolation bracket.
Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with the semifinals up first on Flowreslting.
#20 Nico Provo, 125 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Trever Anderson (Northern Iowa) | 13-6 |
| dec. #18 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) | 12-5 |
| dec. #2 Matt Ramos (Purdue) | 8-1 |
Tyler Knox, 133 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| maj. dec. #15 Nic Bouzakis (Ohio State) | 11-3 |
| dec. #29 Richie Koehler (Rider) | 8-4 |
| dec. Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State) | 2-1 |
#29 Jason Miranda, 141 pounds | 3-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| fall Blake Bryant (Morgan State) | F0:51 |
| lost to #14 Vince Cornella (Cornell) | 12-0 |
| dec. Kai Owen (Columbia) | 13-7 |
| maj. dec. Caleb Gross (South Dakota State) | 8-0 |
| lost to #19 Anthony Echemendia (Iowa State) | 17-3 |
#9 Jaden Abas, 149 pounds | 1-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Adam Allard (Northern Iowa) | 7-2 |
| lost to #13 Casey Swiderski (Iowa State) | 14-11 |
| MFF to James Latona (Navy) | MFF |
#9 Daniel Cardenas, 157 pounds | 3-0
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall Cooper Voorhees (Wyoming) | 17-2 (4:50) |
| dec. #18 Cody Chittum (Iowa State) | 9-8 |
| dec. #21 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell) | 8-5 |
#29 Hunter Garvin, 165 pounds | 4-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. AJ Kovacs (NC State) | 7-1 |
| lost to #7 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) | 18-1 (6:25) |
| fall Scott Jarosz (Sacred Heart) | F4:21 |
| maj. dec. Isaac Wilcox (Ohio State) | 16-6 |
| maj. dec. Giano Petrucelli (Air Force) | 14-4 |
Lorenzo Norman, 174 pounds | 3-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| dec. Brayden Thompson (Oklahoma State) | 14-7 |
| dec. #3 Shane Griffith (Michigan) | 4-2 |
| lost to #30 Danny Wask (Navy) | 5-0 |
| dec. Riley Davis (Wyoming) | 5-1 |
#13 Nick Stemmet, 197 pounds | 5-1
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| tech. fall Calvin Sund (Air Force) | 19-4 (5:43) |
| fall Austin Starr (Ohio) | F2:38 |
| lost to #20 Evan Bockman (Utah Valley) | 4-3 |
| tech. fall Daniel Bittner (Harvard) | 21-5 (3:23) |
| dec. Justin Rademacher (Oregon State) | 7-4 |
| dec. #18 Max Shaw (North Carolina) | 7-3 |
Peter Ming, 285 pounds | 0-2
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| lost to #7 Yonger Bastida (Iowa State) | 21-6 (3:49) |
| lost to Cade Lautt (North Carolina) | 8-7 |