LAS VEGAS – No. 1 seeds Nick Suriano (133) and Anthony Ashnault (149) locked up spots in their respective championship semifinal bouts as Rutgers wrestling closed out the first day of the Cliff Keen Invitational Friday night in Las Vegas. With his win in the quarterfinals, Ashnault became the 17^th wrestler in program history to join the 100-win club for his career.
 
Ashnault faces No. 5-seed Mitch Finesilver (Duke) and Suriano faces No. 4-seed John Erneste (Missouri) in their semifinal matches tomorrow morning, which begin at 1 p.m. EST. No. 6-seed John Van Brill (157), who is also alive in the consolation bracket, will face No. 4-seed KeShawn Hayes (Ohio State) in a consolation Round of 8 matchup beginning at noon.
 
With three wrestlers still alive, Rutgers is 10th with 42.5 team points. RU earned nine wins by bonus points, including five combined pins from Van Brill (2), 174-pounder Joseph Grello (2) and Ashnault.
 
Session III Semifinal Matchups
133: (1) Nick Suriano vs. (4) John Erneste (Missouri)
149: (1) Anthony Ashnault vs. (5) Mitch Finesilver (Duke)
 
Session III Consolation Matchup
157: (6) John Van Brill vs. (4) KeShawn Hayes (Ohio State)
 
Suriano was dominate in his three matches on Friday, as the junior outscored his opponents, 50-16, while not conceding a takedown. In his quarterfinal bout against No.-8 seed Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), Suriano landed takedowns in each period for the 7-2 decision. The Paramus, New Jersey, native opened the tournament with a 22-8 major decision in his rematch against Mitch Brown (Utah Valley) before he added a 21-6 tech fall of Seth Koleno (Clarion) in the Round of 16.
 
Ashnault also impressed on Friday, advancing to the semifinals courtesy of an 18-2 tech fall of Alec Opsal (Air Force) in the quarters. The match included two four-point near falls in the opening period, as the South Plainfield, New Jersey, native cruised to his 100^th-career victory in a Rutgers singlet.
 
Ashnault opened the tournament by pinning Ryan Burkert (Hofstra) for the second consecutive outing, this time in just 48 seconds. Ashnault followed with a hard-fought 8-5 decision over Collin Purinton (Nebraska) to move on.
 
Van Brill had three victories during the first session, which included back-to-back last-second pins in the first two rounds. Van Brill landed a throw of BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech) at the 6:59 mark in the match, and then added the fall at 6:58 against Logan Parks (Central Michigan). Van Brill closed out the session with a 13-2 major decision on Samuel Freeman (Western Wyoming) to secure his spot in the quarterfinals.
 
There, Van Brill dropped an 11-4 decision to No. 3-seed Kennedy Monday (North Carolina). Van Brill had previously defeated Monday at the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Grello picked up two victories on Friday, while Christian Colucci (HWT) added a win for the Scarlet Knights. In total, Rutgers finished the first day with 12 victories.

125: Shane Metzler (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Dylan Ryder (Hofstra)	L-D, 9-4
Consolation Round of 16	Colby Smith (Missouri)	L-D, 2-0

133: (1) Nick Suriano (3-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Mitch Brown (Utah Valley)	W-MD, 22-8
Round of 16	Seth Koleno (Clarion)	W-TF, 21-6
Quarterfinals	(8) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech)	W-D, 7-2
Semifinals	(4) John Erneste (Missouri)	Saturday, 1 p.m.

141: Peter Lipari (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
Championship Pigtail	(1) Joey McKenna (Ohio State)	L-MD, 12-4
Consolation First Round	Grant Willits (Oregon State)	L-D, 7-6

149: (1) Anthony Ashnault (3-0)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Ryan Burkert (Hofstra)	W-Fall (0:48)
Round of 16	Collin Purinton (Nebraska)	W-D, 8-5
Quarterfinals	Alec Opsal (Air Force)	W-TF, 18-2
Semifinals	(5) Mitch Finesilver (Duke)	Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

157: (6) John Van Brill (3-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
Championship Pigtail	BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech)	W-Fall (6:59)
First Round	Logan Parks (Central Michigan)	W-Fall (6:58)
Round of 16	Samuel Freeman (W. Wyoming)	W-MD, 13-2
Quarterfinals	(3) Kennedy Monday (North Carolina)	L-D, 11-4
Consolation Round of 8	(4) KeShawn Hayes (Ohio State)	Saturday, Noon ET

174: Joseph Grello (2-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Kyle Kretzer (Citadel)	W-Fall (3:46)
Round of 16	(8) Matthew Finesilver (Duke)	L-D, 5-2
Consolation Round of 16	Sage Heller (Hofstra)	W-Fall (1:40)
Consolation Round of 8	Andrew Morgan (Campbell)	L-D, 3-2

184: Jordan Pagano (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round Pigtail	Dominic Ducharme (Cal State Bakersfield)	L-D, 5-4
Consolation First Round	Dylan Wisman (Missouri)	L-D, 2-1

197: Matthew Correnti (0-2)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Tom Lane (Cal Poly)	L-D, 7-0
Consolation Round of 16	Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State)	L-MD, 13-5

HWT: Christian Colucci (1-1)

Round	Opponent	Result
First Round	Michael McAleavey (Citadel)	W-D, 3-0
Round of 16	(6) Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley)	L-D, 11-4
Consolation Round of 16	Patrick Grayson (Nebraska)	L-MD, 9-1

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