LAS VEGAS (Dec. 1, 2018) – No. 1 seeds Nick Suriano (133) and Anthony Ashnault (149) both secured individual titles Saturday night for Rutgers wrestling at the 2018 Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. The duo went a combined 10-0, defeated five ranked foes, earned six bonus-point victories and outscored their opponents, 116-42, during the two-day tournament at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
 
Ashnault and Suriano are the first two Scarlet Knights to win individual Cliff Keen titles under head coach Scott Goodale. As a team, RU finished ninth with 66.5 points.
 
"Those guys wrestled really well," Goodale said. "Their preparation was awesome. They were locked in with laser-beam focus the whole weekend with what they wanted to accomplish here. They wrestled extremely well and they deserved to win. Now it's about getting back home and getting some rest as we look at what we did right and what we can work on."
 
In his 149-pound final against (2) Micah Jordan (Ohio State), Ashnault earned a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the match and followed with two four-point near falls to open the highly-anticipate bout. Ashnault's second near fall gave him a 10-1 lead at the end of the period. After a scoreless second period, Jordan stormed back with four takedowns in the final two minutes. However, Ashnault was able to hold off the two-time All-American for a 14-10 final.
 
Suriano rolled in his 133-pound title match against (6) Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh), earning two takedowns in the first period for a quick 4-1 lead. Suriano added a takedown in the second period and secured the major decision with a takedown, a Phillippi penalty point and riding time for the 11-3 major.
 
"It's awesome to have them both go deep into tournaments," Goodale said. "I'm not sure if they will admit it, but they're kind of feeding off of each other. When one guy does something special, the other guy wants to do something special. It's a good thing to have right now."
 
Suriano faced (4) John Erneste (Missouri) in his semifinal bout, and fell behind 2-0 after he was hit for hands to the face in the first period and cut Erneste early in the second period. But Suriano never faltered, landing a takedown in the final 20 second of period two to even the score. Suriano's escape in the final two minutes proved to be the difference in the match.
 
Ashnault cruised in his semifinal bout with (5) Mitch Finesilver (Duke), as he earned a 12-4 major decision to advance to tonight's finals. Ashnault had five takedowns in the match, including three in the final period for the convincing win.
 
In his consolation match, (6) John Van Brill dropped a 10-1 major decision to (4) Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), as the 157-pounder finished the weekend with a 3-2 record with two falls and a major.
 
Rutgers will have a two-week break before it hosts Rider on Sunday, Dec. 16 for a 1 p.m. match at the RAC. With a win, Goodale will become the all
 
Notables
• Suriano picked of three ranked foes in his run to the 133-pound title, as he defeated No. 9 John Erneste (Missouri), No. 13 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) and No. 16 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech). Suriano outscored his opponents, 64-21, with a tech fall, two major decisions and two decisions.
• Ashnault defeated two ranked foes, with wins over No. 3 Micah Jordan and No. 7 Mitch Finesilver (Duke). Ashnault outscored his opponents, 52-21, with a fall, a tech fall, a major decision and two decisions.
• In total, Rutgers had 16 victories over the weekend. Five of those came by fall, with pins from Joseph Grello (2), Van Brill (2) and Ashnault (1).
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 (5-0) Champion

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)	W-D, 3-2
Finals	(6) Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh)	W-MD, 11-3

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 (5-0) Champion

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)	W-MD, 12-4
Finals	(2) Micah Jordan (Ohio State)	W-D, 14-10

157: (6) John Van Brill (3-2)

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) Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State)	L-MD, 10-1

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

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers wrestling, follow the program on Twitter (@RUWrestling) and Instagram (@RUWrestling). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com. For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.