Wrestling Has Strong Opening Day at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

Friday, December 5

Las Vegas, Nev.

Noon

Columbia University

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

Wrestling Has Strong Opening Day at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite

12/5/2025 11:47:00 PM | Wrestling

Four Lions advance to the consolation round of four

LAS VEGAS – Four members of the Columbia wrestling program advanced to Saturday's consolation round of four after a strong opening day at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite on Friday evening.

Advancing for the Lions was Sulayman Bah at 125, Lorenzo Frezza at 141, Cesar Alvan at 164, and Aaron Ayzerov at 184.

Ayzerov opened the tournament with a tech fall win over VMI's Andrew Barford, winning by a final score of 19-2. Ayzerov jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first thanks to a pair of takedowns, but put the match away in the second period, outsourcing Barford 13-1 thanks to a pair of nearfalls.

Ayzerov's most impressive win came in the round of 16 when he defeated No. 28 Christian Hansen 4-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Ayzerov scored the bout's opening point with an escape in the second period. Hansen, the senior from Cornell, tied the bout up with an escape with 1:54 to go in the third period. Ayzerov secured the win with a 3-point takedown with 24 seconds remaining.

In the quarterfinals, Ayzerov fell to Franklin & Marshall's James Conway by a 12-9 decision in sudden victory. Ayzerov sent the bout into extra time with an escape with 47 seconds remaining in the third period, but a take down with 23 seconds remaining in the first overtime was the difference.

Ayzerov finished strong with a thrilling 9-8 win via decision over Stanford's Abraham Wojcikiewicz in the second round of eight. Trailing 6-2 after the first period, Ayzerov mounted his comeback with a 3-point takedown in the closing minutes of the second round. In the third, he still trailed 8-t with less than 10 seconds remaining when he once again secured a 3-point takedown, this time with six seconds left to earn the win and advance to Saturday's consolation round of four.

Alvan also advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of impressive wins. He began the tournament with a 9-1 victory via major decision over Sacred Heart's AJ Falcone. In the round of 16, he defeated No. 24 Matthew Olguin of Oregon State. Alvan took control of the bout early with a takedown in the first period. After Olguin tied the bout up at 5-5 with an escape early in the third period, Alvan took the lead for good with a takedown with seven seconds remaining to secure the win.

In the quarterfinals, Alvan squared off against 16th-ranked Nicco Ruiz of Arizona State. After scoring the bout's first point in the second period, Alvan surrendered five unanswered points in the third period to lose via a 5-1 decision. Alvan regrouped to defeat Northwestern's Jacob Bostelman via a 9-3 decision in the second round of eight to advance to the consolation round of four on Saturday.

Nick Fine went 2-2 on the day. His run in the tournament ended when he lost by fall at 5:45 in the third to eighth-ranked MG Gaitan in the first consolation round of eight. Fine opened the tournament with a 7-1 decision over Virginia Tech's Ben Weader. In the Consolation round of 16, he defeated Utah Valley's Tanner Lofthouse via an 18-2 tech fall.

Sulayman Bah advanced to the consolation round of four in the 125 class after finishing the day with three-straight wins. After falling to Stanford's Nico Provo via a 4-1 decision in the opening round, he came back to defeat Air Force's Tucker Owens with an 11-1 major decision. In the consolation round of 8, he defeated Franklin & Marshall's James Garcia via a 7-1 decision.

Bah finished the day with his most significant win of the year, a 4-2 decision over No. 30 Marcello Milani. With the bout tied 1-1 midway through the third period, Bah secured a crucial 3-point takedown with 1:25 left in the bout to take a 4-1 lead.

In the 141 division, Lorenzo Frezza also advanced to the consolation round of four. Frezza opened the tournament with an 8-1 win by decision over App State's Aldo Hernandez. After losing to Oregon State's Nash Singleton in the round of 16, Frezza regrouped, defeating Harvard's Dante Frinzi by fall at the 6:48 mark.

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