Wrestling Fans it’s that time of year again! Illini wrestling is about to begin and this is going to be an exciting season. The schedule is intense, but the grapplers are ready. This season will feature some of the best wrestlers from the Big Ten along with key match ups in tournaments. Wrestleheads are pumped and ready for the season to get underway. This year there will be a point system, and depending on the amount of points that you accumulate you have a chance to win some great prizes! We will of course have t-shirts and many other giveaways, but this year is special. The NCAA Tournament is in St. Louis this year and the Illini coaching staff has decided to give us tickets to the NCAA Tournament. Different matches will have different point values and the race will be tight. So make sure that you come out to wrestling and earn you points for some great prizes. The first opportunity is this weekend at 11:30 when wrestle-offs begin at Huff Hall. Hope to see you there!

Illini Wrestling was very successful in post season competition. This years Big Ten tournament was held at Minnesota. Mike Poeta won a Big Ten Championship and seven other wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament. Jimmy Kennedy placed second, Gabe Flores placed third, and the team as a whole placed fourth. John Wise, Patrick Bond, John Dergo, and Roger Smith-Bergsrud all joined Poeta, Kennedy, and Flores in St. Louis for the NCAA tournament. The Illini were also successful at the NCAA tournament where Mike Poeta made it to the Championship match where he lost to Jordan Leen. Jimmy Kennedy finished fourth. Both Poeta and Kennedy became All-Americans. Gabe Flores and John Wise were both one win away from becoming All-Americans. The Illini will take some time off and then start off-season workouts and tournaments.

The #11 Illini returned home to face Purdue and won 31-6 with Purdue’s points coming from an injury default victory. The Illini were able to take the rest of their matches which were broadcast on Big Ten network. The Illini earned four major decisions from Gabe Flores, Jimmy Kennedy, Mike Poeta, and Patrick Bond with the rest of the Illini earning decisions. On Sunday the Illini lost a heartbreaker to #1 Iowa. Illini seniors Pat Brownson, Dave Gleissner, Andrew Lukanich, Dan Manzella, and Gabe Flores were recognized before the dual began. The Hawkeyes pulled out three matches in overtime or earned crucial points right before the buzzer to beat the Illini 21-12. #7 Jimmy Kennedy beat #3 Joey Slaton to make him undefeated in the Big Ten for the regular season. Mike Poeta, Roger Smith-Bergsrud, and Patrick Bond also earned decisions on Sunday. The Illini return to action the first weekend of March in the Big Ten Tournament held at Minnesota.

The Illini upset #4 Minnesota and lost to #12 Northwestern. At Minnesota the Illini came out strong with John Wise leading the way in the first match earning a major decision. The Illini also had a pin from Mike Poeta and consecutive victories from Ben Friedl and Patrick Bond to seal the vicotry. In the 133 weight class #9 Jimmy Kennedy upset #5 Mack Reiter. The #8 Illini beat #4 Minnesota 19-17. On Sunday the Illini then traveled to #12 Northwestern were Jimmy Kennedy and Mike Poeta both earned major decisions and Ben Friedl earned a decision. The Illini lost two overtime matches in the 125 and 141 weight classes. They also lost the 197, 174, and 165 matches by three points or less. The final score was 22-11 Northwestern. The Illini return home next weekend to take on Purdue at 5 on Friday and #1 Iowa on Sunday at 1.

Illini Wrestling has been busy the past two weekends with Big Ten action. The Illini lost at Michigan, upset Penn State at home, and took down Wisconsin and Indiana. The #15 Illini lost to #6 Michigan in a 16-22 defeat. Gabe Flores came out strong for the Illini starting the dual out with a pin. Jimmy Kennedy also earned a major decision at the front of the match. #1 Mike Poeta lost to Jeff Marsh and Grant Paswall got pinned. The Illini then headed back home to take on Penn State. This dual started at the HWT class with John Wise. The Illini started strong and earned 6 decisions, but still received a pin and three decisions against them. The Illini won the dual 18-15.  Last weekend the Illini took on Wisconsin at home and won the dual 24-13. Mike Poeta took on #3 Craig Henning and won 1-0. Ryan Prater also upset Kyle Ruschell and #13 Patrick Bond earned the decision over #4 Dallas Herbst. Sunday the Illini then headed to Indiana routing them 23-9. Roger Smith-Bergsrud up set #12 Matt Coughlin while Mike Poeta suffered his second lose on the season by a 3-2 decision to #8 Brandon Becker. John Wise along with Ryan Prater both earned a major decision helping the Illini demolish the Hoosiers. This weekend the #8 Illini head to #4 Minnesota and #12 Northwestern.

The Wrestling Illini came out with force at the Wendy’s Duals. They beat Cleveland State, 37-0, Liberty, 40-0, and Ashland, 46-0. The Illini put together a stunning performance with seven pins from Gabe Flores, Grant Paswall, Patrick Bond, Mike Poeta, Roger Smith-Bergsrud, and two from Jimmy Kennedy. They also forced two technical falls and five major decisions. This was the last dual before the Illini head into Big Ten action. After a week off to prepare for the Big Ten, the #15 Illini will face Michigan on Friday February 1 at 5 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. They will then return home to take on Penn State, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Huff Hall. So come out to Huff Hall and see the fighting Illini in action! The Illini love to hear noise from the crowd and want you at their duals!

            The Illini had a make-shift line-up put together for Saturday at Huff Hall and they made it work. The fans at Huff Hall were able to watch the Illini put together convincing wins. Six wrestlers went undefeated for the day including Gabe Flores, Patrick Bond, Jimmy Kennedy, John Dergo, and two freshmen Ryan Prater and Grant Paswall. The two true freshmen had stellar days as the Illini beat Findlay and McKendree. The Illini administered 7 major decisions to their different opponents, with Jimmy Kennedy pinning one of his opponents, and Gabe Flores and Grant Paswall dishing out technical falls. The Illini are back in action on December 29 when they head to the Midlands Championship in Evanston, IL. They have off the next two weekends for finals and the holidays.

As the season begins Illini Wrestling is off to a great start. They opened there season at the Missouri Open, while most of the wrestlers were competing at the tournament, captain Mike Poeta was in Oregon competing at the NWCA National All-Star Classic against Wisconsin’s Craig Henning, #2 ranked in the 157 weight class. Poeta ranked #3 going in to the match defeated #2 Henning making Poeta 4-0 for the beginning of the season. At the Missouri Open four wrestles won titles while 14 others placed. Sophomores Jimmy Kennedy and John Dergo both defended their title from last year and won, while Roger Smith-Bergsrud and John Wise finished in second. Freshmen Ryan Prater and Grant Paswall also won division crowns at the Open. Joe Rizqallah finished in second, Patrick Bond in third, Ben Friedl in fourth, Zeke Rowan finished in fifth, and Martin Smith finished in sixth. The Illini also had 6 freshmen place at the open.

Illini Wrestling also had five wrestlers sign letters of intent with three of them ranked in the top five nationally. Jordan Blanton, of Richmond, Ill., Kyle Dooley, of Monticello, Ill., B.J. Futrell, of Park Forest, Ill., Conrad Polz, of Orland Park, Ill., and Brian Reynolds, of Frankfort, Ill., will join the team for the 2008 season. The probable Illini starters headed to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Invitational, while others headed to the University of Northern Iowa to compete with wrestlers from schools in Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Illinois.

The Illini finished in 6^th at the Los Vegas Invitational, with six wrestlers reaching the quarterfinals. John Dergo finished in 6^th place, 5^th place finishers were Patrick Bond and Gabe Flores, Heavyweight John Wise finished in fourth, but the story of the invitational was Mike Poeta. Poeta was seeded 3^rd and face the 7^th ranked wrestler in the 157 weight class in the quarterfinals, the 3^rd ranked wrestler from Wisconsin in the semifinals, and in the finals he faced #1 ranked Gregor Gillespie. Poeta, ranked 2^nd, defeated the #1 wrestler and won his division.

The Illini are off to a great start and open their home season at Huff Hall against Findlay and McKendree at noon on Saturday December 8. So come out and join the Wrestleheads to cheer the Illini on to victory.