THE ILLINI WRESTLING BLOG AND FORUM

The season begins next Saturday in East Lansing as the ILLINI will have wrestlers in both the Open and Freshman-Sophomore divisions of the MSU Open. This is the first regular season tournament for ILLINOIS since December 29, 2019 at the Midlands.  It has been a long wait.  So long that my google search bar automatically finishes the question, "How many days until November 6, 2021?" The answer is now "5 days." There is a lot of anticipation for this tournament, as we'll get to see our prize recruits in action, and we'll get some answers to questions about the ILLINI starters.  WHAT:      The MSU Open WHERE:   East Lansing, Michigan, Jenison Fieldhouse, 223 Kalamazoo Street WHEN:      November 6, 2021 TIME:        8:30AM (Central); 9:30AM (Eastern) (Note: MSU is in the Eastern time zone) WHY:         To ABP VIDEO:      This is a Trackwrestling tournament (see below) TV/VIDEO/STREAMING .  This is a Trackwrestling event with registration through that organizatio

The ILLINI Wrestling team is beastly and keeps adding warriors. The newest addition is Kole Brower. He won a state title last year at 132, but I can see him growing into a 141 and quite possibly 149 at ILLINOIS. Maybe he plans to wrestle at 133, then 141? That is for the future to sort out.  So here are the updated charts, followed by an ILLINI Wrestling Career Wins Leaders video, which I think will be impacted by the young men in these charts: There are men named in the charts above who will join the elite ILLINI career wins leaders in the video below. But which ones? Here's that video done in the cool internet style:

  I had my share of triumphs in middle school, during summer tournaments, in high school and in college, but my proudest moment as a wrestler involved my son. He was so tiny at six. But he had a big heart, a fiercely competitive nature, and, most importantly, a poster of NCAA Champion John Lockhart in his room. He had seen pictures of me in my singlet, and so he agreed to give wrestling a try.  I had coached him and his sister in t-ball and soccer, but the IKWF had a great set of coaches in our town. All I had to do was to take him to practice and watch him tumble around for an hour. Those coaches deserve a lot of credit because I had thought that t-ball and soccer players were spazzes.  After a month or so, we went to our first tournament. He ended up losing two matches, so the whole trip home was spent trying to console him and stop the tears.  Even Dairy Queen couldn't stop those tears.  He kept at it, though, as he'd promised me a full season of effort. We went to a few mor

One of the very best attributes of the Michigan State Open is that it has a Freshman-Sophomore division. This gives ILLINI fans a chance to see their prize recruits go up against some of the top recruits from other big-time wrestling schools. There was no tournament last year, but two years ago, the ILLINI kids put on a show.  D.J. "The Future" Shannon wrestled in the open division winning second after a close-fought final with Ohio State's Kaleb Romero. Luke Luffman won the Freshman-Sophomore division and had a great win over Ohio's Jordan Earnest who was a national qualifier the next year with a nice 23-11 record. Trey Sizemore beat Donnell Washington of Indiana to top his weight class by cannily getting Washington to disqualify himself. Lucas Byrd had an exciting final against a four-time Michigan champ in Jordan Hamdan from MSU.  This was the meet that put Kendall Coleman and Donnell Washington on my radar. In the open division, Danny Braunagel beat Cam Amine, and

In the previous post, we discussed the ILLINI Wrestling team's two returning All Americans. My prediction is that there will be at least two more AAs this season for a minimum of four (and hopefully more). First, before I get to the actual wrestlers, though, we need to parse a couple of issues.  FOUR RETURNING ALL AMERICANS .  The ILLINI actually have four returning All Americans! Lucas Byrd and Dylan Duncan both took 5th place at the NCAA Championships last season, and then you have Danny and Zac Braunagel, who both had Honorable Mention AA finishes the year before. This is what that looks like in the official Fighting ILLINI media guide: We know that Danny had a broken bone near the end of the campaign last year, and I suspect, based on what I've heard, that Zac was also dealing with an injury.  So, these will be our four ILLINI All Americans? Byrd, Duncan, Little Brawny and Big Brawny? I don't know. You see, it's complicated.  NEXT YEAR MAY BE THE TOUGHEST EVER .  Be

If the ILLINI finish with an All-American wrestler this year, the school will have produced at least one AA for thirty (30) consecutive seasons . I personally think the ILLINI get at least four this season, but would like to be surprised with more.  The returning All Americans are Lucas Byrd and Dylan Duncan: LUCAS BYRD .  Because of the Covid year, Lucas Byrd is still a redshirt Freshman with four years of eligibility remaining. He could become the ILLINI's first five-time All American. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and La Salle High School, where he won multiple state championships and a Super 32 belt. Byrd posted a Covid-shortened 17-4 record last season.  His only losses were to other AAs.  During this next dual season, his big matches will be against Iowa's Austin DeSanto and Rutgers' Sammy Alvarez (although the Scarlet Knight will be a skeleton at that weight). At the MSU Open, he could face Steven Micic of Michigan. At the Midlands, he could face both DeSanto and

MSU OPEN There are only eleven days until wrestling season begins for the ILLINI at the MSU Open. Another team has been added to that tournament: Cal Poly. I thought they probably didn't have a very good wrestling team, but I was wrong. Eight of their ten wrestlers are ranked in the Top 50 by wrestlestat.com .  That includes Legend Lamar (#29 at 149), Bernie Truax (#12 at 184) and of course the stinky Badger, Evan Wick (#3 at 165).  As a reminder, here are the other teams showing up at the MSU Open: Michigan, Oklahoma, Northwestern, Michigan State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Edinboro, Ohio, Davenport, Wabash and Olivet.  QUESTION It looks like Trackwrestling (and I suppose Flo) will have any broadcast rights to the MSU Open. Has anybody heard anything differently? I see nothing on the MSU schedule about broadcasting, and there's nothing on the BTN or BTN+ schedule. This is going to be a monster tournament, and I don't want to miss it.  FINALLY It's weird to fi

It was another great weekend to be an ILLINI. At Super 32, ILLINOIS wrestling recruits put on a show with a first and a third. There was quite a bit of destruction involved, including a new takedown technique. The ILLINI recruits who attended were, from left to right, Kannon Webster, Christian Carroll and Kole Brower: CHRISTIAN CARROLL.   Although barely a Junior in high school, Carroll won a second belt at this most prestigious of folkstyle events. In 2020, he won the Super 32 title at 195. This year, Carroll destroyed the competition at 220 with lots of pins and havoc and chaos. He even invented a new takedown technique which is described below.  The big man pinned wrestlers from Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio in a combined time of 2:55. He then beat his semifinal and final opponents from Virginia and Ohio by a combined 13-2. And so the Fargo winner added another belt to his Stop Sign.  KANNON WEBSTER.   The Fargo champion out of Washington High School, also just a Junior in h

That's what my Mom yelled down to the basement thirty minutes ago. She's right. The match between Steve Marianetti and Lincoln McIlravy is one of the greatest matches in NCAA history. It kept a Hawkeye from becoming a four-timer, and it snapped a 58-match winning streak. All of that on national TV during the NCAA finals. So, Momcat, this one's for you: Is it the greatest match by an ILLINI ever? Jon Llewellyn can make a case for his championship final. Matt Lackey as well. Here's the bracket: McIlravy's wikipedia entry states that he  "was a three-time  NCAA  Division I champion, winning in 1993, 1994 and 1997. He was also a runner-up in 1995, losing to Steve Marianetti of  University of Illinois ." On the strength of championships from Steve Marianetti and Ernest Benion in 1995, the ILLINI finished in the Top 10.  The Steve Marianetti story is unlike any other. He didn't win a state title in high school. He didn't win a Big Ten title in college,

This video has been called the pinnacle of Western Civilization, the digital Mona Lisa and other names that would get me thrown off the internet. It has been said that the video is "as slick as a Michael Poeta duckunder, as crafty as a Tirapelle 2-on-1, and as tough as a Jordan Blanton third period." The fact that it was me who said those things should not matter.  What matters is that we have a nice video to watch.  So, what you have here is a listing of career varsity wins leaders for the ILLINI Wrestling team starting in 1980, with the first gentleman, Kevin Puebla, to crack the 100-wins barrier for the Orange and Blue, and continuing to the present time, all done in the cool internet style.  Some questions to ponder after the video: How high could Jesse Delgado have climbed without the shoulder injury? Covid seasons may help current ILLINI to crack the list, but it sure didn't help Travis Piotrowski. Duncan is the next closest to the magic 100-win marker. Will he get

  Lots of great talk about ILLINI recruits on FRL this morning, the preseeds are out, and things will get underway this weekend. Here is the video were discussion of the Super 32 preseeds was had: At 126, Kannon Webster snagged the five seed, although the folks on FRL seemed to think he's got a great shot to win the whole thing or at least make the finals. Coming off of Fargo, of course, that's not a super crazy idea. Kole Brower at 138 has the eight seed, and that is a bracket that the radio folks think is wide open. I personally think that Brower's mat skills will be a huge asset in this tournament. Lots of gushing over big man Christian Carroll, and why not? Webster and Carroll are only juniors, and they have already accomplished so much. Carroll snagged the one seed.  Looking forward to ILLINI victories and salting the Earth afterwards. Leave them devastated! 

Even a bad lawyer could make a good case that this is the greatest ILLINI Wrestling match ever. If you haven't seen it, you'll enjoy this treat. If you have, you'll want to watch it again: Kurt Angle had won the NCAA Tournament in 1990. Jon Llewellyn finished third. But this was 1991, and it would be the ILLINI's year. After winning the championship in 1990, coming in second to Llewellyn in 1991, Angle finished up his career with another championship in 1992.  Here's the bracket from the 1991 NCAA Tournament, heavyweight division: In high school, Jon Llewellyn earned a varsity letter all four years, but he only made it to the state tournament one year. He did not receive a scholarship to attend the University of ILLINOIS. 

HARD.   Getting rid of the weeds and crabgrass that grow in the cracks of your driveway pavement. Even light sabers are ineffective against it. The Force is useless. Moreover, we now know that Roundup® gives your sperm teeth, so we can't even use that.   HARDER.   Trying to bullseye Wamp Rats in your T-16. Plot twist: "Bullseyeing Wamp Rats" is actually a vulgar Tatooine expression for picking up women in bars at closing time. [Travis Barker drum roll]  HARDEST.   Trying to identify which of the ILLINI Wrestling Co-Captains is Zac Braunagel, and which one is Danny Braunagel. Can you do it? Haha, good luck, buddy, even they can't do it. 

When the ILLINI wrestling schedule came out, I posted about the MSU Open , which is the first fixture of the season. It goes down on November 6, and that is now only 19 days away. At the time, the list of team participants at the tournament looked like this: Michigan State, Oklahoma, Ohio, ILLINOIS, Davenport (DII). Since then, there have been teams added, including Michigan, Edinboro, Stupid Northwestern, Central Michigan, the Northern Illinois University Huskies, Olivet (DIII) and Wabash (DIII). That means we can expect some fireworks (wrestlestat.com rankings of Top 50 wrestlers): 125 .  #10 Rayvon Foley, MSU; #15 Michael DeAugustino; #30 Joey Prata, Oklahoma; #32 Brock Bergelin, CMU; #46 Justin Cardani, ILLINI; #51 Jack Medley, Michigan 133 .  #1 Stevan Micic, Michigan; #8 Lucas Byrd, ILLINI; #9 Chris Cannon, Northwestern; #35 Mikey Kaminski, NIU; #36 Anthony Madrigal, Oklahoma; #39 Mario Guillen, Ohio; #51 Drew Marten, CMU 141 .  #3 Dom Demas, Oklahoma; #8 Dresden Simon, CMU; #9 D

 

  Fargo All American, National Showcase Champion, State Champion, with the chance at another, new ILLINOIS recruit KOLE BROWER is a goer. He's skilled on the mat, and he has a confident double leg that he can switch to a single in a split second. He comes from Moline, which provided prodigal son Matt Lackey to the ILLINI, and, if you include all of the Quad Cities, there's Mark Johnson as well.  It's a good day to be an ILLINI! 

 

I've confirmed with the highest possible authorities at both Appalachian State and ILLINOIS that the scheduled App State dual on November 13 will not happen. Instead, the ILLINI will be part of the team-dual Mountaineer Invitational on November 14.  And the list of participating teams ensures a couple of excellent duals for the good guys: STORYLINES:    *  The last time the ILLINI dualed Arizona State University was January 28, 2017. The victory went to ILLINOIS by the score of 26-9 .  *  The only returning wrestler from that dual will be Anthony Valencia, who lost by fall to IMAR.  *  Never bet against Eric Barone and Kyle Langenderfer, as both got upsets in the dual for a combined 12-point swing.  *  Arizona State's NCAA finalist Brandon Courtney is 0-1 against Justin Cardani. *  Lucas Byrd pinned ASU's Michael McGee in the fifth-place match at the Big Dance. *  McGee was a 2x State Champ for Plainfield East before starting off at Old Dominion then transferring to ASU. * 

I live in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and don't get to see the ILLINI in person like the old days. So, being able to sit in the stands in a live environment again is something that I'm really anticipating. Here are some things that I'm looking forward to: THE APP STATE TEAM.   The Mountaineers have a rugged team. They take wrestling seriously, boasting five wrestlers in the top 33 according to Andre at wrestlestat.com. Their star is John Milner at 149, who is a 2x NCAA qualifier and 1x All American (8th). He's ranked #14. Up and down the lineup, there doesn't appear to be a single easy match for the good guys. Wrestlestat.com predicts wins for App State at 125, 149, 157 and 174 with a final score of ILLINOIS 21, Appalachian State 12. The marquee matchup at the dual is Milner versus Mikey Carr at 149. However, 125 and 165 aren't far behind. The worst ranking on the Mountaineer squad is #78. All of their wrestlers at 184 and above are ranked in the seventies. Tha

  HARD: Hitting Morpheus . You proudly say, "I know Kung Fu," and before you can get the least bit cocky about it, BOOM, Morpheus immediately calls you out with a, "Show me." And then even with your cutesy karate moves, running up the walls, and deep Keanu concentration, you can't hit the ************. Why? Because you needed to stop trying to hit him and hit him!   HARDER:   Hitting Neo . My theory is that Neo became so fast that bullets in the Matrix almost seemed to stop in mid air. Whatever the movie physics involved, your bullets are now belong to Neo.  HARDEST:   Hitting Any Kind of Offense Against Adam Tirapelle in the 2001 NCAA Finals . ILLINI Hall of Fame inductee Adam Tirapelle gave up zero offensive points in his 2001 NCAA National Championship match. He scored two takedowns himself. With a National Championship, a runner-up finish and a third place, Tirapelle scored medals of every color at the Big Dance. He also came out and spoke at my kid's

The ILLINI have introduced new-look singlets for the 2021-2022 season. You're gonna love them! I've never been much for criticizing or gushing over new football helmet designs or basketball jerseys, but these are different. These are hip to the jive. You've got a mixture of iconic classics and Art Nouveau.  Iconic classics on the left and the right, and the classic script ILLINOIS in the center, with Art Nouveau design on the back (" characterized by intricate linear designs and flowing curves based on natural forms .").  Great job by Nike, and a homerun from the ILLINI staff picking them out.  Of course, it helps to have somebody like DJ Shannon modeling your new singlet. What did they say about Marilyn Monroe and a burlap sack?  See what I mean? But seriously, you have to have fun with it, and nobody does a better job of that than Trey Sizemore and Luke Luffman: I'm crying! From the perfect emoji to the perfect pose. These two won the internet for 2021. It

MEANWHILE ... BREAKING NEWS: We finally have a winner in the Nick Suriano sweepstakes. In what will likely prove to be a shock to the college wrestling world, Suriano has decided to join the Chik-Fil-A team. Many had thought he would return to Penn State or stay at Arizona State, but he has decided to join this growing chicken franchise. Suriano, pictured above with Assistant Manager Madonna Mitchell, told the Meanwhile Sports team, "I appreciate the opportunity. Chik-Fil-A really feels like a family, and that and the opportunity to make my mark in the chicken sandwich business sold me." How will this affect the fall season? Could this mean that KFC, Zaxby's and Bojangles will be challenged for the top spot? Here are your current InterChicken Rankings: 1. Kentucky Fried Chicken 2. Zaxby's 3. Iowa 4. Penn State 5. Bojangles 6. Church's Chicken 7. Wingstop 8. Popeye's 9. Buffalo Wild Wings 10. Nebraska

  HARD:   Winning the Gallon of Milk Challenge. You must drink a gallon of milk within 5 minutes, then hold it down for 20 minutes after that. This isn't so much a challenge as a trick. The average adult human stomach can hold half a gallon of food or liquid. It can also stretch to hold over a gallon of food. However, milk is a liquid, and it won't stay down in your stomach the way food will. It wants to squish out because the stomach is squeezing it. Think of your stomach as a half-gallon water balloon. If you fill it up with a gallon of water and don't tie it off, that water's gonna go somewhere. Warning: The gallon milk challenge is dangerous, as even a gallon of water can be toxic to some extent.  HARDER:   Winning a chess piece throwing contest against World Chess Piece Throwing Champion Magnus Carlsen. Even if you scrunch down like a wiener in a dodge ball game, Carlsen's unerring accuracy ensures that your torso and butt become inevitable targets. Magnus Car