THE ILLINI WRESTLING BLOG AND FORUM

WRESTLERS REQUIRE A SPECIAL SKILL In wrestling and mixed martial arts an athlete must be aware of what his or her body is doing, from head to toe, and be aware of what his or her opponent's body is doing, from head to toe, as well as the position of the out-of-bounds line, frequently without being able to look at them.  In ball sports like tennis, soccer, football and basketball, you are watching your opponent and the ball. Your sense of sight gives you almost all of the information that you need to be successful. In those sports, you also have to know where the goal, net, and lines are located, but, again, sight is primarily the way to deal with those objects.  PROPRIOCEPTION Good ball sport players have a keen sense of proprioception, which is sometimes called the Sixth Sense. Proprioception is basically your conscious awareness of your own body and limbs in space, what they are doing and what they need to do next.  Serena Williams sees the ball come off her opponent's racke

There are some assumptions contained herein, as there will be competitive wrestle-offs at 125, 149, 157 and 174 at least. If Maximo Renteria wins the spot at 125, he'll be another new face. The same goes to a lesser degree at 157 and 174, as Luke Odom and Trey Sizemore have been in the varsity lineup in the past. Caden Ernd would be a new face. I don't know who will prevail in these battles. So with that caveat in mind, here's a video welcoming some of the new faces:

First, let me say this: If Jesse Delgado had wrestled for your favorite team, you would've ******* loved him. LOVED HIM! As a wrestler, he was a super hard-working, extra clean technician, as well as a nice and mild-mannered fellow who just happened to be magic in scrambles. He had a system that I call The Delgado System (or "TDS"). This video shows a scramble in the 2014 NCAA Championship match between Jesse Delgado and Nashon Garrett at 125 pounds. The scramble is the "Coolest" for a number of reasons, including: 1. THE OPPONENT: This scramble came against Nashon Garrett, a four-time EIWA champion and NCAA All American, a one-time NCAA champion (a year later at 133), and a future member of the USA Senior National Team. 2. THE TIMING: This was sweaty palms time, heart palpitations time, NCAA Finals time with the #1 seed (ILLINOIS' Delgado) versus the #2 seed (Cornell's Garrett). 3. THE TECHNICAL SKILL INVOLVED: As noted above, Delgado w

WEIGHT BY WEIGHT ANALYSIS As was stated in our previous article about the nonconference schedule, this is by far the earliest I've seen a roster for the ILLINI Wrestling team. Early by about two months! This is good because it gives us something to think about, and it gives the wrestlers something to shoot for.  I am providing my analysis of each weight first, then I'm adding the authoritative comments from Coach Poeta that can be found here at the Flo Wrestling Early Lineup Look for the 2022-23 ILLINI . So, here goes: 125 .   The starter at this weight will likely be determined in wrestle offs and in the early part of the season. Justin Cardani has held this spot for the last three years. So far, he has always been in matches but has trouble closing them in the Big Ten and the NCAA tournament. What he needs are finishes. I don't think anybody in the NCAA gets to a leg better or more often than the Champaign Kid, but sometimes that means he's stretched out and can only

The ILLINI Coaching staff and athletic department have already posted the wrestling team roster and a schedule for nonconference opponents. This is much earlier--perhaps as much as two months earlier--than in previous years.  I like this very much.  It gives the fans something to talk about during an otherwise down period, and the wrestlers, well, they get to start dreaming and planning their ambitions for the season. They will be tested with some very strong nonconference teams and a number of open tournaments. There will be tough battles in the room. We plan on publishing an article tomorrow about the roster and potential lineup showdowns.  THE NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE   This is from the website for Tiger Style Wrestling : 2022 TIGER STYLE INVITE Come experience the 1st Annual Tiger Style Invite Tournament as the in-state Tigers compete against Cal Poly, Drexel, Illinois, Little Rock and Maryland. Tickets are LIMITED and sold on first come first serve basis. Tickets are $15 each until

ILLINI stud Lucas Byrd will be wrestling in the newly revived NWCA All-Star Classic. He will face ILLINOIS high schooler and ASU All American Michael McGee. The Sun Devil is already a two-time AA like Byrd, but this will be his sixth year on a college roster after transferring from Old Dominion, where he was a Round of 12er and finished 1-2 at the Big Dance as a Freshman.  WHAT: NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC WHEN: November 22, 2022 WHERE: Austin, Texas WHO: Lucas Byrd WHY: Because, my man, the Byrd is the Wyrd® The two have met, way back at the 2021 NCAA tournament in the fifth-place match when Lucas Byrd was a redshirt Freshman. The ILLINI beast secured the pinfall at 6:17.  Wrestlestat.com predicts an 8-6 win for the ILLINI, who holds the 1-0 head-to-head as well as a better record against common opposition (Byrd 22-8; McGee 15-7).  I don't know if McGee has a NIL deal, but it surely can't beat the "Byrd is the Wyrd" branding that is going down at Chain Wrestling. Chec

ILLINI fans have a ton to look forward to in the very near future. There will be at least two future ILLINI wrestling in the big Who's Number One showcase, while the IRTC's Kamal Bey and Max Nowry will be on a quest for medals at the Senior Greco World Championships.  WHAT:   Who's #1?   WHEN:   September 9 WHERE: Ann Arbor, MI WHO:   Kannon Webster and Braeden Scoles.     KANNON WEBSTER Kannon Webster is slated to face a familiar foe in Sergio Lemley. It will be ILLINOIS state champion versus ILLINOIS state champion. This will be Kannon's first of many wins in Ann Arbor. From the Flo Wrestling article on the matchup:  Webster is coming off Fargo finals in both freestyle and Greco. He split stop signs with U17 World silver medalist Cory Land, losing their first meeting in freestyle, but avenging the loss in Greco. In 2021, he was also a Fargo champ, finished third at Super 32, and was a runner-up at Ironman. Lemley has had an excellent year as well. In addition to his

Read this like a comic book from top to bottom. What do the ILLINI Avengers have in store for you this week? A new recruit, a beast, Chris Moore will join the University of ILLINOIS Wrestling program after he wins an IHSA state title and puts people on their heads again in Fargo.  If you have a Flo sub, you can see him go up against fellow ILLINI recruit Braeden Scoles here .  Congratulations to Coach Poeta and the ILLINI Coaching staff, Jordan Blanton and Ryan Prater and the other good folks at Relentless Training Center, McHenry High School Wrestling, his old and new teammates and practice partners, and especially Chris Moore and his family and friends. I've enjoyed watching him represent ILLINOIS in the past, and I can't wait to see him suit it up for the ILLINI in the future! 

This was the blood round of the 2022 NCAA Division One Wrestling tournament. Lucas Byrd of ILLINOIS versus Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. The winner of the match would be an All American. The loser of the match would not be an All American. I call it The World's Greatest Blood Round Takedown for a number of reasons, including: -- Amplitude -- Attitude (fearlessness) -- Style -- Technique -- Competition -- Plus, I like ILLINOIS and Lucas Byrd In tandem with technique, you have impeccable footwork from Byrd. He knows where he is on the mat ( Proprioception refers to the body's ability to perceive its own position in space), and he knows what he has to do to stay in bounds during and after the throw. Lucas has said in an IWB&F&B interview that he looks forward to throwing guys on their head. Many more, Lucas, many, many more!   Video credit to Flo Wrestling; music credit to the ILLINI Marching Band, Gary Smith, Conductor. Thumbnail credit: Chain Wrestling, FightingILLINI.c