The Greatest Takedown in ILLINI Wrestling History

I wanted to highlight Steve Marianetti's win over Lincoln McIlravy in the 1995 NCAA Finals. The question was: Which of his five takedowns to pick?




Steve Marianetti had lost to Lincoln McIlravy in the Big Ten finals just before this NCAA finals match, and he lost to him in the semifinals of the NCAA wrestling tournament the year before. This time, though, he would get his revenge. McIlravy was on a 57-match winning streak. After the match, Dan Gable was quoted in the Los Angeles Times, "He [McIlravy] was on track to be the best of all times." Gable would go on to say, "I'm still in a state of shock." Steve Marianetti had 120 wins in an ILLINI singlet, including 44 wins in one season. He won the national championship in 1995, and he was an All American on two other occasions. He wrestled freestyle and represented the United States at the Pan-Am Championships, the Goodwill Games, the World Cup and the World Championships. In over two decades as the head coach of the Elmhurst University Bluejays, his teams have finished in the top ten seven times. He has been named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year twice. The dilemma for me was to decide which of the five takedowns Marianetti got in this match to honor as the greatest takedown in ILLINI Wrestling history. A solid case could be made for his last takedown, as it sealed the deal against a foe who kept coming back like Michael Myers in Halloween. It was a beautiful ankle pick. However, I'm going with the first takedown--the confidence builder--the takedown that showed to Marianetti that he could do what nobody thought could be done. It was also a beautiful cross-knee grab that almost put the Hawkeye on his back. You can decide for yourself though, as the original video is here:


Credit for that video goes to Wrestling With Character, ESPN and the NCAA. Intro and outro music by Audio Beats. Photo credits in the intro sequence to FightingILLINI.com, NCAA.com, uiaa.org, wrestlingchangedmylife.com, ILLINOISMatmen.com, flowrestling.com, intermatwrestle.com. This video is not to be monetized.

Comments

  1. Greg GermanOctober 6, 2022 at 3:49 PM

    There needs to be more research done, perhaps a blue ribbon committee appointed, but that may be the greatest sprawl in ILLINI history as well. Vicious, punishing leverage.

    ReplyDelete

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