MSU OPEN RECAP

INTRODUCTION

Where to start? The MSU Open is just incredible. It is a Christmas morning that lasts all day. We get to see the raw Freshmen, some of the veterans who might not get a shot at a dual, as well as the starters. There are the roster battles. Even with three major injuries to very important wrestlers and a loss by ILLINI hero Lucas Byrd, this was a big day for the program. 

A coming out party of sorts. 

By that, I mean that you can see the talent on display. Without injuries to Sammie Hayes, Maximo Renteria and Danny Pucino, this would've been beyond epic. 

It was still very epic.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

We are providing a two-part series of video highlights from the MSU Open. There was so much more going on that I didn't have enough time to include all of the Byrd bombs or the Pucino craziness or the Brawny grittiness. In any event, here's the first video showing highlights from Danny Pucino, Kevon Davenport and Edmond Ruth:

And below is part two of the video highlight series from the MSU Open. It features Danny Braunagel, Lucas Byrd and Zac Braunagel. 

HOW THE ILLINI PERFORMED

I saw a lot of great wrestling yesterday from the ILLINI. In a tournament with OSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and a bunch of other teams, the ILLINI put three in the finals. There might have been more if Renteria and Pucino were not injured. ILLINOIS had wrestlers in both the Freshman/Sophomore and the Open divisions. Here is a short breakdown by weight. 

125

It was Maximo Renteria in the Open division. He looked brilliant until what looked like an injury to his ankle in the quarterfinals. He was up in his match against last year's MSU Open champion Joey Prata of Oklahoma, the injury happened, he tried to fight through it, but lost 5-6. He medical forfeited out of the rest of the tournament. 

The news was just as dire in the Freshman/Sophomore division, as Sammie Hayes was injured in the semifinals. He was following a gramby and smacked his head against the mat. This seemed a lot like what happened to his younger brother, Rocco, in the Junior National Duals. With Justin Cardani recuperating from shoulder surgery, the ILLINI will need somebody in this spot--and soon! 

133

Lucas Byrd had a hiccup in last year's MSU Open as well, so a loss here is not completely unexpected--as long as it doesn't become an annual tradition! He had a brilliant semifinal win over another young hotshot in Wyatt Henson of Oklahoma. 

Look for Lucas to refocus and use his abilities as a wrestling scientist to go over film and come up with the right strategy for the future. I noticed that Jesse Mendez wanted no part of ties with the ILLINI. Perhaps that's the answer? 

Kole Brower finished in second at 133 in the Freshman/Sophomore division. He had to beat teammate Brian Beers along the way. Beers ended up in fifth place. Hayden Halter teched his first opponent, then lost two. 

141 

Danny Pucino won his first two matches--the first one with a spectacular pin--but then within ten seconds of his quarterfinal against Mosha Schwartz of Oklahoma, he tried a standing funk roll and hit his head hard on the mat. The ref stopped the match for a time, but Pucino continued wrestling. He would lose and MFF the rest of the tournament. 

The ILLINI has all of the technical ability to become an All American, but he gave up size to the Sooner, and had a difficult time getting out from bottom from the leg rider. He'll want to recover from what ails him and work on bottom. 

149

This weight provided enough drama for two podcasts about ghosts and serial killers. Kevon Davenport won his first three matches, including a :23 pin. In his semifinal against 2x AA and national finalist Sammy Sasso, Kevon went hard, getting the first takedown after a wild scramble. Then, he tried two throws, both of them failing, and that led to a lot of back points and an eventual tech fall. 

He lost in the consi-semis because he tried another throw, ended up on his back, and had to expend a lot of energy fighting off his back, finally getting out of bounds by walking a neck bridge backwards. After digging out of that 0-6 hole, Kevon fought back to lose by two, 9-11. 

Michael Gunther got two quick falls against NIU and Grand Valley before running into Sasso. Jake Harrier had a first-round bye then ran into Oklahoma's Mitch Moore. Anthony Federico also had a first-round by, but then had #2 seed Johnny Lovett of CMU. On the back side, Harrier and Federico each had a win. 

Davenport finished in fifth, but it coulda, woulda, shoulda been third if he had stuck with his singles and doubles and left the throws for late in emergency situations. He will be a very good wrestler for the team. Charlie Fifield lost two matches in the Freshman/Sophomore division. 

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Luke Odom had a fall against Cleveland State in the first round, then a hard-fought win over Oklahoma's Cam Picklo. His next match against #1 seed Corbyn Munson didn't go as well. Joe Roberts, wrestling unattached lost his first match to an unattached OSU wrestler. He won three matches in the consolation bracket, though. Odom and Jake Reicin lost their consolation matches. 

There were bright spots. Both Odom and Roberts ended up beating Picklo, who's a tough wrestler, but the ILLINI will be looking for the guy who can perform consistently at this weight. 

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Danny Braunagel finished as runner up with some really nice wins, including a second-round match in which he gassed Wisconsin's Model. Then, he had a destruction of Gerrett Nijenhuis, the Oklahoma Boilermaker, in the semifinals. He stole the will from the Sooner and earned a major. Brawny should get a bump in the polls for his work here. He lost 2-6 to NIU's Izzak Olejnik in the finals. 

174

This weight provided as much drama as 149, maybe more. Perhaps as much as podcasts about ghosts, serial killers and meth dealers. First off, Caden Ernd started off with two wins in the Open bracket, including an overtime victory over DJ Shannon of MSU. Trey Sizemore had two nice wins in the consolation bracket. 

The big story, however, was Edmond Ruth winning third place. He gave #1 seed and eventual champion Ethan Smith of OSU a strong 1-3 match. That was by far the best match the Buckeye had in the tournament. It should've been the finals match. 

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Dylan Connell had his annual thumping of poor Devonjae Hudson of NIU. This one, another tech fall. Then, the ILLINI ran into Kaleb Romero. In the consolation bracket, he received a couple of byes and a MFF before beating Northwestern's Jack Jessen soundly. One more win, and he would've placed at least top six, but he lost 2-3 to Greyden Penner of Oklahoma. 

Dylan now knows what he has to do to wrestle at the highest level. Of course, he also gets that in practice from Ed Ruth, IMAR, the Braunagels and Edmond Ruth. 

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The ILLINI's third finalist and lone champion was Zac Braunagel. He seemed to be out-sized but not out-muscled the whole tournament. Moreover, his quickness and scrambling ability stood him in great stead. In his semifinal match, he beat Northwestern's Andrew Davison 8-5. That fellow had beaten Matt Wroblewski a couple of times. 

In the finals, the Brawlnagel used a flying funk roll to grab a leg after last year's All American Gavin Hoffman shot in on a single. Here, again, scrambling was key, as the ILLINI knew what to do to gain the advantage and pin the Buckeye. 

The crowd rejoiced!

Isiah Pettigrew, Chase Waggoner and JoJo "Bulldog" Braunagel also graced the Open bracket. There, Pettigrew won a match against Michigan, and Biggest Brawny won matches against Utah Valley and CMU. 

285

My major concern with WroboCop at heavyweight was whether he could get out from bottom. That indeed caused him his first loss in the championship bracket in a TB 1-2 decision. On the backside, he ran through three heavyweights from Ohio, Michigan (not Mason Parris) and Michigan State. 

He did good work there. 

Then, he ran into a creature that must have dieted for a week to make 285. I wrestled at 190 pounds in the unlimited division in college, so I know how that feels. Still, he has the skills to be competitive at the weight--as long as he can get out from the bottom. It will be an adventure for him and us this year!