Zane Richards in the World Cup and Other ILLINI News!

ZANE RICHARDS TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Even from my seat in South Carolina, I can tell that Zane Richards works his *** off and that he wears his heart and his loyalty on his sleeve. Before, he has wrestled for Carbondale Community High School, the Fighting ILLINI and the IRTC. Now, he will again wrestle for the United States of America. 

He did so as a Cadet at the World Championships in Hungary in the long, long ago. 

The World Cup will take place in Coralville, Iowa on December 10-11, and it will feature Senior men's teams from the USA, Iran (maybe), Japan, Mongolia and Georgia, along with a team of international all stars who weren't part of any of the top five teams at the previous world championships. This is the roster for the American men:

United States Men’s Freestyle World Cup Team
57 kg - Zane Richards, Champaign, Ill. (Illinois RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
57 kg - Nick Suriano, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen WC)
61 kg - Seth Gross, Madison, Wis. (Wisconsin RTC/Sunkist Kids)
61 kg - Daniel DeShazer, Minneapolis, Minn. (Gopher WC RTC)
65 kg - Yianni Diakomihalis, Rochester, N.Y. (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
65 kg - Evan Henderson, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley WC/Titan Mercury WC)
70 kg - Tyler Berger, Philadelphia, Pa. (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
70 kg - Alec Pantaleo, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)
74 kg - Jason Nolf, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
74 kg – Vincenzo Joseph, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
79 kg - Jordan Burroughs, Philadelphia, Pa. (Pennsylvania RTC/Sunkist Kids)
79 kg - Chance Marsteller, New Park, Pa. (NYC RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
86 kg - Zahid Valencia, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids)
86 kg - Mark Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. (Pennsylvania RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
92 kg - Nathan Jackson, Princeton, N.J. (New Jersey RTC/New York AC)
92 kg - Jay Aiello, Charlottesville, Va. (Cavalier WC/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg - Kyle Snyder, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)
97 kg - Kollin Moore, Columbus, Ohio (Ohio RTC/Titan Mercury WC)
125 kg - Hayden Zillmer, Minneapolis, Minn. (Gopher WC RTC)
125 kg -Nick Gwiazdowski, Ithaca, N.Y. (Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

An all-sessions pass can be had for $90.00 at this link. 

A KILLER RECRUITING CLASS

The ILLINI have inked some of the best wrestlers in the country in this year's high school senior class. Loads of Fargos and state championships and All American honors and other big tournament wins are represented by these fellows. There's already been two Who's Number One matches! This is from FightingILLINI.com:

Kannon Webster (Washington, Illinois) Washington Community High School

Webster is the top-ranked recruit of this Illini class coming in at 21st overall. He is a two-time Illinois State Champion and carries a 45-3 record with three pins. He recently won the Maryville Open at 141 pounds via 11-4 decision.

Braeden Scoles (Kewaskum, Wisconsin) Kewaskum High School

Scoles was a highly touted recruit in this class, ranked at 28th overall. He is a three-time Wisconsin State Champion and just recently went 7-1 enroute to third at the USA Wrestling Junior Championships. He carried a 54-2 record throughout his young career with 21 pins.

Will Baysingar (Mount Prospect, Illinois) Mount Prospect High School

Baysingar is the second home grown prospect and slots in as the 52nd ranked recruit. He is a two-time Illinois State Champion and most recently won the Illinois Greco-Roman State Champ title at 138 pounds via technical fall 8-0.

Chris Moore (McHenry, Illinois) McHenry High School

Moore is the final Illinois prospect Poeta added to this 2023 cycle. Moore is an Illinois State Champion and recently earned a runner-up finish at the IHSA Boys Individual State final at 160 pounds.

Hudson Goebel (Findlay, Ohio) Findlay High School

Goebel is the last out-of-state recruit and final piece of this 2023 class. He is a OHSAA State Finalist and most recently he earned a runner-up finish at the OHSAA State Tournament.

As Coach Poeta said, "The future is bright in Champaign when a class like this comes together I-L-L." He went on to say, "The Illinois recruiting class of 2023 is special. We look forward to having student-athletes that are of high character, elite wrestlers and tough! This class is exactly that. We have Illinois' best staying home and some of best in the country making Illinois their second home."

I've been lucky enough to see hours of video and live streaming of these young wrestlers, and they are nails! There will be one hundred career win milestones, All American honors and a National Championship or two or three from this crew. Bet on it. 

On top of all of that, the ILLINI have received a number of verbals from non-senior studs that will populate future killer recruiting classes. 

ZAC BRAUNAGEL IS THE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Big Brawny has again etched his name on the Prairie Farms Athlete of the Week trophy. This year, he joins quarterbacks and wide receivers from the ILLINI football team. You can find the story here at FightingILLINI.com. This is their graphic:

NEW ADDITIONS TO THE IRTC

The IRTC has searched the entire world for talent, and they found World Champions and Russian National Champions. These folks will make the ILLINI better. 

And those young men are already doing work:

ARMBAR AT THE ARMORY

This Friday, the ILLINI are back on the mat in Albany, New York against Buffalo and NC State. For the meticulous preview--some say the best preview ever--of the event, you can find it here on the ILLINI Wrestling Blog and Forum and Beyond. Buffalo should be a big win for the ILLINI, North Carolina State will present a lot of questions. Will ILLINOIS have answers? 

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Photo credits to the ILLINI Wrestling Blog & Forum & Beyond, FightingILLINI.com, Bryan Medlin, ILLINOIS Wrestling, and the University of ILLINOIS Athletic Department.