SIUE Results and Navy Preview
ILLINI V. SIUE RESULTS
We won't say that this is the best SIUE squad in the last ten years, but it will be. They have a lot of very young, very tough wrestlers. Coaches Spates and Thomas have the Cougars on the bounce.
The show was absolutely magnificent.
As far as entertainment value goes, the ILLINI laid down quad aces. Watching on BTN+ and not in person, it was still an amazing spectacle. The tie-in with the IKWF was a genius idea, and the school putting out old photographs of the ILLINI wrestlers in their IKWF days was something beyond genius.
The commentators were excellent, a far cry from when Jake Reicin and Trey Sizemore frequently had to correct their co-hosts. We would only suggest that they call the "periods" period or periods and not round or rounds. That's a nitpick, sure, and it works for MMA and boxing, but wrestlers are more familiar with the word period.
The stream was crisp and clean and failed not once. We do hope that someday BTN+ will place their cameras facing the audience. We didn't get to see the crowd! Also, the camera overlooking (but not looking at) the audience seemed to be out of focus or maybe somebody smeared the lens with a thin coat of animal fat.
So, a couple of nitpicks, but overall the ILLINI coaching staff and the Athletic Department and the Big Ten Network get an A+ for production. Here is the official recap and individual scores from FightingILLINI.com:
| Weight | Matchup | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 125: | Justin Cardani (ILL) dec. Davian Guanajuato (SIUE), 4-1 | ILL 3 I SIUE 0 |
| 133: | Marcel Lopez (SIUE) dec. Kole Brower (ILL), 5-3 | ILL 3 I SIUE 3 |
| 141: | Danny Pucino (ILL) tech. fall Danny Martinez (SIUE), 19-4 (5:46) | ILL 8 I SIUE 3 |
| 149: | Caleb Tyus (SIUE) major dec. Jake Harrier, 9-1 | ILL 8 I SIUE 7 |
| 157: | Joe Roberts (ILL) dec. Brock Woodcock (SIUE), 4-0 | ILL 11 I SIUE 7 |
| 165: | Luke Odom (ILL) dec. Bradley Gilllum (SIUE), 8-6 | ILL 14 I SIUE 7 |
| 174: | Edmond Ruth (ILL) major dec. Dom Lopez (SIUE), 20-6 | ILL 18 I SIUE 7 |
| 184: | Dylan Connell (ILL) dec. Deron Pulliam (SIUE), 5-4 | ILL 21 I SIUE 7 |
| 197: | Isiah Pettigrew (ILL) dec. Ryan Yarnell (SIUE), 10-6 | ILL 24 I SIUE 7 |
| 285: | Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. Bryson Buhk (SIUE), 15-4 | ILL 28 I SIUE 7 |
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
INDIVIDUAL MATCHUPS
JUSTIN CARDANI was back in the lineup. He wore a large black shoulder harness, though, and it was tough sledding against Davian Guanajuato. The good news is that he took angles on his shots, and he lifted legs off the mat. We wanted to see more finishes, but this was his first match back in over a year.
KOLE BROWER had a bad night against Marcel Lopez, the high school four-timer from Iowa. It was a pretty close 3-5 loss to a tough kid. I expect these two will meet again in the future. Lucas Byrd started the dual with some kind of great blue glove on his injured hand. He looked like a Bond Villain. Tony Madrigal was dressed to go, but Brower got this start.
It was a takedown-a-thon for DANNY PUCINO. He broke Danny Martinez and used 6 takedowns to get the techfall. As usual, he was entertaining and tried some interesting techniques.
Okay, now everybody look at your straws. It looks like JAKE HARRIER drew the short one. That's right, he had to wrestle SIUE's best and most proven grappler in Caleb Tyus. The Cougar earned the 9-1 major. Jake didn't seem to have that fire in him in this one, but we expect that Tyus had a lot to do with that. At least he only looked slightly undersized here.
JOE ROBERTS had a gritty young wrestler in Brock Woodcock. It was the ILLINI with the takedown and another point to secure the 4-0 win for the good guys.
At 165, IKWF and IHSA fans were treated to a meeting between champions LUKE ODOM and Bradley Gillum. This was a fun match to watch, as it went back and forth. We all knew that the Cougar was a tough kid because we've seen him wrestle many times before. It took a waning-seconds takedown from the ILLINI to earn the 8-6 victory.
The 20-6 major decision belonged to EDMOND RUTH at 174. He took on a very unorthodox wrestler in Dom Lopez. Although a college newby, Lopez holds the Iowa high school record for winning percentage. Like his brother, he will be very good down the road, but Edmond broke him here.
DYLAN CONNELL had another unheralded beast in Deron Pulliam. A third-place finisher at NJCAA nationals, he was strong and kept good position. We could see, though, why everybody has been raving about Connell's Summer. He has worked on his upper body so that it is quite noticeable.
The surprise of the night belonged to ISIAH PETTIGREW as he took on Ryan Yarnell, a veteran and accomplished wrestler for SIUE. The Cougar got out to the fast start, but then the ILLINI piled on some takedowns to win 10-6. According to the announcers, the staff have been very happy with Pettigrew's progress. So are the folks in Palatine at Fremd High School!
Finally, it was LUUUUKE LUFFMAN who, after a scoreless first period, got a workout taking down Bryson Buhk. I thought the Dekalb kid looked really good in the first period, being strong and maintaining position. Then, Luke began with his tricksy stuff, and that was that in the 15-4 victory for the ILLINI.
NAVY PREVIEW
The opposition only gets better after one dual as Kary Colat's Navy team comes to Huff Hall for a match. This Navy team is like a submarine: It's under the radar. They're tough up and down the lineup, but kind of unexpectedly tough. Expect a lot of Freshmen and redshirt Freshmen with national pedigrees.
WHEN: Saturday, November 4 at 1:00 pm (Central)
WHERE: Huff Hall
FROM FIGHTINGILLINI.COM
Coming two days after the season opener against SIUE, the ILLINI face off against Navy. While the ILLINI have a dual under their belt, this will kick off the season for the Midshipmen. This is what FightingILLINI.com has to tell us about the dual:
"Navy went 5-6 overall and 4-1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) last season. They were defeated in the lone common matchup with Illinois against Maryland, 18-15, and they placed fourth in the EIWA Championships. The series record between these two squads is even at 1-1, and the first matchup dates back to 1952. The Orange and Blue won the last matchup, 47-2, on Jan. 2, 1985."
Note that ILLINOIS beat the common opponent, Maryland, 29-11. Of course, that lopsided final score included wins by Lucas Byrd, Mikey Carr and both Brawlnagels.
WHY WE HATE NAVY
Which Navy? Will the ILLINI be wrestling the bean, the color, McHale's Navy or the Spanish Armada? If we're supposed to assume that this is the United States Navy, then I think that's a bit presumptuous. On top of all of that, a group of men devoting their life to floating around on water while looking for fights is just strange. I can say this because I'm ex-Army.
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT MATCHUPS
This could be a very tight match.
Wrestlestat.com has it as 18-12 for the good guys, but that includes Byrd and Little Brawny winning. They've already replaced Zac with Joey Braunagel in their model. I do think that Madrigal and Brower would likely win at 133, but Navy has a tough out at 165. Lose at 133 and 165, and ILLINOIS will likely lose the dual. Lose one of the matches, and it could be a tie, with a winner selected via criteria. The Orange and Blue need to look for bonus points whenever possible.
125. #52 JUSTIN CARDANI vs. #129 EVAN TALLMADGE. Tallmadge was at the Naval Academy Prep School last year and wrestled to a 12-3 record against D1 and D2 folks. He's never beaten anybody ranked as highly as Cardani, and he should be a little nervous with his first start an away match in B1G country. Cardani needs to put on a show.
On the other hand, the Navy youngster is a two-time Jersey state champ and a Fargo winner. I expect he'll be better than his #129 rating. He'll also be better than Cardani's first opponent, Davian Guanajuato of SIUE. Wrestlestat.com is predicting a tight win for the ILLINI. Cardani finishes will be key here.
133. #35 ANTHONY MADRIGAL vs. #37 BRENDAN FERRETTI. The same is true at 133, which could turn out to be quite a good (and a swing) match. The Midshipman also spent a year at the Navy prep school, but he also has a year in the lineup. It was a good year that included a berth in the NCAA tournament and a 21-11 record against D1.
Before all that Navy stuff, Ferretti was a three-time Michigan state champ. (Kolat has been recruiting well, and Navy is on the bounce.). Still, Madrigal is a step above here.
141. #40 DANNY PUCINO vs. #24 JOSH KODERHANDT. The Navy kid is rated sixteen spots ahead of Pucino, but this is likely a true toss up. They have similar records against common opponents, and although Koderhandt is a two-time National Qualifier, Danny should have won a wild card last season.
Moreover, the navy kid lost twice at the last Big Dance to wrestlers that Danny has beaten.
As you are no doubt aware, the Midshipman won two IHSA championships wrestling for Belleville West. He will be a tough out, no doubt, but he could always get PUCINO'D!
149. #125 JAKE HARRIER vs. #188 NICK VAFIADIS. Vafiadis spent last year at the Naval Academy Prep School, where he had a 19-6 record wrestling up at 157. All of his losses except one, were to D1 wrestlers. Wrestlestat.com is conservative with their rankings of Freshmen, and based upon the Midshipman's small body of work, I suspect he should be ranked around #70-#75. I also think Jake is under-ranked, and he can now start proving it. A win against this guy will look pretty good at the end of the year.
Moreover, Jake needs to bounce back after his loss against Caleb Tyus of SIUE. The cadet won't be nearly as good as that Cougar.
Vafiadis is a two-time state champ from Virginia who also made it to a U16 Fargo Freestyle final. This could be another swing match that determines the winner of the dual. If the ILLINI has dropped an earlier swing match, could we see Kannon Webster here?
157. #109 JOE ROBERTS vs. #204 JONATHAN LEY. This guy for Navy is another young kid who spent the last year at the Navy prep school wrestling up a weight. He was 9-2 against D1 there with the losses to Joe Lee of PSU and Cornell's Julian Ramirez. He also beat some pretty decent college grapplers, so his ranking will bump up considerably during the season.
Ley won the Beast of the East up at 170 and placed twice at Super 32 at 152. This is a match that Wrestlestat.com gives to the ILLINI by two points. Joe will need to wrestle his best to get this win!
165. #139 LUKE ODOM vs. #39 ANDREW CERNIGLIA. With Little Brawny using the Olympic redshirt he earned over the Summer, this spot opens up for Odom, Caden Ernd and Chris Moore. They have a tough customer in Cerniglia, a 2x NCAA Qualifier who won a match at the Big Dance a couple years ago.
The Midshipman has wins in his career over the #7, #14, #17, #24 (x2), #31 and #33 wrestlers in his 44-19 record and three years starting for Navy. He has bonused 33% of the time, and that cannot happen in this dual, which could come down to a point or two.
174. #11 EDMOND RUTH vs. #154 DANNY WASK. Ruthless is 5-0 against common opponents, while Wask is 1-2. Wrestlestat.com predicts this match to be right there close to bonus territory. This Midshipman is yet again another Freshman who spent last year at Navy prep school. He had a nice 11-5 record against D1 opponents. He never beat anybody as good as Edmond Ruth, though.
Wask went to Blair in high school and won two Beast of the East championships and a number of other accolades. He will be a good one for Kolat, but is he ready for Ruthlessness?
184. #24 DYLAN CONNELL vs. #22 DAVID KEY. These two met last year with Key coming away with the 8-4 win. That match took place at the NCAA tournament. Connell is no doubt looking for revenge. Wrestlestat.com predicts a 7-4 win for the Midshipman.
In two out of three years that he's been at the Academy, Key has qualified for the Big Dance. He made it to the Round of 16 his first year. Looking at his results, the Navy guy is really scatter-shot. For example, he lost to the #91, #104 and #114 wrestlers, but he's beaten Connell and Zac Braunagel in the NCAA tournament. Weirdly, he beat #19 Brian Bonino in the EIWA tournament 8-3, then lost to the same guy in the same tournament 2-3.
The wrestlers have similar rankings, and Connell is actually slightly better versus common opponents at 6-6 versus 8-9. There is a thing about improvement between Freshman and Sophomore years, so I'll buck the Wrestlestat.com prediction and call this my upset of the dual.
197. #101 ISIAH PETTIGREW vs. #39 JACOB LUCAS. This wrestler for Navy also started off at their prep school, then spent a year as a backup, finishing with a 16-11 record against D1 foes. He wrestled some real schlubs at the Clarion Open and the Navy Classic, but he also acquitted himself pretty well against good wrestlers. He didn't win any of those, and his #39 ranking may be high, but he never made a fool of himself.
He actually had two dual starts last season, beating the #90 wrestler and losing by three to the #35 guy. Thus, Lucas has one more dual start than his potential ILLINI foe. Pettigrew is better than his #101 ranking. Much better, and this should be a good one.
285. #17 LUKE LUFFMAN vs. #11 GRADY GREIS. Pronounced "Grease," this young man had a very nice year from 2022 to 2023 with a 35-7 record and an EIWA championship. He's a meat and potatoes guy who will work the collar tie with the occasional 2-on-1. On top, he's wrist control and will back trip when you get to your feet.
The Midshipman is not super heavy but is pretty tall, kind of like the Pete Christensen from Wisconsin (before that Montini) heavyweight body type. This will be my second upset special as Wrestlestat.com is predicting a Navy win here by three points. It wouldn't be much of an upset really, as LUUUUKE is coming off a fantastic Summer and FloWrestling has him ranked #13 just ahead of Greis at #14.
Luke also looked very good and quick (and in great shape) in his win on Thursday.
CONCLUSION
This sets up as a fantastic dual. Cary Kolat has loaded up on young talented wrestlers, and he has some veterans back. How will the young Midshipmen handle making weight and wrestling in B1G country? Will the crowd at Huff Hall be loud?
This could be a match in which Coach Poeta reaches into his bag and pulls out true Freshmen Kannon Webster and Braeden Scoles. That's because 125 to 157 will be the key. Edmond Ruth is the only obvious favorite in the dual. I suspect Connell to be a toss-up with Key, even though the Middy beat him at the Big Dance. Connell looks so much stronger, and even more confident. Heavyweight is another true toss-up, but Luuuke has looked so good.
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