RECAP OF WEEKEND ILLINI RESULTS (GREYHOUND OPEN, MSU, NEB)
THE GREYHOUND OPEN
It seems that this year is all about next year. Because of injuries and redshirts of every kind and quality, the ILLINI have taken it on the chin during dual season. That continued with dual losses to MSU and Nebraska.
On the bright side, ILLINOIS sent a squad of the younglings over to the Greyhound Open and won a lot of championships and medals.
It wasn't all puppy dog tails and ice cream cones, as other Big Ten teams sent large unattached squads. Also, Indiana sent at least one four-year starter and another one-year starter. Your ILLINI placers included:
1st -- KOLE BROWER
1st -- WILL BAYSINGAR
1st -- KANNON WEBSTER
1st -- CADEN ERND
2nd -- LOGAN SWAW
2nd -- JOEY BRAUNAGEL
4th -- CAELAN RILEY
4th -- COOPER WETTIG
7th -- JAKE REICIN
The top scorers for the ILLINI were:
| Webster, Kannon | Open | 149 | 28.5 | |
| Baysingar, William | Open | 141 | 26.5 | |
| Brower, Kole | Open | 133 | 25.5 | |
| Ernd, Caden | Open | 165 | 23.0 | |
| Braunagel, Joseph | Open | 197 | 20.0 | |
| Swaw, Logan | Open | 157 | 18.0 | |
| Riley, Caelen | Open | 125 | 15.5 | |
| Wettig, Cooper | Open | 165 | 15.0 | |
| Reicin, Jake | Open | 157 | 10.0 |
ILLINI VERSUS MSU
Last season, the Spartans finished 13th at the Big Ten tournament. The ILLINI beat them in the dual at East Lansing. This season, the ILLINI suffered their worst loss to MSU in 30 years--their worst defeat to Sparty since a 10-30 loss in East Lansing on January 30, 1994.
That was Coach Mark Johnson's second season.
The score last night was 10-29. Injuries, redshirts, medical redshirts and Olympic redshirts are certainly to blame, but that was still ugly. Kudos to Danny Pucino for the best win on the night, and to the other winners, Edmond Ruth and Tony Madrigal.
It was nice to see DJ Shannon make progress. He'll have a stunning upset sometime this year. Luckily, it wasn't last night. Still, it took sudden victory for Ruth to secure the dub. Other teams will do their best not to engage Edmond in the first period. And not to engage upper-body at all. If the next guy wrestles on his knees, why not stand up straight and wave him forward? Force the ref to make a call.
That's not a rhetorical question. What do y'all think?
If Tony Madrigal didn't get those last few points in the last few seconds of his last match of the night, this would've been tied for the worst Michigan State defeat for the ILLINI since 1984, or about 40 years. With about a minute to go in his match, Tony got a takedown that, in combination with his riding point, gave him a major decision.
Danny Pucino faced a really tough wrestler in four-time Michigan high school champion and multi-year starter Jordan Hamdan. The first period ended scoreless, but Danny went to work in period two with a scramble takedown that looked a little Delgado if you ask us. A third period ankle pick and a riding time point led to the 8-2 record. This earned Danny the JOMBO™ MAN OF THE MATCH award.
Here is the box score:
| 141: | #27 Danny Pucino (ILL) dec. #30 Jordan Hamdan (MSU), 8-2 | ILL 3 I MSU 0 |
| 149: | Clayton Jones III (MSU) dec. Jake Harrier (ILL), 8-6 | ILL 3 I MSU 3 |
| 157: | #21 Chase Saldate (MSU) pinned Braeden Scoles (ILL), (6:32) | ILL 3 I MSU 9 |
| 165: | #9 Caleb Fish (MSU) dec. #30 Chris Moore (ILL), 4-2 | ILL 3 I MSU 12 |
| 174: | #9 Edmond Ruth (ILL) dec. DJ Shannon (MSU), SV-1 9-6 | ILL 6 I MSU 12 |
| 184: | #15 Layne Malczewski (MSU) dec. #28 Dylan Connell (ILL), 1-0 | ILL 6 I MSU 15 |
| 197: | #29 Kael Wisler (MSU) tech. fall Chase Waggoner (ILL), 17-2 (5:17) | ILL 6 I MSU 20 |
| 285: | Josh Terrill (MSU) pinned Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), (0:17) | ILL 6 I MSU 26 |
| 125: | Tristan Lujan (MSU) dec. Justin Cardani (ILL), 2-0 | ILL 6 I MSU29 |
| 133: | #30 Tony Madrigal (ILL) major dec. Jaden Crumpler (MSU), 13-2 | ILL 10 I MSU 29 |
The big news was Kannon Webster putting that redshirt back on. He would've been very useful in this dual, but he has reached his limit of five match days. He fooled us by wrestling in both the CMU and UNC duals, which counted as one match day in the eyes of the NCAA.
My partner on the Threeee is the new Twoooo Podcast, Brian Swaw, was excellent again on the call. You are teaching that youngling about wrestling!
Finally, although Chris Moore and Dylan Connell lost, they lost to very good AA-quality wrestlers, and they put up ferocious fights in their matches.
ILLINI VS. NEBRASKA
Although this was a similar result to the Michigan State dual--a nineteen point loss--the ILLINI looked better overall. The winners were Tony Madrigal, Jake Harrier and Edmond Ruth. They each required late-match heroics to get past their Cornhusker opponents.
In a loss in sudden victory, true Freshman Chris Moore looked good and fought hard.
Additionally, because of injury, Peter Marinopoulos and Chase Waggoner are in the lineup. Kudos to Chase for taking down the returning Big Ten Champ! That was very cool. Not to be outdone, Marinopoulos, while giving up a difference in weight equal to a New York City bank vault, took down the Polar Bear a couple of times.
Here's the box score from the dual:
| 125: | #15 Caleb Smith (NEB) dec. Justin Cardani (ILL), 9-2 | ILL 0 I NEB 3 |
| 133: | #33 Tony Madrigal (ILL) dec. #17 Jake Van Dee (NEB), 8-3 | ILL 3 I NEB 3 |
| 141: | #7 Brock Hardy (NEB) pinned #27 Danny Pucino (ILL), (4:40) | ILL 3 I NEB 9 |
| 149: | Jake Harrier (ILL) dec. Blake Cushing (NEB), SV-1 4-1 | ILL 6 I NEB 9 |
| 157: | #9 Peyton Robb (NEB) major dec. Joe Roberts (ILL), 10-1 | ILL 6 I NEB 13 |
| 165: | #17 Antrell Taylor (NEB) dec. #30 Chris Moore (ILL), SV-1 4-1 | ILL 6 I NEB 15 |
| 174: | #9 Edmond Ruth (ILL) dec. #33 Bubba Wilson (NEB), 4-0 | ILL 9 I NEB 15 |
| 184: | #3 Lenny Pinto (NEB) major dec. #28 Dylan Connell (ILL), 17-6 | ILL 9 I NEB 19 |
| 197: | #14 Silas Allred (NEB) pinned Chase Waggoner (ILL), (4:10) | ILL 9 I NEB 25 |
| 285: | Nash Hutmacher (NEB) dec. Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), 12-9 | ILL 9 I NEB 28 |
We don't expect a non-starter to take down a returning Big Ten Champion. We do expect them to try. As a general rule, and as applied to the whole team, that's what made the Nebraska dual feel better than the one against Michigan State.
That hard-charging attitude was exemplified by Tony Madrigal in the Nebraska match. He was up by a point in the waning seconds and still went for (and got the tilt). It should be noted that Ruth and he were the only double winners in the two duals.
Kannon could have been a True freshmen AA this year I'm sure he's a bit bummed they put the redshirt back on him
ReplyDeleteI would bet on it, Huff! He's had something like 7 ranked wins already this year. I'm sure Kannon and his dad had major input. They're all smart folks, so I can deal with it. Watching him grow, it could also be that he's outgrown 149. Hard to believe, yes! But he's been looking so huge, and he is reportedly cutting a serious amount of weight.
ReplyDeleteI expect he's bummed a little. What a great season, and now another Greyhound Open championship. So, the only redshirts to be burned this season look like Chris Moore and possibly Peter Marinopoulos.
Moore has wrestled so tough and mature, and this last match from Marinopoulos showed a lot of guts. Future is bright, my friend!
Very impressed with Moore but not surprising either, he's a tough SOB and will only get better.
ReplyDelete