The Almost, But Not Quite, 100% ILLINI Nonconference Schedule
Other than lacking the Midlands or another holiday tournament, this looks like the full ILLINI nonconference schedule. Let's dive into it! There are return matches with SIUE, Missouri and North Carolina, so we have some idea about them, but how does the new ILLINOIS lineup match up with them? Who will be at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Cougar Clash?
We provide some answers below.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Wrestlestat.com is calling for a 34-0 win for the ILLINI. There will be some interesting matchups in the dual, but the final outcome is not in doubt. #29 Jason Kraisser versus #63 Brock Woodcock at 157 is intriguing. Woodcock is a real good wrestler, and was a 3x Missouri state champ. He was 3-1 against ILLINI wrestlers last year as a Freshman with wins over Joe Roberts, Logan Swaw and Jake Recin. His loss was to an uninjured Joe Roberts.
At 165, Braeden Scoles takes on #138 Bradley Gillum, an ILLINOIS schoolboy who's fun to watch. The same goes for Zac Braunagel versus #75 Nick Nosler, another ILLINOIS schoolboy we all enjoyed watching at National Duals. #51 Deron Pulliam doesn't exactly represent a threat to Edmond Ruth at 184, but it will be a nice early test for RUTHLESS to see how he does against a strong, completely filled-out 184lber.
Last season, this was a 28-7 win for the O&B under the lights and on stage. Hopefully, the Cougars have something special planned as well. Finally, watch out for assistant coach Daryl Thomas of SIUE, as he will steadily improve this team. Former ILLINI. Outstanding wrestler. Great recruiter.
JOURNEYMEN DUALS (ASU & Binghamton)
Some of the matchups to look forward to in the Arizona State dual include Kannon Webster versus Kaleb Larkin, Luke Luffman against Cohlton Schultz, and Lucas Byrd vs. Julian Chlebove. Wrestlestat.com is calling for an 18-17 ILLINI victory.
In an earlier post, we had Bloomsburg as the opponent in this match. That was gleaned from the Wrestlestat.com site, and it has been changed to Binghamton. It will be an easy win for the Orange and Blue, but there will be a couple of good matches.
The Wrestlestat algorithm has #10 Cory Day beating Luke Luffman. Day made it to the Round of 16 last year with a surprise pin of Cornell's Lewis Fernandez. He is a pinner, but he also loses to folks that Luke has whupped. Avoid the pin, and Luke'll win!
Additionally, at 165, the Binghamton Bearcats have #15 Brevin Cassella. We expect Braeden Scoles to beat him. In fact, we are predicting 10 spladles in the match for the ILLINI.
JOURNEYMEN COLLEGIATE CLASSIC
This is new on the schedule for the ILLINI. We've heard about other teams participating in this event, and from what we understand, in the past, it is an individual tournament with lots of round robins among the wrestlers at a given weight.
The other big name besides ILLINOIS is Cornell. Pennsylvania is always tough as well. Army can be tough at various weights. The same for Lock Haven. The rest are probably tech falls for the good guys. Here are the teams currently listed as participants in the classic:
#8 Cornell
#13 ILLINOIS
#22 Penn
#24 Army (unofficial)
#45 Lock Haven
#75 Franklin & Marshall
#76 Sacred Heart
Teams have sent their Freshmen and non-starters in the past, Penn sent 24 wrestlers last year. PSU sent a bunch as well. Also in the past, the Classic has used a very funky format that puts a certain number of wrestlers at a weight--usually from four to six--in up to five different "pools." The wrestlers in the pools do a round robin.
The pools seem to have been divided by ranking, experience, ability and whether they are starters. For example, Danny Pucino might be put in Pool A, while Will Baysingar and Hudson Goebel are placed in Pool B. As the newby, Olin Walker would get to test himself against wrestlers in Pool C or D. Assuming the likely ILLINOIS starters get placed in Pool A, these are the matchups we might get to see:
#21 RAMAZAN ATTASAUOV vs. #8 Greg Diakomiholis (Cornell); #18 Max Gallagher (Penn); #2 Anthony Noto (Lockhaven)
#7 LUCAS BYRD vs. #14 Brett Ungar (Cornell); #28 Ryan Miller (Penn); #34 Gable Strickland (Lockhaven)
#37 DANNY PUCINO vs. #15 Vince Cornella (Cornell); #14 CJ Composto (Penn); #12 Wyatt Henson (Lockhaven)
#9 KANNON WEBSTER vs. #14 Ethan Fernandez (Cornell); #31 Kelly Dunnigan (Penn); #41 Nick Stonecheck (Lockhaven)
#29 JASON KRAISSER vs. #1 Meyer Shapiro (Cornell); #20 Jude Swisher (Penn); #35 Nick Stampoulos (Lockhaven)
#50 BRAEDEN SCOLES vs. #5 Julian Ramirez (Cornell); #57 Kaya Sement (Penn); #71 Caden Dobbins (Lockhaven)
#13 DANNY BRAUNAGEL vs. #180 Simon Ruiz (Cornell); #10 Nick Incontrera (Penn); #66 Tyler Stoltzfus (Lockhaven)
#5 EDMOND RUTH vs. #7 Chris Foca (Cornell); #31 Maximus Hale (Penn); #57 Colin Fegley (Lockhaven)
#9 ZAC BRAUNAGEL vs. #147 Mikey Dellagatta (Cornell); #36 Martin Cosgrove (Penn); #147 Tucker Hogan (Lockhaven)
#16 LUKE LUFFMAN vs. #36 Ashton Davis (Cornell); #113 Matt Cruise (Penn); #114 Ethan Miller (Lockhaven)
As you can see, a lot of great matchups! Looks like Danny Pucino will have a tough pool, especially if Will Baysingar and Hudson Goebel are in it!
Ramazan Attasauov may have the toughest.
Simon Ruiz and Mikey Dellagatta of Cornell will be better than those rankings, as they just haven't been in the Big Red lineup. Edmond Ruth is 0-2 against Chris Foca, but that was a long time ago. The ILLINI will crown a number of champions at the Classic!
MISSOURI
This was a 6-29 loss for the good guys last year. It was a great show, but a bit of a disaster result. It'll be different this year, as the algorithm calls for a 16-16 tie. There are explosive matchups up and down the card. Who wants to see Zac Braunagel versus Rocky Elam? Sign us up! We remember Danny Braunagel wrestling a completely even match with #1 Keegan O'Toole at the Tiger Style Invite two years ago. O'Toole got the fall late in the third period, but not before he had a little fear put into his heart.
Finally, think back to 2019, specifically November 14 of that year, as true Freshman Luke Luffman toed the line in the dual against Mizzou with the team win hanging in the balance. LUUUUKE came away with the late 9-7 win in his match as the ILLINOIS bench erupted! We could see that take place again, as he'll have #25 Seth Nitzel.
NORTH CAROLINA
The ILLINI will have a return match, presumably in the Tar Heel State, against UNC. It will take place on November 25, just three days before Thanksgiving. You might recall that last year's matchup in Champaign ended with a 20-13 triumph, and an early look at three young faces, Kannon Webster, Braeden Scoles and Chris Moore, with each picking up a win.
There were additional victories from Edmond Ruth, Tony Madrigal and Luke Luffman. Also, AOC was awarded his National Championship ring during intermission.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: There will be folks from ILLINOIS who show up for this match, then go out to eat afterwards. You might think BBQ is a great option. Think again! Most North Carolina BBQ uses a kind of baby diaper mustard sauce. Before ordering, ask them if they have an alternative.]
There will be some fireworks against the Tar Heels despite Wrestlestat.com looking for a 26-6 win for the good guys. The matchups to watch are Kannon Webster against Lachlan McNeil, Edmond Ruth versus Gavin Kane, and Danny Brawlnagel up against Josh Ogunsanya, the ILLINOIS kid who transferred into UNC from Columbia.
| Weight | Matchup | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 125: | Spencer Moore (UNC) dec. Justin Cardani (ILL), 5-2 | ILL 0 I UNC 3 |
| 133: | Tony Madrigal (ILL) major dec. Caden McCray (UNC), 8-0 | ILL 4 I UNC 3 |
| 141: | Lachlan McNeil (UNC) major dec. Danny Pucino (ILL), 8-0 | ILL 4 I UNC 7 |
| 149: | Kannon Webster (ILL) dec. Jayden Scott (UNC), 5-1 | ILL 7 I UNC 7 |
| 157: | Braeden Scoles (ILL) dec. Sonny Santiago (UNC), 4-2 | ILL 10 I UNC 7 |
| 165: | Chris Moore (ILL) dec. Isaias Estrada (UNC), 2-0 | ILL 13 I UNC 7 |
| 174: | Edmond Ruth (ILL) major dec. Sabino Portella (UNC), 10-1 | ILL 17 I UNC 7 |
| 184: | Gavin Kane (UNC) dec. Dylan Connell (ILL), 2-0 | ILL 17 I UNC 10 |
| 197: | Max Shaw (UNC) dec. Isiah Pettigrew (ILL), SV-1 8-5 | ILL 17 I UNC 13 |
| 285: | Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. Cade Lautt (UNC), 8-2 | ILL 20 I UNC 13 |
COUGAR CLASH
Last year, the Cougar Clash was an individual tournament that had about 14 or 15 wrestlers in each bracket. Many teams brought their entire lineups. For example, Minnesota fielded four wrestlers at 197. So, this can be another way to see a lot of the ILLINI lineup in one place!
It will also be a great place and time for the ILLINI to settle any lineup questions. Ruth versus Connell? Pucino versus Baysingar/Goebel? 157? We want to see Braunagel and Pettigrew throw down. Don't you?
Northern Colorado, SIUE and ILLINOIS are the only teams listed at this time, but expect more to come later. The best wrestlers for Northern Colorado are #12 Stevo Poulin at 125, #22 Dominick Serrano at 133 (Lucas majored him already), #3 Andrew Alirez at 141, #15 Vince Zerban at 157 and #33 Clayton Ulrey at 165. The rest of the Bears are ranked in the hundreds.
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