ILLINI WRESTLE-OFFS
Here are the approximate scores of the wrestle-off matches held on October 24:
133 Anthony "Joey" Ruzic D Brian Beers (4-3)
133 Lucas Byrd MD Brian Beers (15-3)
133 Lucas Byrd TF Anthony "Joey" Ruzic (19-4)
149 Jake Harrier D Hudson Goebel (6-4)
149 Kannon Webster MD Jake Harrier (10-2)
157 Logan Swaw D Charlie Fifield (7-3)
157 Antonio Alvarado WBF Tegan Chumbley
157 Jason Kraisser WBF Logan Swaw
157 Jason Kraisser WBF Antonio Alvarado
165 Braeden Scoles TF Caden Ernd (19-4)
165 Braeden Scoles MD Chris Moore (16-5)
174 Danny Braunagel MD Cooper Wettig (16-4)
184 Edmond Ruth D Dylan Connell (4-1; SV)
197 Zac Braunagel TF Isiah Pettigrew (25-9)
285 Peter Marinopoulos MD Marko Ivanisevic (19-7)
285 Luke Luffman TF Marko Ivanisevic (16-1)
There are videos posted of wrestle-off matches. They wrestled on two mats, and there are two videos. This video is from Mat 1:
There is no scoreboard, no sound, and we're not sure that we even identified all of the wrestlers correctly. Please add corrections in the comments. Riding time was earned by a number of wrestlers, but there was no clock, so we won't award it in the match descriptions below. We believe that the matches went like this:
MAT ONE
Lucas Byrd MD Brian Beers (15-3)
It seems that Byrd is the Wyrd spent the medical redshirt season at various Champaign-Urbana tattoo parlors. Each tattoo will need to be described to us in detail, as well as the inspiration for it. Lucas hit the front head position often, tried drags, heel picks, and go-behinds. He seemed to wrestle with a lot more leg in on top, and he even used that to turn. Beers got his points on escapes, although he was in deep on one takedown that got stalled out by referee IMAR after about 25 seconds.
Logan Swaw dec. Charlie Fifield (7-2)
We picked out Swaw immediately because of his Amish beard. We think his opponent was Charlie Fifield, who has moved up from 149 to 157 this season. Fifield has been working hard on his body. Swaw entered college as a specimen. It was 3-2 Swaw late in the match, and he sealed it with a quick escape, and then a quick double-leg that turned into a crazy scramble for 30 seconds with Logan finally swimming over to grab the leg off his shoulder and finish the takedown.
That was a fun scramble!
IN THE CROWD
You can spot Coaches Medlin and Hunter watching Mat 1, with IMAR reffing. Zane Richards is working out, and so is Ermak Kardanov. Bekhbayar Erdenbat was also there. Both Kardanov and Erdenbat are running the Suplex Club in town. Coach Poeta dropped in on both mats. We saw AOC early in the video, then lost him. We found him later evaluating Mat 2. Christian Kanzler was the ref for that mat. Jesse Delgado was also in the house that he helped to build.
Antonio Alvarado wbf Tegan Chumbley
We have little confidence that we identified the wrestlers correctly, but the person we think was Alvarado came out on fire. He quickly hit a fireman's dump right to put his opponent on his back and got the fall.
Ramazan Attasauov dec. Caelan Riley (8-1)
Don't let that score deceive you. In our opinion, Caelan Riley won the first five minutes of that match. These guys are both VERY TALL for 125, and Ramazan has a little more meat on his bones than Riley. It may take some time for the Russian to get completely acclimated to 125. He's been wrestling 133 for the last 5 or 6 years.
Caelan Riley had the only strong takedown attempt in the first period with a single and a vicious throwdown that was very close to three. He didn't cover quick enough, so the period ended 0-0. The pair traded escapes, and early in the third period, Caelan attempted a Fireman's but didn't have his arm through the crotch so he just heaved Ramazan over his shoulders. Unfortunately for Riley, Ramazan landed on his knees facing Caelan and the ensuing scramble had Attasauov come out on top with the takedown and four back points. After Caelan got to his belly, Ramazan went for the bow and arrow, but time ran out.
Danny Braunagel major dec. Cooper Wettig (16-4)
The Brawlnagel went through underhooks, 2-on-1's, double unders and so on in the first :20 seconds of the match. Then used an underhook throwby to get to the single, a dump and three points. Cooper escaped. He's a long drink of water. Another single from a drag to a fleeting Merkle position and three points. Period ends 6-1.
Coop escapes in the second. Danny gets another single, shin whizzer defense, but little Brawny limp arms out for three. 9-2. An escape and takedown in the third makes it 13-2. After that, Braunagel got bold with the turns, did get his two back points, but Wettig also earned a reversal. A quick escape and the match ended 16-4. There was certainly riding time, but no clock to measure it!
Braeden Scoles TF Caden Ernd (19-4)
This is a battle of two really tough guys. Ernd is listed at 165 on the roster and on Wrestlestat.com, but he has started in the lineup at higher weights when needed. Scoles was a Who's #1 and Top 30 recruit who redshirted last year and was used in a limited fashion because of injury. The match started with a tough limp-arm throw by for three for Braeden. He then rode with a leg in for about :20 and then released Ernd. Caden likes the hard IMAR-style underhook and keeps throwing it in. (Is he trying to curry favor with the ref of the match?).
Scoles with a serious ankle grab for three. Rides out the rest of the first period with a leg in or a figure four. 6-1. Braeden releases Ernd early in the second. After another attempted ankle grab, we have a :30 mad scramble. Good stuff! Scoles comes out on top, now 9-2. The Wisconsin 4-timer gets out quickly in the third, but not before Ernd almost locked up a cradle. 10-2. Scoles does a throw by and release, another and another. 19-4, match over. We know that Caden Ernd is a quality, quality wrestler, so this is a big showing for Scoles.
Luke Luffman TF Marko Ivanisevic ~ 15 to 17 - 1
It was good to see the true freshman trying to push Luke around at the beginning of the match. The veteran will need that to reach his goals this year. We saw a quicker Luffman in this match, quicker than we've ever seen. He started off with two low singles, the second one worked, and then the big guy immediately threw in a leg. He went to a bow and arrow and a figure four. The ILLINI are becoming leg riders!
The bow and arrow came close, but it was the figure four and hip over that scored 4 back points. End of first period, 7-0 LUUUUKE. In the second, Luke escaped quickly, and after a shot by Marko, did the whole spin-behind thing for a 10-0 lead. In the third period, Luke put in a leg again, but this time Ivanisevic escaped quickly. It was the rookie who took the first two shots in the final period. The second one was pretty good, but Luke still managed to spin behind for three. 13-1. Again, Luke used the figure four and a hip over for back points. It looked like IMAR gave him four, but it was more like two, maybe. LOL!
Great to see Luuuuke look so good. Also, we were happy to see Marko put up a glorious fight in a losing cause. He did try two low single takedowns in the third period. It was also interesting to see how much these guys sweat. It's like Ermak Kardanov the morning after he ate a 17,000 calorie dessert that looked fabulous on Instagram.
Zac Braunagel TF Isiah Pettigrew (25-9)
Oh my! This really happened! And we got to see it! Okay, no more exclamation marks, but we were excited that this was happening. Besides Connell versus Ruth, which is going on right now on Mat 2, and the Pucino/Baysingar bout, this is top billing.
BAM! The match starts off with a huge Pettigrew double for three. Zac with the quick escape. Isiah tries to reach too far for one of his patented ankle grabs, so the Brawlnagel down blocks and goes behind for the 4-3 lead. Zac rides tough with the figure four (leg riding!) and then uses the bar arm to roll him over for four. 8-3. We counted two quick high crotch fakes before Brawny pulled the trigger and hit the high crotch for three. 11-3.
In the third, Zac hits the sit out and escapes. 12-3. Fiendishly slick duck under from Pettigrew for three. 12-6. Isiah releases him. 13-6. Head outside single from Zac, but they stop it close to the wall. Did IMAR award the takedown? We don't know, but Isiah starts from the bottom. Pettigrew escapes, and after Zac shoots, almost gets behind the Belleville product. A desperation double from Isiah leads to a go behind three for Big Brawny. 16-7? From here, Pettigrew tried three desperation shots, gave up three takedowns and got two escapes. 25-9 final? This weight is going to be very strong for the ILLINI!
Jason Kraisser WBF Logan Swaw
The action starts with a head outside single attempt from Logan with Kraisser rolling through to a "Delgado position." IMAR stalemated them after a time. Jason goes for the 2-on-1, but Swaw answers that with a front headlock, which, in turn, was answered by Kraisser with a kind of high crotch dump that put Swaw on his back. He just needed a reverse half, which he eventually found, to seal the deal.
Braeden Scoles major dec. Chris Moore (16-5)
Holy ****! Now we have Scoles and Moore on the mat! More exclamation points! We thought Chris was gonna take his redshirt this year. Maybe, maybe not? The match starts off with a strong double for three for Moore. Escape Braeden The Relentless Training Center product tries another double and almost gets it ... until Scoles rolls him up in a cradle. Now, 8-3 for the Wisky four-timer.
Scoles escapes in the second, and they both trade near takedowns on the edge of the mat. Moore sits out in the third for his escape. 9-4. Moore shoots a double, but Scoles locks up another cradle. Man, that is some kind of weapon! After releasing Chris, the score is 16-5. And that's how it ends. The ILLINI have a cupboard full at 165, and Braeden Scoles is going to surprise a lot of people this year, especially his opponents and the rankers.
MAT TWO
Jake Harrier 6-4 Hudson Goebel
Jake got a throw-by takedown in the first period for three. Hudson with the escape. The period ended 3-1. It was Goebel with the quick escape in period two, then he tried a fancy spin around misdirection takedown, but Harrier capitalized. After Hudson's escape, it was 6-3.
Goebel started on bottom again in the third for unknown reasons, and he escaped quickly. Most of the rest of the period involved him trying to pull in a Harrier single leg unsuccessfully.
Jake Harrier is listed at 149 on both Wrestlestat.com and the official roster, and likewise, Hudson Goebel is listed at 141. Was this just for specific training purposes? Harrier looked much bigger and seemed stronger.
Peter Marinopoulos 19-7 Marko Ivanisevic
It looks like this is a preview of next year's lineup battle at 285. Marinopoulos was already a specimen, but he's added muscle and weight. Ivanisevic is deceptively quick for his size, but after a re-shot from Peter found an ankle and Marko pulled away, Marinopoulos was still quick enough to track down and cover for the takedown.
Peter rode with a leg in for about :25, got into a spot of trouble and released Marko. (The ILLINI are leg riders!). Marinopoulos with a knee pull that he closed in on quickly to put Ivanisevic off balance and tree-topped him for three more. 6-1. An escape made it 6-2, but after a failed double-leg attempt, Peter spun behind for three more. 9-2. An escape and then another one to start the second saw it 9-4. A single for Marinopoulos was converted to a double and a takedown on the edge for a 12-4 lead.
Release, spin behind takedown, release and another attempted (time ran out on the period) single made it 15-6. Are these really heavyweights working this hard? Escape to start the third for Peter, then a converted single saw the score rise to 19-6. A release, and a couple of single attempts (with leg in hand) from Ivanisevic told us that between these two, the ILLINI have heavyweights for the future.
Anthony "Joey" Ruzic 4-3 Brian Beers
Ruzic on the board first with a head inside single that he quickly finishes. Anthony rides out the first period with a tight waist. Only a Beers escape in the second. 3-1. Brian released Ruzic in the third to go for the tying takedown but didn't get it.
Kannon Webster major dec. Jake Harrier (10-2)
This was a one-point match last year. Early in the first period, Kannon hit a low double for three, a release and then an ankle pick led to a 6-1 score as the first period ended. After an escape in the second from a pretty tough Harrier ride, Kannon hit a head inside single for three more. 10-1. Jake escapes and they hand fight until the end of the match.
Jason Kraisser WBF Antonio Alvarado
Kraisser attempts a go behind but Alvarado catches him and uses a head-in-the-hole to come up with the takedown. After an escape by Jason, he went on to hit a go-behind for three of his own. In the second period, Kraisser got another escape then right before time ran out, hit a lunging ankle grab and scored some back points. 11-3.
In the third, Antonio chose neutral, which a lot of Kraisser's opponents will do during the season. Alvarado dove at a leg, and they ended up in the Delgado position. Jason elevated and got the takedown. 14-3. An chicken wing and a half nelson led to the pin.
Antonio Alvarado is a live wire, and he can be a really good D1 wrestler some day, and like Logan Swaw, I hope they soak up all of the mat skills that Jason Kraisser can offer in practice.
Edmond Ruth 4-1 SV Dylan Connell
Here we GO! This is the match of the day. National Qualifier versus All American. If you watch the video, you'll see that Edmond Ruth has gained some real size. They look evenly matched in size, and Dylan Connell has grown into a man's body. He's a little taller than Edmond as well.
The first couple of minutes were mostly collar ties, although Edmond did try to sneak in a couple of underhooks. (We think he does that in the first period to hoodwink his opponents, "These underhooks? They don't mean a thing. Nothing for you to worry about.").
The first period ended 0-0. They kept referee Christian Kanzler off their backs with a bunch of fakes and half shots. In the second, Connell chose down, and he was out in about :03. That's interesting given that Edmond rode Rocco Welsh for two minutes in the dual.
After the quick escape, another :20 of collar ties before they both take serious shots. No blood spilled. In the third, Edmond is out in about :02, giving us a 1-1 score. Late in the third, Ruth tries a deep shot and moves right up to his underhooks. Dylan was waiting and catches one of his arms in a 2-on-1. These guys have wrestled each other before!
We go to Sudden Victory. At the very end of SV, Edmond finally gets his double unders, moves behind Dylan and begins to take him down.
Connell tries the same roll that Rocco Welsh tried at the Big Ten Championships. Like Welsh, his was unsuccessful, but he made it last longer than the Buckeye finalist as there was some doubt.
Huge amounts of respect in that match. GREAT ONE! VERY TENSE!
Lucas Byrd TF Anthony "Joey" Ruzic (19-4)
Before watching this match, we just want to say that Ruzic has probably been hammered by Byrd in practice a lot. But this will be a good lesson in wrestling a 2x AA in a meaningful match. Let's Go!
Credit for Joey coming out gamely, but, man, we don't even know the name of what Lucas did for the opening takedown. Kind of brute-forced him down with a semi-headlock and some voodoo? Lucas didn't take it easy on the rook after that, going for a bow and arrow. No points but it musta hurt.
Ruzic escapes, then a Byrd special ankle pick. The period ends 6-1. Lucas releases him in the second. 6-2, and we get a master class in Greco holds for a minute. They're both experts. Then, Byrd is the Wyrd with a Merkle. Make it 9-2. In the third, Joey wisely releases him. (Lucas frequently gets a reversal there.). 10-2.
Ruzic tries a fake shot to the side, but Lucas chases him down for three. It was like the way he chased down that Hawkeye in the dual if you remember that one. He releases him. 13-3. Another ankle pick and release. 16-4. A swing single ends the match. Tough lesson for the rookie!
Luke Luffman major dec. Peter Marinopoulos (10-2)
Luuuke was trying the double unders and footsweeps but Peter must have seen them in practice and stayed away. Eventually, the Pride of Urbana used an underhook shrug-by to get a leg and tree-topped him down right at the end of the first period. 3-0. Marinopoulos escapes early in the second. Late in the period Luffman hit one of those sliding/diving to the far ankle shots that Danny Pucino and Isiah Pettigrew used last season. So quick. So beautiful. 6-1.
Luke escapes in the third and then hits an ankle pick for three. 10-1. Peter escapes making it 10-2. The last :15 of the match has one of the best big man scrambles I've ever seen. Both of these guys are somehow lightening quick, and I wish time wasn't called so we could've seen it play out.
Great write-up Chief, I'm beyond excited for the season this year. Can't wait ILL
ReplyDeleteHuff, we are BOTH excited! And INI to you!
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