“He had an unbelievable tournament,” Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. “He beat three two-time All-Americans in a row, so it was awesome. A lot of times last year, he saw what he was supposed to do and he was a half-step behind. But he’s going full-speed now. There’s no holding back. He’s going as hard as he can every time he wrestles.”
Dergo had the most exciting run of the Illini on Wednesday, avenging a loss earlier in the season with a 3-2 win over top-ranked and top-seeded Max Askren (Missouri) in the semifinals to set up a title bout with American’s second-ranked and second-seeded Mike Cannon. Dergo trailed Cannon 8-6 late in the bout but scored a takedown and Cannon was called for a technical violation, giving Dergo a 9-8 lead. Cannon earned a point for the riding-time advantage, tying the bout and sending it to sudden-victory overtime. Dergo stayed aggressive, recording a takedown to win the match and the championship. In the tournament, Dergo defeated Askren, Cannon and Harvard’s fourth-seeded Louis Caputo all for the first time in his career.
Kennedy won his third career bout against Iowa’s fourth-seeded Joey Slaton in the semifinals, 6-5, but fell behind early in his championship bout against Maryland’s 10th-ranked and third-seeded Alex Krom and dropped a 9-2 decision to finish second.
Prater was one of the bigger surprises of the tournament, reaching the semifinals against Krom before being pinned by the Terrapin. Prater dropped a tight 4-3 bout to Hofstra’s eighth-seeded Lou Ruggirello but rebounded by pinning Iowa’s ninth-seeded Montell Marion in 2:24 to earn fifth place.
After Bond dropped his quarterfinal bout on Tuesday, he responded by winning a pair of consolation bouts to stay alive. He began Wednesday by knocking off Purdue’s 12th-ranked and seventh-seeded Logan Brown, 5-3, in the round of 12 to ensure a placing finish. Bond kept rolling with an 8-5 win over No. 11 and sixth-seeded Brent Haynes (Missouri), avenging a dual loss earlier in the season, but dropped a 6-2 match to Iowa’s No. 9 and fifth-seeded Chad Beatty in the consolation semifinals. That set up a fifth-place match with second-seeded and third-ranked Hudson Taylor (Maryland), which Taylor took by fall in 3:55, giving Bond a sixth-place finish.
The Illini return to action on Jan. 8 when they host SIUE at Huff Hall at 7 p.m.
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