"I think we wrestled pretty well," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "We were offensive, got going early and scored some early points. We had some good wins this weekend as Brooks avenged a loss at heavyweight from earlier in the year and Jeff beat two really good guys. Jackson lost today but closed the gap considerably from the first time those two wrestled, so he did pretty well."
The match began at 133 pounds with No. 3 Zane Richards earning a 19-8 major decision over Alonzo Shepherd. Richards took a 4-1 lead after the first period and expanded his lead to 12-5 in the second. With the win, Richards improves to 17-1 on the season.
At 141 pounds, Illinois got another big win as No. 16 Steven Rodrigues beat Sean Brown, 24-9. Rodrigues held a 4-2 lead after one period before amassing a 15-5 lead through the second period. The win gives Rodrigues a 9-4 record and gave the Illini a 8-0 lead. Due to not scoring any back points, the win only counted for four points in the team score.
Kyle Langenderfer improved to 13-6 with a 7-2 decision over Trevor Moody at 149 pounds. Langenderfer led 2-0 through one period and 6-1 after two, before holding off Moody in third.
At 157 pounds, No. 4 Isaiah Martinez continued his dominant season, earning a 27-11 victory over Alex Gregory to improve to 18-0 on the season. After a slow start to the match, Martinez blew the doors off the bout in the second period en route to his fifth technical fall win of the season. Much like Rodrigues' match, Martinez did not score any back points so the win only counted for four team points, giving Illinois a 15-0 advantage.
In the marquee match of the day, No. 8 Jackson Morse took on No. 4 Taylor Walsh in a rematch of a bout from the Midlands Championships won by Walsh. After a scoreless first period, Morse took a 2-0 lead with a second-period takedown. Walsh tied the match with a pair of escapes, before sealing a 4-2 win with a late takedown.
No. 6 Zac Brunson got the Illini back on track with a 9-5 decision over No. 15 Nate Jackson at 174 pounds. The victory gives Brunson a mark of 18-1 on the year and gave the Illini an 18-3 lead over the Hoosiers.
At 184 pounds, No. 14 Nikko Reyes made quick work of Jake Masengale, pinning him in just 14 seconds. The pin was Reyes' sixth of the season and the fastest produced by an Illinois wrestler this season. He is now 17-5 on the season.
The next two weight classes produced close wins by Illini grapplers. At 197 pounds, Jeff Koepke improved to 14-6 with a 3-1 decision over Luke Sheridan, while Brooks Black upped his season win total to 11 with a 2-1 overtime win against Garrett Goldman at heavyweight.
Indiana forfeited the 125-pound bout, giving Dominic Olivieri the win and ending a dominating afternoon for Illinois.
The Illini will be on the road next in what is arguably the most difficult weekend of competition any team in the country will face this season. Illinois will travel to Iowa on Friday, Jan. 16 before heading to Minnesota on Sunday, Jan. 18. The Hawkeyes and the Gophers are tied for first in the latest W.I.N. Magazine rankings. The dual with Iowa will begin at 7 p.m., while the battle with Minnesota starts at 1 p.m.
"Next weekend is going to be a tough weekend and we know that," Heffernan explained. "We need to make sure we recover a little bit and get ready to compete because Iowa and Minnesota are two great teams. This is why the Big Ten conference is the best, because we have to wrestle teams like that back-to-back and they've got the type of guys you will have to beat back-to-back at the national tournament. These matches will have great atmospheres and we are all looking forward to it."
Results:
133: #3 Zane Richards (ILL) over Alonzo Shepherd (IU) (MD 19-8)
141: #16 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) over Sean Brown (IU) (TF 24-9)
149: Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) over Trevor Moody (Dec 7-2)
157: #4 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) over Alex Gregory (IU) (TF 27-11)
165: #5 Taylor Walsh (IU) over #8 Jackson Morse (ILL) (Dec 4-2)
174: #6 Zac Brunson (ILL) over #15 Nate Jackson (IU) (Dec 9-5)
184: #14 Nikko Reyes (ILL) over Jake Masengale (IU) (Fall 0:14)
197: Jeff Koepke (ILL) over Luke Sheridan (IU) (Dec 4-2)
285: Brooks Black (ILL) over Garrett Goldman (IU) (TB-1 2-1)
125: Dominic Olivieri (ILL) won by forfeit
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