"I thought our guys did really well," head coach Jim Heffernan said. "We know going into the Lehigh match, it would be very tight. Therefore we knew bonus points were going to be the ultimate factor in winning the dual. The five guys who won their bout demonstrated great effort in trying to earn the extra points."
Bonus points proved to be crucial in the Illini's 22-18 victory over the Mountain Hawks as a pin and four major decisions pushed the Orange and Blue to victory. The dual started at 125 with No. 17 Jesse Delgado earning a 9-1 major decision over Lehigh's Mason Beckman. Third-ranked B.J. Futrell increased the score to 10-0 after his pin of Alex Abreu in a time of 4:42. Sixth-ranked Steve Dutton cut the Illini lead to 10-3 after he defeated Illinois' Tucker Armstrong by a 6-0 decision. Major decisions by No. 10 Eric Terrazas over Kyle Rosser at 149 (10-2) and Jackson Morse over No. 18 Brian Tanen at 157 (9-1) to make the score 18-3. Conrad Polz defaulted by injury against fourth-ranked Brandon Hatchett at 165 to cut the lead to 18-9. Third-ranked Jordan Blanton earned a 17-7 major decision over Nate Brown at 174 while second-ranked Robert Hamlin defeated Illinois' Tony Dallago in a 9-5 decision at 184 to bring the score to 22-12. The Mountain Hawks earned six more points with decisions by ninth-ranked Joe Kennedy over No. 17 Mario Gonzalez at 197 and No. 1 Zach Rey over Illinois' Pat Walker at heavyweight. However, the Illini already had the match in hand and closed out a 22-18 victory.
The Orange and Blue dominated Clarion with Futrell (125) and Blanton (174) opening their bouts with pins of 4:32 and 3:52, respectively to give the Illini an early 12-0 lead. At 125, Delgado posted a 20-3 technical fall over Trey Hicks while Devin Cook defeated Illinois' Tucker Armstrong in a 4-3 decision to make the score 17-3. Terrazas extended the lead with his 16-4 major decision over Cameron Moran at 149. The Golden Eagles cut the score to 17-13 after eighth-ranked James Fleming pinned Illinois' Jackson Morse at 157 and No. 11 Bekzod Abdurakhmanov defeated Kyle Dooley in a 16-4 major decision. The Illini responded with three weights earning victories, starting with Dallago at 184. Dallago beat Steve Cressley with a 10-2 major decision while Mario Gonzalez posted a decision and Walker pinned Quintas McCorkle to make the final score 34-13.
"Of course it's easier to come home and practice after you win," Heffernan said. "Right now we're wrestling well and that will help us going into our next huge dual against Iowa. The Hawkeyes are a great team with great tradition. We're looking forward to it."
The Fighting Illini will have a few weeks off before traveling to Iowa City to compete in their first Big Ten dual against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday, Dec. 2. The dual will be available on BTN.com beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
Illinois 22, Lehigh 18
125 - #17 Jesse Delgado major dec. Mason Beckman 9-1
133 - #3 B.J. Futrell pinned Alex Abreu 4:42
141 - #6 Steve Dutton dec. Tucker Armstrong 6-0
149 - #10 Eric Terrazas major dec. Kyle Rosser 10-2
157 - Jackson Morse major dec. #18 Brian Tanen 9-1
165 - #4 Brandon Hatchett inj. def. Conrad Polz 1:59
174 - #3 Jordan Blanton major dec. Nate Brown 17-7
184 - #2 Robert Hamlin dec. Tony Dallago 9-5
197 - #9 Joe Kennedy dec. #17 Mario Gonzalez 4-2
285 - #1 Zach Rey dec. Pat Walker 2-0
Illinois 34, Clarion 13
133 - #3 B.J. Futrell pinned Joe Waltko 4:32
174 - #3 Jordan Blanton pinned Ryan Darch 3:52
125 - #17 Jesse Delgado tech fall Trey Hicks 20-3, 4:29
141 - Devin Cook dec. Tucker Armstrong 4-3
149 - #10 Eric Terrazas major dec. Cameron Moran 16-4
157 - #8 James Fleming pinned Jackson Morse 4:21
165 - #11 Bekzod Abdurakhmanov major dec. Kyle Dooley 16-4
184 - Tony Dallago major dec. Steve Cressley 10-2
197 - #17 Mario Gonzalez dec. Alex Thomas 12-7
285 - Pat Walker pinned Quintas McCorkle 4:05
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