"We've been wrestling well the last few times out and we continued that tonight," Illinois head coach Mark Johnson said. "We challenged our guys and they have responded really well in our last four duals."
After a scoreless first period at 125, No. 5 Angel Escobedo started down in the second against B.J. Futrell. Escobedo was awarded a point when the referee called Futrell for fleeing the mat and Escobedo escaped in 30 seconds. Off a neutral restart, Futrell got in on a leg but Escobedo fought him off. Futrell started down in the third, trailing 2-0, and nearly escaped twice off different restarts, but Escobedo maintained control and locked up the riding time point, riding Futrell out for the 3-0 decision.
At 133, No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy nailed a double-leg takedown on Matt Ortega 50 seconds into the bout. Kennedy planted him on his back on the takedown, nearly getting back points, but Ortega flattened out. The Hoosier escaped with 1:25 left in the period and Kennedy executed a smooth throw-by takedown with 1:12 left for a 4-1 lead. Kennedy cut Ortega loose off a restart and countered a shot by the Hoosier for the takedown. After cutting Ortega loose, Kennedy shot off another restart and got the double-leg for a takedown and an 8-3 lead with 1:22 of riding time after the first. Ortega started down in the second and Kennedy cut him loose. Ortega was warned for stalling with 1:24 left, but Kennedy blocked a shot by the Hoosier, turned him for the takedown and Ortega escaped to give Kennedy a 10-5 lead at the end of the period. Kennedy started down in the third and escaped with just over a minute left, then was awarded a point for stalling at the one-minute mark when Ortega bailed out on a Kennedy shot. Kennedy finished the takedown for a 15-5 major decision after riding time, giving the Illini a 4-3 win.
Ryan Prater and Andrae Hernandez got into a scramble with 40 seconds left that lasted the rest of the period, but neither man was able to score. Hernandez started down in the second and Prater immediately turned him for a two-point near-fall. But Hernandez slipped out of his hold off a restart and flipped over for a reversal to tie it at 2. The pair battled to the edge of the mat where Prater was able to free his leg for the escape and a 3-2 lead with 20 seconds left. After no further scoring, Prater started down in the third and quickly escaped for the 4-2 lead. Prater worked Hernandez's head for much of the period, then tossed it by and grabbed both ankles for the takedown. Off a restart, Prater got a fast tilt for two more back points and an 8-2 win, pushing Illinois up 7-3.
Eric Terrazas and Nick Walpole battled through a scoreless first period and Terrazas started down in the second. Walpole worked hard to turn the Illini freshman, but Terrazas fended him off. Walpole rode him out then started down in the third and escaped in 13 seconds for the 1-0 lead. Terrazas got a leg on the edge of the mat with one minute left, but Walpole fended him off and eventually turned the corner for the takedown. Walpole rode him out for the 4-0 win that cut Illinois' lead to 7-6.
At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta tossed Kurt Kinser by him on the edge of the mat and looked to get the takedown, but Kinser fought out of it and got the stalemate. After Kinser blocked another shot, Poeta put together a nice reshot and got behind him for the takedown. Off a restart, Poeta was looking for the tilt, but Kinser slipped out and got a leg for the reversal. Poeta quickly went out the back door for a 3-2 lead then dropped from Kinser's head to his ankles for the double-leg takedown and rode him out for a 5-2 lead after a period. Poeta started down in the second and escaped in two seconds. From a tie-up position, Poeta dropped to an ankle for a single-leg takedown and rode him out for the 8-2 lead with 1:01 of riding time after two periods. Kinser started down in the third and Poeta let him loose after he wasn't able to get a tilt. Kinser continued to block Poeta's shots without putting forth much offense himself and Poeta nearly landed a double-leg late, but Kinser fought it off as Poeta took the 9-3 decision.
No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud shot off the whistle against Paul Young and connected with a double-leg takedown right off the start. Young escaped with 2:16 left and got Smith-Bergsrud's leg with 1:20, but the Illini senior scrambled through and got the takedown for a 4-1 lead. Young escaped with 40 seconds left, making the score 4-2 after a period. Young started down in the second and quickly escaped, but Smith-Bergsrud shot in and got both ankles for a takedown on the edge of the mat. Young escaped off a restart to make it 6-4 in the Illini's favor, but Young got a leg and tripped Smith-Bergsrud for the tying takedown at the end of the period. With Smith-Bergsrud holding 1:15 of riding time after two periods, he started down in the third and quickly escaped for a 7-6 lead. After blocking a shot by Young, Smith-Bergsrud got an ankle and finished the takedown on the edge to extend his lead to 9-6. Young escaped with 35 seconds left, but the Illini veteran shot in on a double-leg and planted Young for the finishing takedown, then added riding time for the 12-7 win that extended Illinois' advantage to 13-6.
At 174, John Dergo and No. 15 Trevor Perry traded shots for the first three minutes of the bout without scoring and Dergo started down in the second. He escaped in just a few seconds and quickly got in on a leg. After some last-gasp defense by Perry, Dergo finished it for a takedown, but Perry escaped 18 seconds later. Perry was warned for stalling on a Dergo shot with 30 seconds left, but neither scored the rest of the period. Perry started down in the third and escaped quickly, making it 3-2 in Dergo's favor. But Dergo got in on a leg with 1:05 left and finished the takedown for a 5-2 margin. Dergo added the riding time point for a 6-2 win that pushed the Illini ahead 16-6.
No. 12 Jordan Blanton got a leg with 1:45 left in the first against Eric Cameron, lifted it and finished the takedown on the edge with 1:36 remaining. Cameron escaped with 1:10 left and was hit with a stalling warning with 10 seconds left in the period. The lanky Hoosier started down in the second and escaped in 15 seconds to tie the bout at 2. Cameron was hit with a stalling point but was able to work behind Blanton and eventually take him down for the 4-3 lead on a re-shot. Off a restart, Cameron went down to a leg and Blanton was able to jerk it out and escape with two seconds left to tie the bout at 4. Blanton started down in the third and escaped in 15 seconds to go up 5-4. After a series of tie-ups, Cameron tried a slide-by takedown and got a leg, but the Illini rookie blocked it and held on for the 5-4 win that sealed the team victory at 19-6.
At 197, Patrick Bond blocked a shot by Matt Powless late in the first and turned the corner for the takedown before riding out the Hoosier. Bond started down in the second and scrambled around, getting a reversal on the edge of the mat before Powless escaped with 1:15 left. Powless got in on a leg after a restart and scored the takedown to get within 4-3, but Bond escaped and the period ended with no further scoring. Powless started down in the third and escaped with 1:37 left to make it 5-4 in Bond's favor. The Illini was warned for stalling but countered a weak shot by Powless with a takedown. An escape by the Hoosier made it 7-5 and Powless got a point when Bond was called for stalling, but he held on for the 7-6 win that improved Illinois' lead to 22-6.
No. 9 John Wise got a leg on Nate Everhart at heavyweight and quickly finished the takedown with 1:37 left in the first. Wise kept looking for the tilt as he rode Everhart hard, but the Hoosier escaped off a restart with 30 seconds left to make it 2-1 after three minutes. Everhart started down in the second and escaped with 1:15 left to tie the bout at 2. After no further scoring, Wise started down in the second and escaped in nine seconds for a 3-2 lead with 1:39 of riding time. The Illini was hit with a stalling warning and later Everhart shot but Wise caught him halfway through and reversed his field with a fierce double-leg takedown. Everhart escaped with 1:10 left to make it 5-3 with Wise holding two minutes of riding time advantage. Everhart shot and got in shallow on a double-leg, but Wise blocked it and turned the corner for a takedown. Everhart escaped, but it was too little, too late as Wise walked away with the 8-4 decision and Illinois finished off the Hoosiers, 25-6.
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