"The thing that sticks out to me is our three seniors who wrestled today," Illinois head coach today. "Not only are they three very good wrestlers, they're also three young men who have tremendous character. It's bittersweet knowing this is the last time they'll wrestle at Huff Hall, but it was good to send them out with a win like this."
With the match starting at 141 pounds, Collin Dozier came out of a scramble with a takedown and three near-fall points with 35 seconds left in the first, finishing the period with a 5-0 lead. Prater chose top in the second period and while he was trying to tilt Dozier, the Spartan gained control and got Prater on his back, pinning the Illini sophomore in 3:24 to give MSU an early 6-0 lead.
Eric Terrazas got a takedown on the edge against David Cheza at 149 with 1:50 left in the first and rode hard for 1:21 before Cheza escaped with 29 seconds left. With no further scoring, Terrazas took a 2-1 lead into the second where Cheza started down. Terrazas continued to ride hard, turning Cheza for a two-point near-fall with 1:20 left then got another tilt with seven seconds left for another two back points before Cheza escaped, giving Terrazas a 6-2 lead after two periods. The pair started neutral in the third and Terrazas got the takedown with 59 seconds and cut Cheza loose with 44 seconds. But Terrazas shot and got an ankle before finishing another takedown on the edge for a 10-3 lead. Terrazas rode him out to get the riding time point and an 11-3 major decision, cutting MSU's lead to 6-4.
At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta countered a shot by Anthony Jones Jr. and turned the corner for the takedown with 49 seconds left. Poeta rode him out for a 2-0 lead after a period. Poeta started down in the second and escaped in three seconds. After a tie-up, Jones Jr. tried to scramble away but Poeta grabbed an ankle and got the takedown for a 5-0 lead with 1:52 of riding time advantage after five minutes. Jones Jr. started down in the third and escaped after Poeta tried to tilt him. Jones Jr. left a leg out and Poeta out-circled him for the takedown before cutting him loose with 1:04 left. Then Poeta overpowered the Spartan sophomore, lifting and planting him on his back for a takedown with 24 seconds left. Poeta rode him out for the 10-2 major decision, pushing Illinois ahead, 8-6.
No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud got in a tie-up with Rex Kendle then picked the Spartan's ankle for the takedown with 2:01 left at 165, but Kendle escaped at 1:16 after a drawn-out attempt for the reversal. With a 2-1 lead after the first period, Smith-Bergsrud started down in the second and gave up a three-point near-fall after nearly escaping off the whistle. After Kendle was allowed to hold Smith-Bergsrud in a near-pin position for most of the period, Kendle rode out the Illini senior and got his three back points for a 4-2 lead. Kendle started down in the third and Smith-Bergsrud cut him loose with 1:10 left after being unable to turn the Spartan. Smith-Bergsrud shot in and got the double-leg with 48 seconds left but Kendle reversed it with 35 seconds left to get a 7-4 lead. He rode out the Illini senior for the victory, giving MSU a 9-8 advantage.
At 174, John Dergo got a leg and secured both ankles but Ian Hinton was able to grab a high crotch to avoid any scoring. But Dergo shot off a restart and got the takedown and rode out Hinton for the 2-0 lead with 1:02 of riding time. Dergo started down in the second and escaped in 15 seconds. After the pair broke a tie-up, Dergo shot in and got both ankles and finished the takedown on the edge for the 5-0 lead after two periods. Hinton started down in the third and Dergo cut him loose 25 seconds into the period. Dergo shot and got an ankle but Hinton held onto an ankle to avoid scoring. Hinton shot off a restart but Dergo fended it off with 29 seconds left. Dergo shot just before the horn sounded but couldn't secure both legs in time, taking the 6-1 win to push Illinois ahead 11-9.
No. 12 Jordan Blanton got in on a leg against Eric Anderson at 184 and scrambled through for 45 seconds before getting the takedown at 1:28 and a three-point near-fall with 1:07 left for a 5-0 lead. Blanton locked in a cradle with 20 seconds left but couldn't turn Anderson, finishing the first period up five points. The pair started neutral in the second and Blanton got the takedown with 55 seconds left just before Anderson took injury time. Hinton escaped off the restart but Blanton got another takedown with 29 seconds left and began working on Anderson on top, turned the Spartan sophomore and stuck him with three seconds left in the period for his team-leading eighth fall of the season in 4:57. That pushed Illinois' lead to 17-9.
At 197, Patrick Bond got a leg and flipped Tyler Dickinson to his back but Dickenson held onto a leg and the bout was stopped for a blood timeout. After no scoring in the first, Bond started down in the second and escaped in eight seconds. Dickenson started down in the third and escaped in 16 seconds to tie the bout at 1. But Bond was able to grab a leg near the edge and finish the takedown with 44 seconds for a 3-1 lead. Dickenson escaped with 31 seconds left and took a shot, but Bond blocked it and circled for the takedown with 20 seconds left to go up 5-2. Dickenson escaped with five seconds left but Bond fended off the late attack for the 5-3 win and a 20-9 lead for the Illini.
Michigan State's Alan O'Donnell was hit with a stalling warning with 20 seconds left in the first period and he finished the first three minutes with No. 8 John Wise scoreless. Wise started down in the second and escaped off the whistle for a 1-0 lead. O'Donnell shot with 50 seconds left but Wise circled behind him, lifted him and dropped him to the mat for the takedown before riding him out for the 3-0 lead after two periods. O'Donnell started down in the third and escaped in 12 seconds to cut Wise's lead to 3-1. Wise was warned for stalling with 40 seconds left but then blocked another shot by O'Donnell, slid behind him and slammed him to the mat for the decisive takedown. After adding the riding time point, Wise took the 6-1 decision that sealed the team victory by putting Illinois ahead, 23-9.
B.J. Futrell stacked up a double-leg on Eric Olanowski at 125 with 2:35 left then turned him on the edge of the mat for a three-point near-fall with 2:08 left. After a restart, Olanowski escaped and took a shot, but Futrell countered it, circled around and planted him for the takedown and a 7-1 lead. Olanowski took injury time after his head hit the mat and after Futrell was unable to turn him, the Illini freshman cut him loose with 34 seconds left in the period. Futrell shot in on a double-leg and finished it with 10 seconds left to take a 9-2 lead after three minutes. Olanowski started down in the second and escaped in eight seconds and eventually worked through a scramble to a takedown with 20 seconds left and rode out Futrell to cut the Illini's lead to 9-5 with 1:44 of riding time after two periods. The pair started neutral in the third and Olanowski blocked a shot by Futrell then spun behind him for the takedown with 18 seconds left to cut the Illini's lead to 9-7. But Futrell held on to win by that score and tack on to Illinois' lead, making it 26-9.
In the day's marquee matchup at 133, No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy got a leg, stepped over and finished the takedown on the edge against No. 6 Franklin Gomez at 133. But Gomez escaped off a restart and shot through a double-leg for a takedown of his own and a 3-2 lead. Kennedy escaped as he went off the edge of the mat to tie the bout at 3 with 23 seconds left in the first and that's where the period ended. Kennedy started down in the second and escaped in 10 seconds for a 4-3 lead. But Gomez shot in on a double-leg and landed it with 20 seconds left then rode out Kennedy for a 5-4 lead with 40 seconds of riding time after two periods. Gomez started down in the third and Kennedy cut him loose off the whistle to give Gomez a 6-4 lead. Kennedy got in on a leg near the edge and Gomez fought him off, but the Illini junior switched to Gomez' other ankle and took him down on the edge to tie the bout at 6. Kennedy cut Gomez loose off the restart and Gomez blocked a shot by Kennedy and circled behind for the takedown. Kennedy escaped with 45 seconds left and blocked a shot by the Spartan with 25 seconds on the clock. Gomez had time to back away from Kennedy's shots and walk out with the 9-7 victory, making the final team score 26-12.
The Fighting Illini have the next week off from competition but will be preparing for the Big Ten Championships on March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa.
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