ILLINIWrestlingBlog

A couple of responses to some of y'all's earlier posts: Keegan O'Toole seems to have a lot of tough matches until they aren't. I think he did a look-away ankle pick yesterday. Kind of like an NBA point guard. The Braunagels have a nice wrestling family, but they're no Mattins or Lamerses. I still get them mixed up. The ILLINI were without wrestlers at 125 and 141 with injuries to Maximo Renteria, Justin Cardani and Danny Pucino. The fellow who won the 125 bracket at Tiger Style finished fourth in the Cali state championships as a 120 pound Senior. Maximo won that bracket as a 120 pound Sophomore. Injuries suck. Edmond Ruth did all that. Two tournaments and one 1-3 loss to Ethan Smith. Missouri was impressive. Fun tournament! More of these, please.

I'm looking forward to the 197 bracket with Rocky Elam, Bernie Truax and Zac Braunagel. Michael O'Malley, Peyton Mocco and Edmond Ruth at 174. Lucas Byrd ragdolling everyone at 133 because he's pissed off, the 165 semis, and Brock Mauller versus Kevin Davenport. Cheers!

Recovering from surgery. Should be available later in the season. I've seen him at practice (don't know how much the doctors are still limiting him), but hopefully he'll be back soon. Cheers!

No brackets, just a list of entrants from Flo. Cheers!

Wanted to see what folks have to say about tomorrow's event, what people think of the Maryland wrestling wear, and provide some ILLINI info. First, ILLINI starters Maximo Renteria (125) and Danny Pucino are out. They suffered injuries at the MSU Open. Second, Maryland? Are they still wearing those outfits that look like something you'd see the sorority sisters wearing at a ΚΔ slumber party? Third, looks like the 165, 174, 149 and 197 brackets will be super solid. Cal Poly is pretty solid. Are there as many Lamers as there are Mattins? I hate Mizzou, but they're super solid. Clear the mats!

Brawlnagel beating Hoffman. Zac was dwarfed by some of his opponents on Saturday, but he's quick and a great scrambler. Byrd losing to Mendez. Lucas had a worse loss at last year's MSU Open. He'll study it, science it, and get better. Kudos to Mendez. Kannon Webster over Cayden Rooks. ILLINI recruit Webster beat National Qualifier and four-year starter to win the Maryville Open.

Here's my total ILLINI homer preview of 125 to 157. I only discuss top fifty wrestlestat.com rated wrestlers. I'm a ranking snob. Here's 165 to 285. This tournament was the tits last year. You get the starters, reserves and true freshmen. Nonstop action. Don't **** it up, Flo. Cheers!

The ILLINI have dark horses and some folks who are completely off the radar who could show up. The MSU Open on Saturday will be a coming out party for super young or new ILLINOIS wrestlers. Can't wait to see how they do. At 125, Maximo Renteria would've been a four-time Cali champ but for Covid cancelling his Senior year. Ironically, I believe it was Covid that screwed up his redshirt season leaving him with a terrible record. You could see the Covid hit him in the second period of his second match at last year's MSU Open. Poor fella gassed right off. He forfeited out of the tournament. In high school, besides the state championships, he ragdolled Dylan Ragusin and beat a four-time Mizzou state champ. With Cardani out or limited at the start of the season, we will see a lot of Maximo. I think he could be very good. At 141, Danny Pucino's been around for a bit, but hasn't started because of Carr and Duncan. In the free season two years ago, he did beat Dylan D'Emilio and the Wisconsin starter in duals when Duncan was out. He also beat Frankie Tal-Shahar in an extra match pretty handily. His toughest competition at the MSU Open looks to be D'Emilio, Jordan Decatur and Frankie Tal-Shahar--again ironically--and it could be a coming out party for him. He'd have to beat two of those guys, barring upsets, and that would place him as an obvious AA threat. On another note, he's wrestled for the Italian freestyle team at age group and Senior-level tournaments. He's fun, dangerous and exciting to watch. Four years left on his clock, too. At 149, Kevon Davenport was a four-time Michigan state champ. He transferred from Nebraska stuck behind Ridge Lovett. I have no idea how he'll do this year, but he's beaten Dean Heil in freestyle, and he had a pretty good redshirt year with the stupid Cornhuskers. The good news for the ILLINI is that if he falters, there are a couple of other transfer guys who could make noise at the weight: Jake Harrier and Anthony Federico. Whoever wins the spot, I think, is gonna be a threat to AA. At 174 and 184, there are Edmond Ruth and Dylan Connell. Ruth seems to be enjoying life as an ILLINI, and who knows how good he can be. He entered two opens last year unattached and won them both. He'll have Demetrius Romero and Ethan Smith at the MSU Open, as well as some mid-level talent, so we'll get to see how far he's progressed. Again, the ILLINI have two guys waiting in the wings at this weight (Sizemore and Ernd). Connell was a four-time ILLINOIS state champ, total old school tough wrestler, rides hard, and had a very nice 25-6 record as a true freshman redshirt. He's a baby face and may need some adjustment time, but down the road....

Viratas! Great to read you! Back in the olden times, when men were men, and real men sprawled to avoid a leg attack, I left themat.com forum to head over to theopenmat.com. At that time, I think my username was ChiefILLINI or something like that. Anyway, it is always good to read your expert opinions, although it really sucked to lose bets on ILLINI/Gopher football games. My God I hate the Gophers. In any event, good to see a new board up--Cheers to Willie--and I hope you hang out here when you can.