No. 15 Ryan Prater earned his 20th win of the season, giving Illinois seven 20-win wrestlers for the season. No. 8 Gabe Flores (125) also set a new career high with his 22nd win of the year.
"This is one of those matches that scares you as a coach," Illini head coach Mark Johnson said. "But our guys came out and performed well tonight."
Starting at 125, No. 8 Gabe Flores bolted out to an early 8-0 lead after the first period with a takedown and a pair of three-point near-falls. In the second period, he got two more takedowns while allowing only a pair of escape points for a 12-2 lead. Starting down in the third period, Flores worked his way out with a reversal with 30 seconds left then gave up an escape. With nearly two minutes of riding time, Flores earned the major decision with a 15-3 margin.
No. 7 Jimmy Kennedy then started fast against Sean Schmaltz at 133, notching two takedowns and a three-point near-fall before riding Schmaltz the rest of the period for a 7-1 lead with 2:16 of riding time after one period. Kennedy started down in the second and quickly got an escape, then got a stalling point for a 9-1 lead after two periods. Schmaltz started down in the third and was called for stalling once again, pushing Kennedy's lead to 10-1. With the riding time advantage point, Kennedy scored an 11-1 major decision, making Illinois' lead 8-0.
At 141, No. 15 Ryan Prater and Matt Redmond wrestled most of the first period on their feet before Redmond notched a takedown with 40 seconds left and rode out Prater for the 2-0 lead. Redmond started down in the second and Prater scored a two-point near-fall with 45 seconds left to tie the bout. Prater then rode him out, racking up 1:15 of riding time. The Illini freshman started down in the third and quickly worked into a reversal for the 4-2 lead. After working furiously for the tilt, Prater finally hooked Redmond and scored a three-point near-fall. Prater rode him out for the 8-2 win, pushing the Illini margin to 11-0.
Grant Paswall took on No. 10 Jake Patacsil at 149 and Paswall nearly got an early takedown and a pair of bridges on Patacsil, but the Boilermaker held on to a high crotch furiously before flipping Paswall for a takedown. Patacsil then turned the Illini rookie onto his upper shoulders and neck for the three-point near-fall before the referee stopped the bout for injury time which eventually became an injury default victory for Patacsil, cutting Illinois' lead to 11-6.
At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta countered Nick Bertucci's early shot and spun around him for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Poeta rode him out the rest of the period for 2:16 of riding time. The Illini All-American started down in the second and quickly stuck Bertucci with a reversal before Bertucci escaped. After another failed shot by Bertucci, Poeta got in on a double-leg and planted the Boiler for the 6-1 lead after two periods. Bertucci started down in the third and Poeta quickly allowed him up. Bertucci shot once more, Poeta defended it and scampered behind him for the takedown. After another allowed escape, Poeta got another double-leg takedown and allowed Bertucci up once more. After nearly pinning Bertucci without gaining control, Poeta worked into a takedown then got a two-point near-fall. With nearly four minutes of riding time, Poeta earned the 15-4 major decision, pushing Illinois farther ahead, 15-6.
Roger Smith-Bergsrud returned after missing last weekend's matches to face Justin Fraga at 165. With 45 seconds left in the first period, Fraga notched a takedown on Smith-Bergsrud and rode him out for the 2-0 lead. The Illini junior started down in the second and quickly escaped. After an extended front bulldog, Smith-Bergsrud was able to move into position for the takedown and a 3-2 lead before riding out the Boiler. Fraga started down in the third and Smith-Bergsrud rode him expertly, locking up the riding time point before Fraga escaped with 10 seconds left. Smith-Bergsrud held on for the 4-3 win, giving the Illini an 18-6 advantage.
At 174, No. 17 Nick Corpe took a shot one minute into the match, but No. 15 John Dergo defended it and swung behind him for the takedown. Corpe escaped with 15 seconds left in the period, but Dergo took a 2-1 lead and a riding time advantage of 1:36 into the second period, which he started in the down position. Dergo quickly escaped for the 3-1 margin, and the duo wrestled on their feet the rest of the period. Corpe started down in the third and escaped, but not until Dergo had racked up two minutes of riding time. Just under one minute left in the match, Dergo shot and got the takedown on the edge of the mat for the 5-2 lead. Dergo then rode him out for the 6-2 win and 21-6 Illini lead.
Redshirt-freshman Ben Friedl squared off against A.J. Kissel at 184. After multiple scrambles, Kissel finally scored a takedown with nine seconds left in the period. Friedl started down in the second and, after giving up 90 seconds of riding time, managed a reversal to tie the bout, 2-2, before riding out Fraga. Kissel started down in the third and Friedl managed to ride him long enough to cut the riding time advantage under 30 seconds, eliminating the point. But Kissel escaped, taking a 3-2 lead. After a stalemate, Kissel got up but did not get back to the center quickly enough, getting called for stalling once more, giving Friedl a point and tying the score, 3-3. The bout then went to sudden-victory overtime where Friedl controlled Kissel's head and grabbed his right leg. He then was able to swing around the Boiler for the takedown with 12 seconds left in sudden-victory time for the 5-3 win.
At 197, No. 11 Patrick Bond notched a takedown on Logan Brown just over a minute into the match and rode him out for nearly two minutes of riding time and a 2-0 lead after a period. Bond started down in the second and got a quick escape, then scored another takedown with just over a minute left in the period. Bond let Brown escape, then after a restart Brown shot but was turned away by Bond, who slid behind him for the takedown and a 7-1 lead. Brown started down in the third and quickly was allowed to escape. Bond then controlled Brown's head and swung behind for a takedown before allowing another escape. Bond got a similar takedown with 45 seconds left and allowed an escape for an 11-3 lead plus a point for riding time. With 10 seconds left, Brown was called for stalling a second time, giving Bond another point and a 13-4 major decision win.
Just 22 seconds into the match at heavyweight, No. 15 John Wise scored a takedown on Chris Kasten and ended up riding him out after repeated attempts for a tilt, ending the period with a 2-0 lead and 2:37 of riding time. Wise started down in the second and quickly got a reversal for a 4-0 lead. In the third, Kasten chose neutral and Wise scored a takedown with 42 seconds left. Kasten escaped with two seconds left, but Wise had 4:45 of riding time to seal the 7-1 win and Illinois' 31-6 victory.
Up Next: The No. 11 Illini host top-ranked Iowa on Sunday at 1 p.m to finish the Big Ten dual-match season. The Hawkeyes bring a record of 20-1, 7-0 in Big Ten action, into the dual.
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