Jimmy Kennedy (Photo/University of Illinois Sports Information)That in a nutshell describes Jimmy Kennedy's first year at Illinois.
Yet Jimmy rose to the challenge -- and then some. He had an incredibly successful first year on the mats at Urbana-Champaign. Among his accomplishments: placing fourth in the 2007 Big Ten conference championships, and making it to the finals of the Midlands.
Mark Johnson, head coach at Illinois, concurs. "In my seventeen years here, only a handful of kids have been able to wrestle for us as true freshmen and do so well."
Thrust into the starting role
"Coming into college, I didn't think I'd be wrestling my freshman year," says Jimmy Kennedy. "The coaches thought I was ready."
(In fact, Jimmy was one of only two true freshmen to be installed as starters at Illinois in the 2006-07 season, the other being John Dergo at 184 pounds. This is the first time more than one first-year student-athlete has been in the Illini starting line-up during Coach Johnson's tenure.)
"I learned a lot in my first year -- perhaps more than in four years of high school … I competed against some of the best in the country."
Jimmy took on a number of opponents ranked in the top twenty at 133 pounds, securing victories over Ohio State's T.J. Enright, Wisconsin's Zach Tanelli, Penn State's Jake Strayer, Indiana's Andrae Hernandez, and North Carolina's Evan Sola during the regular season.
Jimmy Kennedy (Photo/University of Illinois Sports Information)Jimmy ended the regular season with a 25-3 record, with five of those wins secured with a pin. He compiled a 7-1 record in Big Ten dual meet competition, losing only to Michigan State senior Nick Simmons.
End-of-season performance
At the 2007 Big Ten Championships held at Michigan State, Jimmy Kennedy was seeded second in the 133-pound weight class, behind Nick Simmons. He drew a bye in the first round … then, in the quarterfinals, Jimmy defeated seventh-seeded Mario Galanakis of Iowa 7-6, TB1. However, in the semifinals, the Illinois freshman's title quest was derailed by Andrae Hernandez -- the sixth-seeded Hoosier -- by the score of 3-1. However, Jimmy got back on track with a 6-1 victory over T.J. Enright (the eighth-seeded Buckeye) in the wrestleback semifinals, putting himself in the match for third place against Mack Reiter. The Minnesotan got some revenge for his regular-season loss, pinning his Illini rival at 4:02. Jimmy Kennedy left East Lansing with fourth-place honors … and the right to compete at the national championships two weeks later.
At the 2007 NCAAs at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Jimmy Kennedy was seeded ninth in the 133-pound bracket. In his opening-round bout, he scored a 7-4 victory over Lehigh's Seth Ciasulli. The second round saw Jimmy edge eighth-seeded Tyler McCormick of Missouri, 3-2. In the quarterfinals, the Illinois freshman faced familiar foe Nick Simmons … and was shut out by the senior Spartan, 3-0. In the consolation bracket, Jimmy went up against another Big Ten rival, Andrae Hernandez … with the Hoosier getting a 4-3 TB victory. When all was said and done, Jimmy Kennedy was just one win away from earning All-American honors in his first year of college competition.
Making a statement at the Midlands
One of the high points of Jimmy Kennedy's freshman season was his sparkling performance at the Midlands, the post-Christmas wrestling tournament hosted by Northwestern University that has become one of the major mat events in its 40+ year history.
At the Midlands, Jimmy pinned San Francisco State's Ben Lockett at 1:29 … got a 5-3 decision over Conor Beebe of Central Michigan in the second round … and, in the quarterfinals, defeated second-seeded Robbie Preston of Harvard, 5-3 SV. The semifinals saw Jimmy edge Northwestern's Eric Metzler, 2-1, to earn the right to vie for the 133-pound title. In the championship finals, Jimmy was pinned by Nick Simmons … but, along the way, earned the respect of wrestling fans for doing so well in his first appearance at this prestigious event.
Back to the beginning
Before his incredible 2006-07 season -- or, in fact, before even setting foot on the University of Illinois campus -- Jimmy Kennedy had crafted a solid wrestling career.
Jimmy Kennedy (Photo/University of Illinois Sports Information)"I did pretty well from the beginning."
That successful start continued into high school. At Grant Community High School, Jimmy Kennedy had an incredible 187-3 overall record. Perhaps even more incredible, the native of Ingleside, Illinois (a town located between Chicago and the Wisconsin border) broke the Illinois high school state record for takedowns within a season with an eye-popping 384.
While in high school, Jimmy made four trips to Champaign-Urbana, qualifying each year for the Illinois high school state championships held at Assembly Hall on the University of Illinois campus. "My goal was to win all four years at state," discloses the Illini 133-pounder. At the end of his prep career, Jimmy had two state titles earned in his sophomore and senior years… placing second his freshman year, and third as a junior.
Jimmy's mat success extended far beyond the state of Illinois. As a high school sophomore, he won a Cadet Nationals championship after placing second his freshman year. What's more, in 2006, Jimmy earned the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award. This award, given to only one wrestler per state, honors not only on-the-mat excellence, but also scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.
When asked about his high school mat experience, Jimmy immediately responded, "My high school coach, Ryan Geist, was one of the best in the state … He pushed us hard in practice, and helped instill a good work ethic in us."
"Coach was always there for me," Jimmy continues. "I'd talk to him about colleges. He helped me with my college choice … He helped me understand that, any choice I made, it would be a good one."
Mark Johnson (Photo/University of Illinois Sports Information)"He's in one of the toughest academic programs here," continues Coach Johnson. "He works hard to succeed in school and in wrestling."
"Illinois is academically demanding," concurs Jimmy. "It's a struggle to keep up with my class work and wrestling. The coaches here do a great job helping us, planning our schedules around tests, providing study sessions, whatever we need."
Engineering a successful future
Coming off an incredible freshman season, expectations are high for Jimmy Kennedy's second year at Illinois. He is ranked sixth in RevWrestling.com's preseason rankings for the 133-pound weight class. (Note: Rev's rankings including wrestlers from all three college divisions).
Jimmy Kennedy (Photo/University of Illinois Sports Information)What does the future hold for Jimmy beyond college? "It's hard to make a decision about what I'll do after college this early in my life," replies the Illini sophomore. "I'm basically taking things one year at a time."
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