"Overall, it was a good performance in one of the toughest conference meets that I've been associated with," Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. "I'm happy for Mike Poeta winning the Big Ten title. He deserves it with his work. Jimmy and Gabe both did a good job to medal, and a lot of good things happened this weekend."
No. 1 seed and third-ranked Jimmy Kennedy finished second at 133 pounds, dropping his title bout to Michigan State's third-seeded and fifth-ranked Franklin Gomez. No. 5 seeded and eighth-ranked Gabe Flores took third and No. 3 seeded and 11th-ranked Patrick Bond finished fourth. No. 5 seeded and 15th-ranked John Dergo and No. 5 seeded and 13th-ranked John Wise each took fifth, and fifth-seeded Roger Smith-Bergsrud took sixth place. Illinois' fourth-place team finish marks head coach Mark Johnson's 12th top-five finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Flores started strong against second-seeded and second-ranked Charlie Falck (IOWA), scoring a takedown with two minutes left in the first period. Falck nearly scored a reversal after 50 seconds, but a stalemate was called. Falck eventually notched the escape with 35 seconds left, then got ahold of Flores' right leg, but time ran out before control could be gained. Flores started down in the second and escaped within a minute. Falck again got a leg and put Flores into the Iranian position, but couldn't gain an advantage before a stalemate was called. Flores ended the second ahead, 3-1, and Falck chose a neutral start in the third. After a mad scramble that lasted for most of the final minute, Flores held off a late takedown attempt by Falck to secure the 3-1 win and take third place, his highest-ever finish at the Big Ten Championships.
In Kennedy's championship bout against No. 3 seed and fifth-ranked Franklin Gomez (MSU), the pair felt each other out for most of the first period before Gomez nailed a takedown with 26 seconds left and rode out Kennedy. Gomez started down in the second and escaped quickly, the period's only scoring. Kennedy started down in the third and escaped in 40 seconds, narrowly keeping Gomez from getting the riding time point. Kennedy worked for some offense in the final 80 seconds but couldn't hit anything as Gomez won, 3-1. Kennedy's second-place medal betters the fourth-place finish he grabbed as a true-freshman last season.
No. 1 seed and second-ranked Mike Poeta was the next Illini to take the mat, and he and No. 2 seed (No. 3-ranked) Dan Vallimont (Penn State) spent the first period on their feet and ended it without a score. Poeta started down in the second and escaped in two seconds, then ripped off a takedown with 30 seconds left in the period for a 3-0 lead. Vallimont started down in the third and escaped quickly, but with one minute left, Vallimont shook out of a single-leg hold only to have Poeta shoot for a double-leg takedown and a 5-1 lead. Vallimont escaped, but Poeta defended a shot by the Nittany Lion and recorded another takedown with 33 seconds left. With the riding time point, Poeta won, 8-2, to become Illinois' first Big Ten champion since Alex Tirapelle (157) and Pete Friedl (184) both accomplished the feat in 2005.
"It's a great feeling," Poeta said of winning his first Big Ten title. "But it's just a steppingstone for two weeks from now. That's the best guy I've wrestled all year. I just give so much credit to the coaching staff, especially assistant coach Carl Perry. He battles me every day in practice and makes me so much better."
In Roger Smith-Bergsrud's fifth-place tilt against Indiana's sixth-seeded Matt Coughlin, the grapplers fought to a scoreless tie after one period. Coughlin started down in the second and escaped in 11 seconds, then he notched a takedown with 35 seconds left in the period. Smith-Bergsrud escaped 11 seconds later, then started down in the third place and escaped in five seconds to cut it to 3-2, but the Illini junior couldn't connect on any late offense as he fell, 3-2. It is Smith-Bergsrud's second-straight sixth-place finish.
At the 174-pound fifth-place match, Dergo and Indiana's Trevor Perry fought to a scoreless first period, then Dergo started down in the second and escaped for a 1-0 lead after two periods. Perry started down in the third and escaped near the one-minute mark, but Dergo hit him with a takedown with 40 seconds left in the bout. Perry escaped with 30 seconds left to come within 3-2, but Dergo held him off to take fifth at Big Tens for the second-straight year.
Bond faced Wisconsin's fourth-seeded and sixth-ranked Dallas Herbst in the third-place bout, and the two wrestled through a scoreless first period. Herbst deferred choice and Bond chose a neutral start for the second period. Herbst got in on a single-leg and took Bond down with 1:03 left in the period, but Bond escaped 32 seconds later to finish the second trailing, 2-1. Herbst started down in the third and, after a restart, Bond used an optional restart to let him up for a 3-1 Badger lead. Bond got a leg with 40 seconds left but couldn't gain control. He nearly put Herbst on his back, but the Badger spun around for the takedown and the 5-1 victory. Bond's fourth-place finish is a career best, topping his fifth-place finish at Big Tens a year ago.
Wise and Minnesota's eighth-seeded Ben Berhow fought to a scoreless first period, but Wise started down in the second and escaped in five seconds for a 1-0 lead. The Illini junior followed that up with a textbook double-leg takedown with 1:20 left in the period, then rode him out for a 3-0 lead with 1:13 of riding time after two periods. Berhow started down in the third and Wise continued to ride the Gopher, racking up 2:06 of riding time before Berhow escaped with just over a minute left in the match. Berhow shot with 10 seconds left, but Wise defended it to hold onto his 4-1 win and a fifth-place finish, a career-best finish.
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