@ 55Th Ken Kraft Midlands
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WRESTLING MEET NOTES Athletics Communication // 1700 South Fourth Street // Champaign, IL 61820 Wrestling Contact: Chad Beyler // Office: 217-300-1449 // Cell: 217-493-3777 // [email protected] // fightingillini.com FIGHTINGILLINI.com @IlliniWrestling @IlliniWrestling @IlliniWrestling 2017-18 SCHEDULE & RESULTS @ 55TH KEN KRAFT MIDLANDS 1-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29 - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30 Home: 0-0; Away: 1-2; Neutral: 0-0 *The Fighting Illini will be competing for the 42nd time at the 55th annual Midlands tournament. Illinois has won the DATE OPPONENT TIME/SCORE team title four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2012) and have crowned 12 individual champions. Isaiah Martinez won the Nov. 4 @ #5 Missouri L, 17-20 157-pound title at 2014 Midlands and the 165-pound bracket at 2016 Midlands. *Isaiah Martinez is seeking to become the first Illini to win three Midlands titles. Only 42 wrestlers, inlcuding just 28 Nov. 17 @ Fresno State W, 33-10 collegiate grapplers, have ever won three. Illini coach Jim Heffernan won three (1983-84, 86) at Iowa. Nov. 19 @ Roadrunner Open NTS *Five Illini enter the weekend ranked according to InterMat's latest polls: #2 Isaiah Martinez (165), #12 Emery Parker (184), #13 Kyle Langenderfer (157), #15 Travis Piotrowski (125) and #20 Dylan Duncan (133). Dec. 1 @ #7 Iowa* L, 17-18 *Isaiah Martinez currently ranks 24th on Illinois' all-time wins list with 101 career wins. Recording his 100th win at Dec. 29-30 @ Midlands ALL DAY Fresno State on November 17, Martinez is two wins behind Griff Powell (103) and four wins behind a trio of Illini -- Kevin Puebla (105), current Illini assistant coach Mike Poeta (105) and John Dergo (105) -- for 20th place. JAN. 5 #18 NEBRASKA* 8 PM% *Two Illini enter Midlands with an unblemished record. Sophomore Travis Piotrowski sports a 7-0 record at 125 JAN. 7 NORTHWESTERN* 1PM pounds, while redshirt senior Isaiah Martinez is 3-0 at 165 pounds. *Isaiah Martinez has won each of his three matches this season by tech fall, outscoring his three opponents 75-29. Jan. 14 @ #8 Minnesota* 1 PM Of his 101 career victories, 42 have come by tech fall. JAN. 21 @ #23 Purdue* 12 PM *Illinois features three first-year starters in their lineup this season: #20 Dylan Duncan (133), Mike Carr (141) and JAN. 28 MARYLAND* 1 PM Xavier Montalvo (174). Duncan and Carr picked up their first Big Ten dual wins at Iowa on Dec. 1. Feb. 2 @ Indiana* 6 PM #13 ILLINOIS PROBABLE WRESTLERS #13 ILLINI COMPETE AT 55TH ANNUAL KEN FEB. 4 #17 RUTGERS 1 PM KRAFT MIDLANDS FEB. 11 #16 WISCONSIN* 1 PM 125 15/14/16 Travis Piotrowski (7-0), So. 133 20/15/18 Dylan Duncan (5-2), r-Fr.* After spending three weeks away from March 3-4 Big Ten Championships ALL DAY competition, the Fighting Illini return to the -/-/- Abdullah Assaf (6-3), Fr.* mat December 29-30 for the 55th annual (East Lansing, MI) 141 -/-/- Mike Carr (2-1), r-Fr. Ken Kraft Midlands at the Sears Centre -/-/- Dylan Thurston (6-5), r-Fr. March 15-17 NCAA Championships ALL DAY Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The 149 -/-/- Eric Barone (4-4), r-So. tournament was moved to Hoffman Estates (Cleveland, OH) -/-/- Isaac Reinemann (4-2), r-Jr. due to a current $110-million renovation of 157 13/20/- Kyle Langenderfer (4-3),r-Sr. Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. The two- -/-/- John Mologousis (8-4), Fr.* day tournament will be broadcasted live on bold = Huff Hall 165 2/2/2 Isaiah Martinez (3-0), r-Sr. BTN Plus on December 29 and December 30. * = Big Ten Match 174 -/-/- David Riojas (2-3), Fr. For tickets, go online at nusports.com. Adult 184 12/9/10 Emery Parker (6-1), r-Jr. general admission passes are $28 for adults % = Televised on Big Ten Network 197 -/-/- Andre Lee (5-4), r-Jr. and $23 for youth. All-session passes are -/-/- Matt Wroblewski (6-1), Fr.* $107 for adults and $97 for youth. HWT -/-/- Duece Rachal (5-5), r-Jr. ILLINOIS QUICK FACTS *Unattached Location: Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., FloWrestling Founded: 1867 Enrollment: 44,087 Nickname: Fighting Illini Colors: Orange and Blue Conference: Big Ten Midlands Schedule (CT) Head Coach: Jim Heffernan (9th Season / 26th at Illinois) Friday, Dec. 29 Saturday, Dec. 30 Assistant Coach: Jeremy Hunter (16th Season) Assistant Coach: Mike Poeta (1st Season) 9:30 a.m. Session I 12 p.m. Session III Volunteer Assistant Coach: Zac Brunson (1st Season) 7 p.m. Session II 7:05 p.m. Session IV Director of Operations: Bryan Medlin (1st Season) Home Venue: Huff Hall 2017 Big Ten Finish: 6th 15 RANKED TEAMS DESCEND ON SEARS CENTER 2017 NCAA Finish: 11th The 55th edition of the Midlands tournament will feature 60% of the current USA Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/4 Today Top-25 rankings, including six within the top-10. No. 1 Penn State is the top All-Americans Returning/Lost: 1/2 ranked team with wrestlers entered in the event, while No. 5 Lehigh, No. 6 NC State, Starters Returning/Lost: 8/2 No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Minnesota and No. 9 Michigan are also in the field. In addition to the Newcomers: 11 2017-18 University of Illinois Wrestling Notes // 1 Season Notes three Big Ten teams in the top-10, eight headlines six ranked wrestlers in the Wrestler Years Win % other conference foes join the Illini this bracket. Along with Martinez, Evan weekend with only No. 2 Ohio State and 1. Isaiah Martinez 2013-Present .980 Michigan State not participating. Wick (Wisconsin) ranks in the top-10 2. Matt Lackey 2000-03 .896 at 165 and will be a preview of a Feb. 3. Mike Poeta 2006-09 .882 11 dual at Huff Hall. Along with Wick, 4. Alex Tirapelle 2003-06 .877 ILLINOIS MIDLANDS HISTORY a couple foes from Martinez's path to Since the inaugural Midlands in 1963, 5. Jesse Delgado 2011-15 .863 the Fighting Illini have participated in 41 last year's Midlands title will again of the 54 Midlands tournaments. Entering look to challenge him this year: No. 12 Wrestler Years Wins their 42nd appearance this week, the Anthony Valencia (ASU) and No. 13 Alex 1. Alex Tirapelle 2003-06 128 Illini have won the title four times, most Marinelli (Iowa). Martinez defeated both 10. Jordan Blanton 2008-13 115 recently in 2012. Individually, Illini by major decisions last year, Valencia wrestlers have placed 130 times at the 20. John Dergo 2007-10 105 annual holiday tournament, while 12 Illini in the semifinals and Marinelli in the Mike Poeta 2004-08 105 have been crowned champions. Isaiah quarterfinals. Kevin Puebla 1977-80 105 Martinez has twice won the event, being 23. Griff Powell 1999-02 103 crowned the 157-pound champion as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and the 165- 184: #12 Emery Parker 24. Jesse Delgado 2011-15 101 pound champion in 2016. Despite just one loss this season, Isaiah Martinez 2013-Present 101 Parker will be looking to beef up his I-MAR SEEKS ILLUSTRIOUS THIRD resume with wins over ranked opponents ILLINI ANNOUNCE HOME PROMOTIONAL MIDLANDS TITLE after dropping the Roadrunner Open SCHEDULE In the 54-year history of the Midlands title match to No. 8 Ricky Robertson The Illini announced the promotional tournament, only 43 wrestlers have won (Wisconsin) back in November. Parker's three or more individual titles. Of the 43 schedule for each of the five home duals grapplers, only 18 have won three while first of a handful of ranked wins last this winter. Below is a snapshot of each in college with the most recent coming season came at Midlands when he promotion night: last year when Iowa's Thomas Gilman pinned Jordan Ellingwood of Central Jan. 5: Great Escape - Youth clinic, free accomplished the feat. The remaining 24 Michigan. Along with Robertson and pizza, men's basketball ticket raffle three-time winners reached their third Ellingwood, Nick Gravina (Rutgers) is title while wrestling for a club team also in the field after Parker defeated Jan. 7: Takedown Cancer - Free pink following graduation. Martinez would be Illini T-shirts the first Illini to join this group. Illinois Gravina in New Brunswick last January, head coach Jim Heffernan is a three-time 8-6, in sudden victory. Jan. 28: Wrestlemania - Illini mat rally Midlands champion, winning in 1983, towels, singlet t-shirts, students can 1984 and 1986. enter to win a Smart TV I-MAR FIFTH AT U-23 WORLDS Feb. 4: International Night - Illini ILLINI TO WATCH Isaiah Martinez made his first international t-shirts, canned food drive, appearance at world competition on men's basketball ticket raffle Sunday, November 26, as he placed 125: #15 Travis Piotrowski fifth at U-23 World Championships in Feb. 11: Senior Day - Hail to the Orange One of two Illini to enter the midseason Bydgoszcz, Poland. After dropping his T-shirts, senior sendoff masks tournament without a blemish on his first match to eventual 74kg champion record. With seven straight victories to Gadzhi Nabiev (Russia), Martinez battled COACH HEFFERNAN RETURNS EIGHT open the season, the Illini sophomore back in repechage to finish 2-2 on the STARTERS FROM 2016-17 is one of seven ranked wrestlers in the day. Despite losing All-Americans Zane Midlands field. Ranked #15 entering the Richards (133) and Zac Brunson weekend, Piotrowski went 2-2 last year (174), the Fighting Illini retain at Midlands, highlighted by an upset of MARTINEZ CLIMBS ALL-TIME LISTS eight of their ten starters from last No.