Illinois tops Wisconsin 40-17 to win Greco-Roman championship at Junior Duals

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Jason Bryant (USA Wrestling)
06/25/2011


Illinois might have to get a bulk discount when ordering championship banners. After winning championships in both styles last week at the Cadet National Duals in Daytona Beach, Fla., Illinois made it three-for-three with a 40-17 victory over Wisconsin to capture the Greco-Roman championship at the Junior National Duals in Oklahoma City Saturday night.

Illinois won 11 of the 15 bouts and cruised to the championship in a dual littered with national champions and All-Americans on both sides. 

Nkosi Moody started Illinois off starting with a stellar 7-0, 7-0 technical fall over Ty Pelot at 98 pounds. Moody finished the Greco-Roman tournament 7-0 and didn't give up a point.

Barlow McGee of Illinois battled back, losing the first period 6-3, but won the next two periods 1-0, 1-0 to top Bobby Nachreiner in a battle of unbeaten wrestlers at 105 pounds

Darius Henry was dominant in last week's Cadet National Duals and he continued through the Junior National Duals, finishing unbeaten with a 6-0, 5-0 victory over Austin Loos at 112 pounds. The win gave Illinois a 10-1 lead after the first three weights.

Kevon Powell of Illinois matched up with Ryan McQuade at 119 pounds in a battle of two of the nation's top Greco wrestlers at the weight. McQuade won the first period 1-0 by defending from par terre and won the second period 1-0 with a takedown midway through the second. The win gave Wisconsin three points and kept Illinois off the scoreboard, making it 10-4 heading into 125.

Zane Richards gave up the first point in his match with Dominic Garcia, but then rolled to a 7-1, 7-0 technical fall victory at 125 pounds. The win extended the Illinois lead to 14-5.

Nick Drendel gave Illinois another victory at 130 with a quick fall over Zach Durante. Drendel dropped Durante to the mat and got the fall confirmation in just 14 seconds. Illinois led 19-5 going into the heart of the Wisconsin lineup.

Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin picked up a victory at 135 pounds over a scrappy Brandon Rice 3-1, 6-0. The win closed the gap to 20-8 heading into 140 pounds.

Jarod Donar topped Jake Gregerson 4-1, 1-0 at 140 pounds to give the Badger State its second win in a row. Donar was trailing in the first 1-0 before taking Gregerson to his back. The fall was called for but time was out, so instead of getting five points, Donar had to settle for winning the period. He scored the winning point in the second period with a hand-to-hand gutwrench in par terre. 

John Borzarth registered a huge win for Illinois, upsetting Rylan Lubeck 6-0, 2-0 at 145 pounds extending the Illinois team lead to 24-11 with six weights remaining.

Alex Dieringer of Wisconsin knocked off Luke Smith 2-0 4-1 at 152 pounds in a matchup of wrestlers bound for Division I programs. Dieringer is headed to Oklahoma State, while Smith is headed to Central Michigan.

At 160 pounds, two accomplished wrestlers squared off as Illinois' Dylan Reel faced off with Wisconsin's Zak Benitz. Both were undefeated coming into the bout. Reel finished off Benitz 3-0, 4-3. The win gave Illinois a 13-point advantage heading into 171 pounds. 

Jahwon Akui's 1-0, 2-0 victory over Jacob Morrissey at 171 pounds iced the team championship for Illinois. Akui's won multiple age-group championships in all three styles. With a 31-15 team lead, Illinois won its third duals championship in the past week, adding to the two titles won by Cadet teams last week in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Sam Brooks of Illinois rallied to beat Devin Peterson in another matchup between Greco-Roman stars at 189 pounds. Peterson won the first period 7-1 and was leading 3-1 late in the second when Brooks threw Peterson to his back for three and one to steal the period 5-3. Brooks used two takedowns in the third to take home the victory. 

Michael Sojka continued the Illinois run with a two-period 1-0, 3-0 victory over Shane Hughes at 215 pounds. 

Reid Sealby finished off the championship run for Illinois by defeating Roland Dunlap 7-1, 2-1.

Championship Final
ILLINOIS 40, WISCONSIN 17
98 - Nkosi Moody (Illinois) over Ty Pelot (Wisconsin) TF 7-0,7-0
105 - Barlow McGee (Illinois) over Bobby Nachreiner (Wisconsin) Dec 3-6,1-0,1-0
112 - Darius Henry (Illinois) over Austin Loos (Wisconsin) Dec 6-0,5-0
119 - Ryan McQuade (Wisconsin) over Kevon Powell (Illinois) Dec 1-0,1-0
125 - Zane Richards (Illinois) over Dominic Garcia (Wisconsin) TF 7-1,7-0
130 - Nick Drendel (Illinois) over Zach Durante (Wisconsin) Pin 0:14
135 - Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) over Brandon Rice (Illinois) Dec 3-1,6-0
140 - Jarod Donar (Wisconsin) over Jake Gregerson (Illinois) Dec 4-1,1-0
145 - John Bozarth (Illinois) over Rylan Lubeck (Wisconsin) Dec 6-0,2-0
152 - Alex Dieringer (Wisconsin) over Luke Smith (Illinois) Dec 2-0,4-1
160 - Dylan Reel (Illinois) over Zak Benitz (Wisconsin) Dec 3-0,4-3
171 - Jahwon Akui (Illinois) over Jacob Morrissey (Wisconsin) Dec 1-0,2-0
189 - Sam Brooks (Illinois) over Devin Peterson (Wisconsin) Dec 1-7,5-3,2-0
215 - Michael Sojka (Illinois) over Shane Hughes (Wisconsin) Dec 1-0,3-0
285 - Reid Sealby (Illinois) over Roland Dunlap (Wisconsin) Dec 7-1,2-1

Third Place
FLORIDA 35, MINNESOTA BLACK 22
98 - Gannon Volk (Minnesota Black ) over Alex White (Florida) Dec 1-0,1-1,2-0
105 - Ramon Moreno (Florida) over Jarred Oftedahl (Minnesota Black ) Dec 2-1,5-2
112 - Alex Uhre (Florida) over Tristan Manderfeld (Minnesota Black ) Dec 3-1,0-2,2-0
119 - Isaiah Varona (Florida) over Wesley Azariah (Minnesota Black ) Dec 1-0,2-3,1-0
125 - Sam Brancale (Minnesota Black ) over Alejandro Sancho (Florida) Dec 3-1,10-0
130 - Kevin Norstrem (Florida) over Mitch Bengtson (Minnesota Black ) Dec 6-0,0-4,1-0
135 - Matt Kelliher (Minnesota Black ) over Mason Bradford (Florida) Dec 3-1,7-0
140 - Hayden Zillmer (Minnesota Black ) over Corey Ray (Florida) Dec 1-0,5-0
145 - Dustin Dylla (Minnesota Black ) over Paul Zupofska (Florida) Dec 6-0,5-0
152 - Clark Glass (Florida) over Zach Rohr (Minnesota Black ) Dec 5-0,1-0
160 - Travis Berridge (Florida) over Ben Sullivan (Minnesota Black ) Pin 2-8,1:26
171 - Geordan Speiller (Florida) over Kyle Begin (Minnesota Black ) Dec 7-3,1-0
189 - Patrick Downey (Florida) over Cooper Moore (Minnesota Black ) Dec 1-0,4-3
215 - Lee Wildes (Florida) over Logan Barrett (Minnesota Black ) Dec 2-0,2-0
285 - Doug Vollaro (Florida) over Parker Betts (Minnesota Black ) Dec 1-0,0-1,1-0

Fifth Place
CALIFORNIA 32, KANSAS 1 26
California defeated Iowa 32-29
98 - Sam Phillips (Iowa) over Joey Cisneros (California) Pin 0-4,0:51
105 - Shawn Miller (California) over Alec Vogel (Iowa) Dec 3-3,5-1
112 - Rafael (Micah) Perez (California) over Phillip Laux (Iowa) Dec 7-0,2-6,3-2
119 - Maxwell Hvolbek (California) over Drake Swarm (Iowa) Dec 3-0,1-0
125 - Cory Clark (Iowa) over Kevin Coburn (California) TF 6-0,6-0
130 - Jacob Thompson-Zanarini (California) over Seth Hall (Iowa) Dec 0-8,8-3,9-3
135 - Connor Ryan (Iowa) over Briceno Blayne (California) Dec 0-6,2-0,1-0
140 - Peter Nagy (Iowa) over Anthonie Linares (California) Dec 1-0,6-0
145 - Alex Abono (California) over Nate Harms (Iowa) TF 6-0,7-0
152 - Justin Koethe (Iowa) over Adam Hendrickson (California) Pin 9-0,0:26
160 - Adam Drain (Iowa) over Jason Zecchini (California) Dec 1-0,0-2,1-1
171 - Dillon Reid (California) over Ben Schwery (Iowa) Pin 1:13
189 - Mickey Pelfrey (Iowa) over Hudson Buck (California) Dec 3-0,0-1,2-1
215 - JT Goodwin (California) over Bruce McWilliams (Iowa) Inj 
285 - Orry Elor (California) over Joe Scanlan (Iowa) Dec 6-0,5-0

Seventh Place
IOWA 33, MICHIGAN 1 28
98 - Sam Phillips (Iowa) over Liam Noble (Michigan 1) TF 6-0,7-0
105 - Isaac Jewell (Michigan 1) over Jay Fresh (Iowa) Dec 5-0,7-1
112 - Phillip Laux (Iowa) over Evan Toth (Michigan 1) Dec 10-3,2-0
119 - Jacob Schmitt (Michigan 1) over Drake Swarm (Iowa) TF 6-0,7-0
125 - Cory Clark (Iowa) over Estaban Gonzales (Michigan 1) Pin 6-0,1:59
130 - Seth Hall (Iowa) over Ken Bade (Michigan 1) Dec 4-1,0-6,7-2
135 - Connor Ryan (Iowa) over Isaiah Schaub (Michigan 1) Dec 0-1,7-1,2-0
140 - Peter Nagy (Iowa) over Alec Mooradian (Michigan 1) Dec 2-6,1-0,1-0
145 - Nate Harms (Iowa) over Logan Marcicki (Michigan 1) Pin 0:42
152 - Justin Koethe (Iowa) over Travis Curley (Michigan 1) Dec 6-0,5-0
160 - Devan Marry (Michigan 1) over Adam Drain (Iowa) Dec 6-1,1-0
171 - Kevin Beazley (Michigan 1) over Carson Powell (Iowa) Pin 2-8,3-1,1:22
189 - Payne Hayden (Michigan 1) over Willie Miklus (Iowa) Dec 3-0,6-1
215 - Adam Coon (Michigan 1) over Mickey Pelfrey (Iowa) Dec 2-0,7-0
285 - Logan Rimmer (Michigan 1) over Joe Scanlan (Iowa) Dec 4-2,7-0

ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
Undefeated with at least six matches regardless of weight class

98 pounds
Dante Rodriguez of Nebraska went 7-0
Nkosi Moody of Illinois went 7-0
Tommy Aloi of Virginia went 6-0

105 pounds
Barlow Mcgee of Illinois went 8-0
Tommy Walton of North Dakota went 6-0
Adam Burchett of Washington went 6-0

112 pounds
Darius Henry of Illinois went 7-0
Colton Howell of Missouri went 6-0

119 pounds
Marshawn Sharp of Georgia went 6-0

130 pounds
Austin Roper of Missouri went 8-0
Nick Drendel of Illinois went 8-0

135 pounds
Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin went 9-0
Kameron Hamley of North Dakota went 6-0

140 pounds
Joe Schumacher of North Dakota went 6-0
Jarod Donar of Wisconsin went 6-0

145 pounds
Blake Roulo of Virginia went 6-0
Nick Babcock of Colorado went 6-0

152 pounds
Justin Koethe of Iowa went 9-0
Alex Dieringer of Wisconsin went 7-0
Duke Pickett of Virginia went 6-0

171 pounds
Matt Reed of Kansas went 9-0
Geordan Speiller of Florida went 9-0
Sean Mappes of Indiana went 6-0

189 pounds
Sam Brooks of Illinois went 7-0

215 pounds
Adam Coon of Michigan went 9-0
Michael Sojka of Illinois went 8-0

285 pounds
Doug Vollaro of Florida went 9-0