Dec. 27, 2002

Illini Head to Midlands Tournament The sixth-ranked Illinois wrestling team will head to Evanston, Ill. on Dec. 28-29 for the 40th Annual Midlands Tournament, which will feature 17 teams ranked in the Top-25, including No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Minnesota, fifth-ranked OSU, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Lehigh, ninth-ranked West Virginia and 10th-ranked Central Michigan. Last season, Illinois finished seventh at the event with Matt Lackey taking second (to eventual NCAA Champion Joe Heskett) at 165 pounds and Mark Jayne placing seventh at 133 pounds.
125: Kyle Ott (Fr., Huber Heights, OH), 10-2
133: Mark Jayne (So., Elyria, OH), 10-2
141: Cal Ferry (Fr., Machesney, IL), 8-3
149: Tony Pedrosa (Fr., Oregon, IL), 6-3
157: Alex Tirapelle (Fr., Clovis, CA), 11-2; Anton Dietzen (So., Elmhurst, IL), 3-3
165: Matt Lackey (Sr., Moline, IL), 10-0; Anthony Castillo (So., Western Springs, IL), 3-4
174: Brian Glynn (So., Orland Park, IL), 10-1; Peter Friedl (Fr., Orland Park, IL), 8-2
184: Jason Potter (Jr., St. Charles, IL), 5-1
197: Tyrone Byrd (So., Clinton, IL), 9-3
Hwt: Chris Little (Fr., Mahomet, IL), 2-5; Matt Fletcher (Fr., LaSalle, IL), 0-0

Lackey Looks to Climb the Career Charts Illinois senior 165-pounder Matt Lackey currently has 92 career wins, which ranks 13th in school history, and is looking to move up the charts. Lackey can move to 12th with four wins at the Midlands Tournament on Dec. 28-29. He has topped the 30-win mark over the last two seasons with 38 in 2002. He is 10-0 in 2002 with two tournament titles and a win against SIUE last weekend. Just 10 more wins this season would put him in the career Top-10. Former NCAA Champion Adam Tirapelle is the school leader with 127.
1. Adam Tirapelle - 127
2. John Lockhart - 122
3. Ernest Benion - 121
4. Steve Marianetti - 120
5. Eric Seibert - 112
6. Jevon Herman - 110
7. Pat Quirk - 107
8. Jon Llewellyn - 106
9. Kevin Puebla - 104
10. Griff Powell - 102
11. Carl Perry - 98
12. Nate Patrick - 96
13. Matt Lackey - 92

Illini Put Together Back-to-Back Outstanding Performances at Early Season Tournaments
The Illini dominated in their first weekend of competition, placing 12 of 19 wrestlers at the Third Annual Missouri Open. They followed that up with a second-place team finish at the loaded Las Vegas Invitational, placing eight, the most of any team in the tournament.

In a lineup that consists of five freshmen, three sophomores, a junior and a senior, the Illini are making strides that have them contending as a national power. Top-ranked Matt Lackey, who was an NCAA runner-up in 2002, won the 165-pound weight class each of the first two events. Sophomore Brian Glynn was within one takedown of upsetting the defending national champion, Greg Jones of West Virginia, at 174 in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS INVITE RESULTS
1st PLACE: Matt Lackey (165)
2nd PLACE: Brian Glynn (174), Tyrone Byrd (197)
3rd PLACE: Alex Tirapelle (157), Jason Potter (184)
7th PLACE: Kyle Ott (125), Mark Jayne (133), Cal Ferry (141)

MISSOURI OPEN RESULTS
1st PLACE: Kyle Ott (125); Mark Jayne (133), Matt Lackey (165), Brian Glynn (174)
2nd PLACE: Twan Pham (125), Peter Friedl (174)
3rd PLACE: Anthony Pedrosa (149), Alex Tirapelle (157)
4th PLACE: Kelly Madden (149)
5th PLACE: Dominic Valvano (133), Tyrone Byrd (197)
6th PLACE: Eric Novak (149)

Illinois Improve to No. 6 Ranking
The Illinois wrestling team took a big jump in the latest polls as all four unanimously moved the Illini from eighth to sixth - thanks to a second-place finish at the Las Vegas Invite, which had the team placing above higher ranked teams such as Ohio State, Michigan and West Virginia. The Illini will have another opportunity to make a statement when they take on 17 ranked teams at the Midlands Tournament. In addition to team honors, two Illini are among the Top-10 in their respective weight class with 2002 NCAA runner-up Matt Lackey No. 1 at 165 pounds and sophomore Brian Glynn is fifth at 174. Illinois also has ranked grapplers at 125 pounds, (Kyle Ott-10th), 133 (Mark Jayne-16th), 141 (Cal Ferry-16th), 157 (Alex Tirapelle-10th), 184 (Jason Potter-10th) and 197 (Tyrone Byrd-17th). Here is how the Illini fare in the current rankings:

Six Top-10 Finishes -- 10 Years
After a 10th-place finish in the 2002 NCAA Championships, Mark Johnson's record at Illinois looks phenomenal. In 10 years at the helm, he has led the Illini to six Top-10 finishes and has crowned six national champions. Both those feats rank in the Top-10 nationally over the last 10 years. Illinois' ranks seventh with six Top-10 placings and the six national titles are the fourth-best, behind only Iowa, Oklahoma State and Iowa State.
Top-10 Finishes (over the last 10 years)
1. Iowa - 10
2. Iowa State/Oklahoma State - 9
4. Minnesota/Oklahoma/Penn State - 7
7. Illinois/Nebraska - 6

National Champions (over the last 10 years)
1. Iowa - 21
2. Oklahoma State - 11
3. Iowa State - 8
4. Illinois/Penn State - 6