Dec. 7, 2002
The 10th-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team beat three higher-ranked teams this weekend to ensure a second-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Saturday night at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Senior Matt Lackey won the tournament title at 165 pounds and Brian Glynn (174) and Tyrone Byrd (197) took second overall.
Top-ranked Lackey faced the third-ranked wrestler in Minnesota's Jake Volkmann and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the final 20 seconds of the first period with a take down. Volkmann chose down and recorded an escape point at the 1:10 mark in the second period. Lackey added a takedown at 0:37 in the second to bring the score to 4-1. Two points at the 0:51 mark of the third period gave him a 6-2 win. Lackey improves to 8-0 on the season and moves up the Illinois career charts to 13th with 91 total wins in his three-year career.
Brian Glynn, ranked 16th in the nation, faced the weight class' defending national champion in top-ranked Greg Jones of West Virginia in the tournament finals, giving him a run for his money in a 5-3 loss. Jones got the first take down of the match with 32 seconds remaining in the period and Glynn escaped nine seconds later for a 2-1 first-period score. The only scoring of the second period was a Glynn escape three seconds in. Jones got a second take down at 1:28 in the third and Glynn escaped at just under the minute mark for the match. He shot one last time at the 20 second mark and nearly recorded the match-tying score before time ran out.
Unranked Byrd dropped a 5-1 decision to No. 12 Anton Talamantes of Ohio State. Byrd's only point was scored on an escape in the second period. Talamantes jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an escape and take down in the second and ensured his win in with a final take down with 11 seconds remaining in match.
Alex Tirapelle won his 157-pound, third-place match with a 5-2 decision over 14th-ranked Kenny Burleson of Missouri. Tirapelle fell behind 2-0 on a UM reversal at the 1:17 mark of the second period and Tirapelle followed suit with a reversal of his own at the :24 mark. An escape 16 seconds into the third period broke the 2-2 tie and a Illinois take down at 1:23 in the third gave him a final of 5-2. At 184, Jason Potter went to sudden victory overtime to get his third-place win against Ryan Halsey of Cal Poly. Each wrestler traded a takedown and two escapes for a 4-4 tie to send the match to overtime. Potter recorded a take down with only eight seconds remaining for the 6-4 win.
The Illini finished with eight placewinners, the most in the tournament, which included one first-place, a pair of second and third places and three seventh-place winners. The Illini, who were ranked 10th in the last poll, beat fifth-ranked Ohio State, sixth-ranked Michigan, and eighth-ranked West Virginia in the process.
TEAM SCORES (Top-10 out of 46 heading into final session)
1. Minnesota - 131.00
2. Illinois - 123.50
3. Ohio State - 118.50
4. Arizona State - 112.00
5. West Virginia - 96.50
6. Nebraska - 89.00
7. Michigan - 87.00
8. Wisconsin - 77.50
9. Boise State - 75.50
10. Missouri - 73.50
LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL (Championship and Consolation Finals)
157: Alex Tirapelle dec. Kenny Burleson (Missouri), 5-2
165: #1 Matt Lackey dec. #3 Jake Volkmann (Minnesota), 6-2
174: #1 Greg Jones dec. #16 Brian Glynn, 5-3
184: #5 Jason Potter dec. Ryan Halsey (Cal Poly), 6-4 SV
197: #12 Anton Talamantes dec. Tyrone Byrd, 5-1
ILLINOIS PLACEWINNERS
1st: Matt Lackey (165)
2nd: Brian Glynn (174), Tyrone Byrd (197)
3rd: Alex Tirapelle (157), Jason Potter (184)
7th: Kyle Ott (125), Mark Jayne (133), Cal Ferry (141)
