Feb. 8, 2002
The No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini (10-2 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) wrestling team defeating the visiting No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers (10-8, 2-3), 23-9, at Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois. Three Illini upsets at 125, 133 and 184 pounds helped the home team score their second straight Big Ten victory.
The match started with a Wisconsin win at 174 pounds when Brady Reinke (20-11) defeated Brian Glynn (14-10), 11-6. In a battle between two top 20 wrestlers, No. 19 Jason Potter (18-6) scored a mild upset by defeating No. 13 Ralph DeNisco (20-8), 7-5. In a close 197-pound match, Wisconsin's Jareck Horton (6-12) defeated the Illini's Tyrone Byrd (14-7), 4-1 after a late reversal.
Third-ranked Heavyweight John Lockhart (24-2) edged by Wisconsin's Justin Staebler (11-7), 3-1, to tie up the match at 6-6. With the win, Lockhart moves into fourth place by himself in career victories with 113. Lockhart is now 5-0 in Big Ten duals.
Illinois took its first lead of the day thanks to another minor upset, this time by 125-pound and 19th-ranked Twan Pham (20-6) who defeated No. 17 Tony Black (13-6), 10-6. Chad Hay (12-8), ranked No. 20 at 133 pounds, scored the third upset of the evening for Illinois when he defeated No. 4 Kevin Black (18-4), 5-4, after a takedown at :28 in the third period. Hay then had to prevent Black from escaping to secure the victory.
Wisconsin cut Illinois' lead to 12-9 after No. 15 Grant Hoerr (21-9) defeated Eric Novak (13-12), 8-6, in the 141-pound match. No. 19 Ryan Berger (18-7) scored a major decision over Tyler Laudon (14-16), 15-7, to give Illinois a more comfortable lead at 16-9 with two matches left. Griff Powell (15-4), ranked 18th at 157 pounds, squeaked by Wisconsin's Chris Borchardt (1-3), 2-1, in double overtime.
"We knew that Wisconsin was going to be tough," said Head Coach Mark Johnson. "They have good wrestlers at various classes. It was a good solid win for us. Our kids came to wrestle today."
Illinois' next match will be Sunday, February 10, at Indiana. The Illini will return home on February 22 against Purdue.
No. 13 Illinois, 23, No. 16 Wisconsin, 9
February 8, 2002
Match started at 174 pounds
125 No. 19 Twan Pham (ILL) defeated No. 17 Tony Black (WIS), 10-6
133 No. 20 Chad Hay (ILL) defeated No. 4 Kevin Black (WIS), 5-4
141 No. 15 Grant Hoerr (WIS) defeated Eric Novak (ILL), 8-6
149 No. 19 Ryan Berger (ILL) major decision Tyler Laudon (WIS), 15-7
157 No. 18 Griff Powell (ILL) defeated Chris Borchardt (WIS), 2-1 (2 ot)
165 No. 2 Matt Lackey (ILL) vs. Ryan Lewis (WIS), 22-11
174 Brady Reinke (WIS) defeated Brian Glynn (ILL), 11-6
184 No. 19 Jason Potter (ILL) defeated No. 13 Ralph DeNisco (WIS), 7-5
197 Jareck Horton (WIS) defeated Tyrone Byrd (ILL), 4-1
Hwt No. 3 John Lockhart (ILL) defeated Justin Staebler (WIS), 3-1
