Dec. 29, 2004

The third-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team advanced four semifinalists after the first day of competition at the 42nd Annual Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill., Wednesday night. The team currently stands in third place, just three points behind 14th-ranked Central Michigan. No. 1 seed Mark Jayne, No. 2 seeds Alex Tirapelle and Brian Glynn and sixth-seed Tyrone Byrd remain alive in the championship bracket, along with nine in the consolation.

Jayne (Sr., Elyria, Ohio) was Illinois' first semifinalist of the evening, advancing at 133 pounds following a 5-2 decision over the eighth seed Matt Ciasulli of Lehigh. After being ridden out in the second period, Jayne scored the only two takedowns of the match, the final being in the last four seconds of the match.

Tirapelle (Jr., Clovis, Calif.) dominated his 157 pound quarterfinal opponent, scoring a 10-1 major decision over seventh seeded Matt Lebe of West Virginia. He led 4-1 after one period, but scored the final six points in period three when he nearly pinned Lebe, but settled for the three back points for the major.

Glynn (Sr., Orland Park, Ill.) scored a takedown with 18 seconds remaining in the match to secure a 5-4 win over T.J. Morrison of Rider and advance to the semifinals at 184. With the match tied a three apiece, Glynn need only about 10 seconds to turn a single-leg shot into a takedown.

Byrd (Jr., Clinton, Ill.) recorded yet another upset over Northern Iowa's two-time All-American and the tournament's second seed Sean Stender with his 5-4 decision at 197. With the match tied at four points each, Byrd's escape became the deciding factor in his win.

Illinois began the round with a tournament-leading eight quarterfinalists, but suffered four setbacks beginning at 125 pounds when Gabe Flores (r-Fr., Madera, Calif.) dropped an 11-2 loss to fifth seeded Andrew Hochstasser of Boise State and at 141 pounds as a late comeback attempt by Michael Martin (So., Norfolk, Va.) came up short in a 3-1 loss to Max Meltzer (unattached). At 174, Pete Frield (Jr., Orland Park, Ill.) was upset by Northwestern's Jake Herbert, giving up two takedowns in the 5-2 decision. In Illinois' final quarter of the day, Mike Behnke (So., Villa Park, Ill.) got turned and pinned by the tournament's No. 2 seed Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha.

The Illini will return for the second day of competition with 13 wrestlers still alive in the tournament. Out of seven wrestlers that entered tonight's action in the consolation bracket, five still remain. Starters Anton Dietzen and Donny Reynolds both won two matches in the evening to gain valuable team points for the Illini.

Tomorrow's third session begins with the semifinals at Noon, followed by the finals at 7 p.m.

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Central Michigan - 71.5
2. Iowa State - 70.0
3. Illinois - 68.5
4. Iowa - 61.5
5. Michigan State - 56.5

125: No. 4 seed Gabe Flores (r-Fr., Madera, Calif.) 10-2
1st Round: Dec. Mike Silengo (Penn), 10-4
2nd Round: Dec. Bobby Maldanado (Wildcat WC), 6-2
Quarterfinals: Lost to #7 No. 5 seed Andrew Hochstasser (Boise St.), 11-2
Consolation 4th Round: Chris Helgeson (UNI)

133: #3 No. 1 seed Mark Jayne (Sr., Elyria, Ohio) 10-0
Rat Tail: Major dec. Rob Jankowski (UW-Lacrosse), 14-6
1st Round: Major dec. Chris Harris (Lassen), 11-3
2nd Round: Won by medical forfeit Pat Sharp (UNI)
Quarterfinals: Dec. No. 8 seed Matt Ciasulli (Lehigh), 5-2
Semifinals: #12 No. 5 seed Sam Hiatt (NIU)

141: No. 6 seed Michael Martin (So., Norfolk, Va.) 9-4
1st Round: Pinned Dexter Johnson (EIU), 2:58
2nd Round: Dec. No. 11 seed Josh Wooten (NIU), 5-3 (3OT)
Quarterfinals: Lost to No. 3 seed Max Meltzer (Unattached), 3-1
Consolation 4th Round: Cassio Pero (Illinois)

141: Cassio Pero (So., Chicago Heights, Ill.) 8-5
1st Round: Dec. Marcus Cobbs (Unattached), 7-2
2nd Round: Lost to No. 4 seed Donald Locket (San Francisco), 9-4
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. No. 7 DeWitt Driscoll (Penn State), 4-1
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Andy Hiatt (NIU), 7-6
Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 6 seed Michael Martin (Illinois)

149: No. 7 seed Anton Dietzen (Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.) 7-4
1st Round: Lost to Jason Knipp (ISU), 1-0
Consolation 1st Round: Major dec. #10 seed Greg Hagel
(Northwestern) 12-3
Consolation 2nd Round: Major dec. Pacifico Garcia (San Francisco St.), 11-2
Consolation 3rd Round: Pinned Mike Palma (Rider), 5:53
Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 11 seed Tyler Moran (Emery -Riddle)

149: Dan Zeman (r-Fr., LaGrange, Ill.) 5-3
1st Round: Lost to #18 No. 5 seed Darren McKnight (MSU), 8-4
Consolation 1st Round: Major dec. Brett Stedman (Iowa), 9-0
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. No. 6 seed Anthony Baza (CS-Bakersfield), 6-4
Consolation 3rd Round: Pinned Ryan Needle (OSU), 2:45
Consolation Quarterfinals: No. 8 seed Justin Harrison (UNI)

157: #2 No. 2 seed Alex Tirapelle (Jr., Clovis, Calif.) 13-0
1st Round: Dec. Brandon Becker (Indiana), 10-5
2nd Round: Dec. Zach Shanaman (Penn), 9-3
Quarterfinals: Major dec. #9 No. 7 seed Matt Lebe (WVU), 10-1
Semifinals: No. 3 seed Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American)

165: #17 No. 6 seed Donny Reynolds (So., Frankfort, Ill.) 6-2
1st Round: Pinned by Deonte Penn (Unattached), 4:48
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Tim Scarl (Indiana), 3-0
Consolation 3rd Round: Won by injury default Matt Palmer (Columbia)
Consolation 4th Round: Won by injury default Dwayne Coward (NC-Pem)
Consolation Quarterfinals: Brian Lamay (Lehigh)

174: #5 No. 2 seed Pete Friedl (Jr., Orland Park, Ill.) 10-2
1st Round: Major dec. Tim Ruberg (Unattached), 12-3
2nd Round: Dec. Matt Klinger (Cleveland State), 9-4
Quarterfinals: Lost to No. 7 seed Jake Herbert (Northwestern), 5-2
Consolation 4th Round: Charles Gary (Purdue)

174: Matt Winterhalter (So., Durand, Ill.) 7-6
1st Round: Lost to No. 5 seed Mitch Hancock (CMU), 3-2
Consolation Rat Tail: Dec. Careef Robertson (Anderson), 1-0
Consolation 1st Round: Major dec. Jack Kitchen (Penn), 9-0
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Matt Klinger (Cleveland State), 1-0
Consolation 3rd Round: Lost to Daniel Waters (American), 9-4 ... Winterhalter eliminated.

184: #3 No. 2 seed Brian Glynn (Sr., Orland Park, Ill.) 12-0
1st Round: Dec. Luke Lefever (Air Force), 7-1
2nd Round: Dec. Christian Sinnott (CMU), 3-1 ot
Quarterfinals: Dec. T.J. Morrison (Rider), 5-4
Semifinals: #4 No. 3 seed Kurt Backes (ISU)

197: #16 No. 6 seed Tyrone Byrd (Jr., Clinton, Ill.) 9-2
1st Round: Dec. Brenden McClean (Air Force), 5-0
2nd Round: Dec. Brent Meyers (Peacock WC), 3-0
Quarterfinals: Dec. #9 No. 3 seed Sean Stender (UNI), 5-4
Semifinals: #6 No. 2 seed J.D. Bergman (OSU)

197: Matt Weight (So., Batavia, Ill.) 5-5
1st Round: Dec. Jeff Clemens (MSU), 4-2
2nd Round: Pinned by No. 4 seed Mitch Clark (Ohio Int), 2:49
Consolation 2nd Round: Won by injury default Major Ennen (Iowa)
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Brenden McClean (Air Force), 2-1
Consolation Quarterfinals:

Hwt: #14 No. 7 seed Mike Behnke (So., Villa Park, Ill.) 3-0
1st Round: Dec. Chris Burtscher (OSU), 7-3
2nd Round: Dec. No. 10 seed Payam Zarrinpour (Sacred Heart), 3-2 (4OT)
Quarterfinals: Pinned by No. 2 seed Les Sigman (Neb-0maha)
Consolation 4th Round:

Hwt: Chris Little (Jr., Mahomet, Ill.) 8-5

Rat Tail: Lost to Joe Dennis (Cleveland St.), 3-1
Consolation 1st Round: Dec. Joe Sapp (NIU), 3-2
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Chris Burtscher (OSU), 12-6
Consolation 3rd Round: Lost to Pete Ziminski (EIU), 5-3 ... Little eliminated