March 14, 2006

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CHAMPAIGN, ILL. - The fourth-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team will bring all ten qualifiers to aid the squad in its quest for its tenth Top-10 NCAA finish in 11 years. The Championships will take place in Oklahoma City, Okla. at the Ford Center on March 16-18. The ten wrestlers going to nationals this year beat last season's nine qualifiers, that finished the season sixth overall with one NCAA finalist in All-American Kyle Ott (125). The team is also led by fellow All-Americans Cassio Pero (141), Alex Tirapelle (157) and Pete Friedl (184).

The Illini are the only team to send 10 wrestlers to the Championships. Last year, Minnesota was the only team to qualify all 10 wrestlers. Defending national champions Oklahoma State will bring nine as well as Edinboro, Lehigh, Michigan and Nebraska.

Nine Top-10 Finishes -- 11 Seasons

After a sixth-place finish in the 2005 NCAA Championships, Mark Johnson's record at Illinois looks phenomenal. In 14 years at the helm, he has led the Illini to nine Top-10 finishes and 11 Top-12 at the national tournament. In the last decade Illinois has crowned seven national champions and had 14 NCAA finalists, 38 All-Americans and 114 NCAA qualifiers. Most recently, three-time All-American Matt Lackey came away with a national championship title in 2003 at 165 pounds.

NCAA TOP-10 TEAM FINISHES (last 10 seasons)

1.	University of Iowa		11
	Oklahoma State University	11
3.	Iowa State University		9
	Oklahoma University		9
	University of Illinois		9
	University of Minnesota		9
7.	Penn State University		5

NCAA individual champions (last 10 seasons)

1.	University of Iowa		19
2.	Oklahoma State University	15
3.	Iowa State University		9
4.	University of Illinois		7
	University of Minnesota		7
5.	Penn State University		5

NCAA Championship History

As the the Fighting Illini head into the 2006 NCAA Championships, they will be looking to continue a top-10 team scoring streak that began in the 2000 season. In the last six NCAA championships, the Illini have placed sixth, fifth, 10th, ninth, seventh and sixth. Illinois has placed in the top-10 a total of nine times in the last 11 seasons. The Illini have never won a national championship, but they have placed second twice in 1930 and 1938

During the Mark Johnson era, the Illini have crowned seven national champions out of 15 finalists, and produced 38 All-Americans. The best finish under Johnson was in 2001, when the Illini placed fifth. The following is a breakdown of the Illini's finish and qualifiers at the NCAA Championships the last 13 years:

Year	NCAA Finish	Qualifiers
2006	_______		10
2005	6th		9
2004	7th		8
2003	9th		8
2002	10th		9
2001	5th		9
2000	6th		10
1999	12th		9
1998	7th		9
1997	9th		8
1996	12th		7
1995	9th		10
1994	T37th		5
1993	T23rd		3

2006 NCAA Seedings

125
1. Simmons, Nick - Michigan State, Jr.
2. Hazewinkel, Sam - Oklahoma, Jr.
3. Dubuque, Joe - Indiana - Sr
4. Ott, Kyle - Illinois - Sr
5. Nickerson, Troy - Cornell - Fr
6. Scott, Coleman - Oklahoma State - So
7. Mendoza, Jeremy - Arizona State - Sr
8. Velez, John - Northwestern - Sr
9. Mendes, Chad - Cal Poly - Jr
10. Donahoe, Paul - Nebraska - Fr
11. Smith, Luke - Central Michigan - Sr
12. Gardner, Tanner - Stanford - Jr
133
1. Bunch, Shawn - Edinboro - Sr
2. Morgan, Nathan - Oklahoma State - So
3. Clum, Tom - Wisconsin - Sr
4. Reiter, Mack - Minnesota - So
5. Fleeger, Chris - Purdue - Sr
6. Valenti, Matthew - Penn - Sr
7. Strayer, Jake - Penn State - Fr
8. Keller, Matt - UT-Chattanooga - Jr
9. Jorgensen, Scott - Boise St - Sr
10. Vasquez, Darrell - Cal Poly - Jr
11. Preston, Robert - Harvard - Jr
12. Moos, Mark - Michigan - Jr
141
1. Gallick, Nate - Iowa St - Sr
2. Ware, Teyon - Oklahoma - Sr
3. Cooperman, Cory - Lehigh - Sr
4. Simmons, Andy - Michigan St - Jr
5. Churella, Josh - Michigan - So
6. Lang, Ryan - Northwestern - So
7. Tsirtsis, Alex - Iowa - So
8. Moore, Derek - UC Davis - Jr
9. Rader, Brandon - West Virginia - Fr
10. Tarquinio, Ron - Pittsburgh - Sr
11. Wooton, Josh - Northern Illinois - Sr
12. Markey, Sean - The Citadel - Sr
149
1. Schlatter, Dustin - Minnesota - Fr
2. Eustice, Ty - Iowa - Sr
3. Esposito, Zach - Oklahoma St - Sr
4. Storniolo, Matthew - Oklahoma - Sr
5. DiSalvo, Mark - CMU - Sr
6. Masa, Jon - Hofstra - Sr
7. Gillespie, Gregor - Edinboro - Fr
8. Tannenbaum, Eric - Michigan - So.
9. Turner, Tyler - Wisconsin - Sr
10. Elliott, Daniel - Gardner-Webb - Sr
11. Dragon, Matt - Penn - Fr
12. Tirapelle, Troy - Illinois - Fr
157
1. Paulson, Trent - Iowa State - Jr
2. Schlatter, C.P. - Minnesota - So
3. Tirapelle, Alex - Illinois - Sr
4. Lebe, Matthew - West Virginia - Sr
5. Cherrington, Ben - Boise St - Sr
6. Becker, Brandon - Indiana - So
7. Manotti, Dustin - Cornell - Sr
8. Henning, Craig - Wisconsin - So
9. Johnston, Joe - Iowa - Sr
10. Stith, Brian - Arizona State - Jr
11. Zinck, Derek - Lehigh - Sr
12. Luke, Steve - Michigan - Fr
165
1. Churella, Ryan - Michigan - Sr
2. Hendricks, Jonny - Oklahoma State - Sr
3. Abdurakhmanov, Muzaffar - American - Sr
4. Baima, Nick - Northern Iowa - Sr
5. Pell, Mathew - Missouri - Sr
6. Nagel, Matt - Minnesota - Sr
7. Letters, Troy - Lehigh - Sr
8. Paulson, Travis - Iowa State - Jr
9. Poeta, Mike - Illinois - Fr
10. Pitsch, Patrick - Arizona State - Jr
11. Anceravage, Stephen - Cornell - So
12. Harwood, Marc - Nebraska - So
174
1. Askren, Ben - Missouri - Jr
2. Herbert, Jake - Northwestern - So
3. Perry, Mark - Iowa - So
4. Klein, Jacob - Nebraska - Jr
5. Patrovich, Michael - Hofstra - Jr
6. Boudro, Richard- Michigan State - Sr
7. Cook, Kenneth - UC Davis - Sr
8. Frick, Travis - Lehigh - Sr
9. Yonushonis, James - Penn State - Jr
10. Dretsch, Gabriel - Minnesota - So
11. Mason, Brandon - Oklahoma St - Fr
12. Herrington, Matthew - Penn - Jr
184
1. Glenn, Josh - American - So
2. Kish, Roger - Minnesota - So
3. Wissel, Benjamin - Purdue - Sr
4. Mazzurco, Joe - Cornell - Sr
5. Webster, Shane - Oregon - Sr
6. Freidl, Pete - Illinois - Sr
7. Backes, Kurt - Iowa State - Jr
8. Bradley, Eric - Penn State - Sr
9. Jordan, Raymond - Missouri - Fr
10. Dollaway, C.B. - Arizona State - Jr
11. Camargo, Alex - Kent State - Sr
12. Tamillow, Mike - Northwestern - So
197
1. Michalak, Wynn - Central Michigan - So
2. Cerminara, Kyle - Buffalo - Sr
3. Padden, B.J. - Nebraska - Jr
4. Rosholt, Jake - Oklahoma State - Sr
5. Flaggert, Joel - Oklahoma - Jr
6. Davis, Philip - Penn State - So
7. Rinaldi, Jerry - Cornell - Jr
8. Bader, Ryan - Arizona State - Sr
9. Byrd, Tyrone - Illinois - Sr
10. Delguyd, Matt - Northwestern - Sr
11. Goodman, Ryan - North Carolina State - Fr
12. Phelps, Casey - Boise State - Sr
285
1. Konrad, Cole - Minnesota - Jr
2. Mocco, Steve - Oklahoma State - Sr
3. Wagner, Greg - Michigan - Sr
4. Velasquez, Cain - Arizona State -Sr
5. Ogunwole, Bode - Harvard - Jr
6. Garrett, Tanner - Navy - Sr
7. Hager, Jake - Oklahoma - Sr
8. Faust, Mike - Virginia Tech - Sr
9. Zarrinpour, Payam - Sacred Heart - Jr
10. Fox, Dustin - Northwestern - So
11. Nadolsky, Spencer - North Carolina - Jr
12. LoPiccolo, Adam - American - So