March 17, 2007

Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Fighting Illini finished the 2007 NCAA Championships in 19th place with 31.0 points. For the past three days, the tournament has been held at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. Illinois' 157-pound sophomore Mike Poeta garnered All-America honors with a third-place victory earlier today. Poeta is the 40th All-American in head coach Mark Johnson's career at Illinois. Johnson has had at least one All-American in each of his 15 seasons.

Poeta went 2-0 in the morning session to finish in third place. In the consolation semifinal, he defeated 11th-seeded Matt Kocher (Pitt), 5-3, to advance to the third place match. Then, Poeta edged third-seeded James Strouse (Hofstra), 2-1, in an exciting overtime third place bout. The two grapplers traded escapes in the second and third periods to send the match into overtime. With no scoring in the sudden victory session, the match headed into the tie-break periods. In the first 30-second period, Poeta rode Strouse the entire time. Then, with a second left in the second 30-second period, the Illini sophomore escaped for the win. Hofstra protested the result of the match, but after 25 minutes, the escape call was upheld and so was the Poeta victory.

"Third is better than fourth, but I'd rather be two steps higher on the podium." Said Poeta. "There's a lot I have to work on between now and next March. I felt like there were two other guys I was wrestling out there - my opponent and myself. I just have to keep believing in myself and to not over-think every situation. Mostly, I have to just go out there and wrestle like I know how."

"Mike is a tremendous wrestler." Said head coach Mark Johnson. "He's only a sophomore and will be the cornerstone of our young team next season. Mike is part of a long line of All-Americans that come from our program. Third place is only part of his road to an eventual national title."

Team Standings

1. Minnesota	98.0
2. Iowa St.	88.5
3. Missouri	80.0
4. Northwestern	71.5
5. Oklahoma St.	69.0
6. Michigan	62.0
7. Hofstra 	60.5
8. Iowa		57.0
9. Edinboro	56.0
10. Ohio St.	54.5
19. ILLINOIS	31.0

Match-by-Match Results

157: No.5-seed, #5 Mike Poeta (So., Highwood, Ill.)
1st Round: Won by dec. Chase Pami (Cal Poly), 5-3
2nd Round: Won by dec. William Rowe (Oklahoma), 8-3
Quarterfinals: Won by dec. No. 4-seed C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota), 5-4
Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 1-seed Travis Paulson (Iowa St.), 4-0
Consolation Semifinals: Won by dec. No. 11-seed Matt Kocher (Pitt), 5-3
Third Place: Won by dec. No. 3-seed James Strouse (Hofstra), 2-1 (TB1)