May 8, 2007

Waterloo, Iowa - Two University of Illinois wrestlers competed in the Northern Plains Senior Men's and Women's Tournament this past weekend in Waterloo, Iowa. All-American Mike Poeta and Patrick Bond finished in the top-four as they continue to prepare for the Senior World Teams Trials in June.

Bond, who wrestled in the 211.5 weight-division, finished second after the weekend's competition. Bond had his first loss of the tournament in the final round when he was defeated by Nik Fekete of NYAC in a 2-1 decision. The redshirt-freshman went 16-7 in the regular season and finished fifth at the Big Ten Tournament. All-American Poeta placed fourth at 163 lbs after dropping the third-place match to Ramico Blackmon, also of NYAC, in a 2-0 decision.

The tournament consisted of both a junior and senior division, both being wrestled in Greco-Roman and Freestyle. Both Illini grapplers competed in the Senior Freestyle division.

After placing at the University National Championships, held in April, both wrestlers qualified for the 2007 Senior World Team Trials. The upcoming tournament will be held in Las Vegas, Nev. on June 8-10 and will determine the competitors for the 2007 World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.

For complete results from the 2007 Northern Plains Senior Men's and Women's Tournament, visit www.usawrestling.org.

2007 Northern Plains Senior Men's and Women's Tournament

163:
1st Place - Ryan Churella (NYAC)
2nd Place - Trent Paulson (Sunkist Kids)
3rd Place - Ramico Blackmon (NYAC)
4th Place - Mike Poeta (Illinois Wrestling)


211.5:
1st Place - Nik Fekete (NYAC)
2nd Place - Patrick Bond (Illinois Wrestling)
3rd Place - Maxwell Askren (American Top Team)
4th Place - Justin Bronson (Minnesota Storm)