Nov. 8, 2008

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois began its season with intrasquad wrestle-offs Saturday at Huff Hall, saving the most entertaining match for last as true-freshman Daryl Thomas used a hip-toss takedown and a two-point near-fall with less than 10 seconds left to score a 9-7 win over fellow true-freshman B.J. Futrell at 125 pounds. In other action, Thomas earned a pinfall in his first match of the day, while true-freshman Jordan Blanton and sophomore Grant Paswall each got pins at 184 and 157, respectively.

"A lot of good things happened today," Illinois head coach Mark Johnson said. "I was pleased with our guys' intensity and with the crowd. That was a huge win for Daryl and both of those guys are very talented."

Thomas started the day by pinning Zeke Rowan in 3:51 on mat one, while Futrell earned a 7-2 decision over John Deneen, both at 125. Patrick Bond notched a 13-5 major decision over redshirt-freshman Martin Smith on mat one, while Eric Terrazas posted a 7-1 victory over Reese Taylor in a battle of true-freshmen at 149.

Senior Roger Smith-Bergsrud edged Joe Barczak, 4-3, after the first overtime period at 165, while Jake Norman got a solid 6-1 win over Harold White at 197. At 133, All-American Jimmy Kennedy posted a 21-5 technical fall over true-freshman Tyler LePretre in 3:14, and Ryan Prater scored a resounding 14-0 major decision over Vince Vercelli at 141.

At 157, Kyle Dooley edged Brian Reynolds, 3-2, in another match pitting a pair of true-freshmen, thanks to an escape after starting the third period in the down position. On the other mat at 157, Grant Paswall pinned Jake Kimberlin in 1:54. In the next pair of matches, Ben Friedl earned a 6-1 win over Clinton Polz at 174 and Clint Arlis used a six-point third period to defeat Dan Stelter, 9-3, at 165.

John Wise controlled his heavyweight bout against Pat Walker throughout, winning 8-1, while true-freshman Jordan Blanton pinned true-freshman Matt McCarter in 3:44 after jumping out to a 15-4 lead after one period. In the final bout on mat one, Bond notched a major decision over Norman, 16-6, while Terrazas scored an 8-3 win over Jake Beechy at 149 on mat two.

That left only the final bout of the day, featuring Thomas and Futrell at 125. Futrell scored a pair of first-period takedowns and Thomas escaped twice for a 4-2 Futrell lead after three minutes. Thomas started down in the second period and escaped to cut the margin to 4-3, but Futrell regained a two-point margin after starting down in the third period and had a riding-time advantage of more than three minutes. Thomas recorded a takedown with less than a minute left and let Futrell up on the optional restart, making the score 6-5 in Futrell's favor. But with just under 10 seconds remaining, Thomas executed a hip toss to score the takedown on Futrell and quickly got the Park Forest, Ill., native on his back to score a two-point near-fall that gave Thomas the 9-7 win after Futrell's riding time point was awarded.

The Fighting Illini compete in their first event against outside competition next Saturday in the ACC/Big Ten Clash at Chapel Hill, N.C. Illinois will face North Carolina State at 11 a.m. (CT), Virginia at 1 p.m. and the host Tar Heels at 3 p.m.

Mat 1
125: Daryl Thomas pinned Zeke Rowan, 3:51
197: Patrick Bond maj. dec Martin Smith, 13-5
165: Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. Joe Barczak, 4-3 (TB1)
133: Jimmy Kennedy tech. fall Tyler LePretre, 21-5 (3:14)
157: Kyle Dooley dec. Brian Reynolds, 3-2
174: Ben Friedl dec. Clinton Polz, 6-1
HWT: John Wise dec. Pat Walker, 8-1
197: Patrick Bond maj. dec. Jake Norman, 16-6

Mat 2
125: B.J. Futrell dec. John Deneen, 7-2
149: Eric Terrazas dec. Reese Taylor, 7-1
197: Jake Norman dec. Harold White, 6-1
141: Ryan Prater maj. dec. Vince Vercelli, 14-0
157: Grant Paswall pinned Jake Kimberlin, 1:54
165: Clint Arlis dec. Dan Stelter, 9-3
184: Jordan Blanton pinned Matt McCarter, 3:44
149: Eric Terrazas dec. Jake Beechy, 8-3
125: Daryl Thomas dec. B.J. Futrell, 9-7