University of Illinois
NCAA Championships Session 3
Kennedy, Poeta Reach Semifinals; Become All-Americans
March 21, 2008 | Wrestling
March 21, 2008
2008 NCAA Championships Session 3 
ST. LOUIS - No. 2 seeds Jimmy Kennedy (133) and Mike Poeta (157) became All-Americans by advancing to Friday night's semifinal round, and No. 6 seed Gabe Flores (125) and John Wise (HWT) are one win away from becoming All-Americans through the consolation bracket after the third session of the 2008 NCAA Championships. The Illini are tied with Hofstra for twelfth place with 30 points heading into the evening's fourth session. It is the first All-America honor for Kennedy and the second for Poeta, who finished third in 2007.
"I just have to keep attacking," Poeta said after his victory. "If I keep trying to score, good things will happen. I was much more offensive today than I was last night, so that was good."
Flores faced No. 3 seed and defending champion Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) and the two made it through an early scramble without either gaining control. The pair finished the period on their feet, with Flores starting down in the second. Donahoe worked for the tilt, but Flores scrambled around and got the reversal for a 2-0 lead. But after a restart, Donahoe reversed Flores after nearly getting the defensive fall, tying the bout at 2 with 50 seconds left in the second period. Donahoe rode out Flores then started down in the third and got a quick escape for a 3-2 lead. Flores shot and started a scramble, but Donahoe was awarded a point for an illegal headscissors by Flores to go up 4-2 with 1:20 left in the bout. Donahoe shot and got Flores into the Iranian position, but the hold was broken before any points. Flores shot with 20 seconds left and Donahoe fended him off, and the Husker held off the Illini senior for the 4-2 win. Flores will face No. 19 Mark McKnight (Penn State) in the Round of 12, needing one win to record his first career All-America accolade.
Kennedy squared off with No. 7 seed and fourth-ranked Mike Grey (Cornell) in his quarterfinal bout. Kennedy got a leg early and put Grey into the Iranian position, but Grey won the scramble and scored the takedown with 1:44 left in the first. But Kennedy worked into a reversal in just 15 seconds, tying the bout at 2. However, Grey escaped quickly, then got a takedown and nearly put Kennedy on his back for a 5-2 lead. Kennedy nearly scored another reversal but the wrestlers went out of bounds. After a restart, Kennedy escaped quickly, then got a leg and put Grey into the Iranian position again. The pair went out of bounds and a restart was called. Grey led, 5-3, after a period and Kennedy started down in the second. He escaped quickly to cut Grey's lead to one then got a double-leg to go ahead, 6-5. Grey escaped with 40 seconds left in the second to tie the bout once again, this time at 6 after two periods. Grey started down in the third and he escaped after a scramble to take a 7-6 lead with 1:40 left in the match. Grey shot but Kennedy fended him off and dropped him for a takedown and an 8-7 lead. Grey nearly got a reversal as time dwindled under a minute, but Kennedy maintained control and a restart was called. But Grey quickly escaped off the restart, tying the bout at 8. Kennedy got a leg quickly and went to the Iranian once again, nearly gaining control, but a stalemate was called. Grey took a shot and Kennedy fended him off as time ran out, sending the bout to sudden victory. Kennedy shot early in overtime, getting a leg and starting a scramble that Kennedy eventually won for a takedown and a 10-8 victory in sudden-victory overtime, sending him to the semifinals against Oklahoma State's third-seeded Coleman Scott and making him an All-American for the first time in his career.
"I just kept pressing on him and when I started shooting I made sure to get a leg, because I knew he'd try to roll out," Kennedy said. "I was able to get in a lot of shots, but he's a good scrambler. I'm in pretty good shape, so I used that to my benefit in overtime."
Poeta squared off with Missouri's 10th-seeded Michael Chandler and, after a first period of trading shots, Poeta got a leg and scored the takedown with 42 seconds left in the first after a short scramble. Chandler scored a reversal in 13 seconds, but when he tried to tilt Poeta, the Illini got a reversal of his own for a 4-2 lead after the first period. Chandler started down in the second and escaped in 25 seconds, leaving Poeta with 48 seconds of riding time. Chandler got a point for an illegal hold, but Poeta shot in and got a takedown just before the buzzer for a 6-3 lead with one minute of riding time after two periods. Poeta started down in the third and after chandler rode him for 93 seconds, Poeta escaped out the back for a 7-3 lead. Poeta then held off the Tiger for the victory and his second-straight All-America accolade with a trip to the semifinals. He will face Penn State's third-seeded Dan Vallimont whom he has beaten twice this season.
No. 20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud was the first Illini tocompete in the consolation bracket on Friday morning, facing Penn's Zack Shanaman. The Quaker got Smith-Bergsrud's leg, but the pair tumbled out of bounds before any points were scored. The period ended scoreless and Smith-Bergsrud started down in the second. The Illini was warned for stalling at the one-minute mark and Shanaman was able to ride him out the rest of the period. Shanaman started down in the third and escaped in 12 seconds for the 1-0 lead with 1:48 of riding time. Smith-Bergsrud shot, but Shanaman defended it and reshot for a takedown with 42 seconds left. Smith-Bergsrud escaped with 28 seconds left but Shanaman thwarted any late offense for the 4-1 win, knocking Smith-Bergsrud out of the tournament.
No. 15 John Dergo squared off against Chris Henrich (Virginia) in his consolation second-round bout and nearly got a takedown at the edge of the mat with 20 seconds left in the period, but Henrich was out of bounds. The period ended scoreless and Dergo started down in the second. After 1:04, Dergo managed to escape and the pair finished the period on their feet with Dergo ahead, 1-0. Henrich started down in the third and escaped in 16 seconds to tie the bout at 1, but Dergo managed to clear the riding time advantage. With just over a minute, Dergo got both legs and scored the takedown, then got a two-point near-fall with 45 seconds left for a 5-1 advantage. Dergo rode him out for the win to advance in the consolation bracket, where he'll face Duke Burk (Northern Illinois).
Ninth-seeded Patrick Bond faced Jason Trulson (Arizona State) in his second-round consolation match and Trulson scored a takedown with 36 seconds left in the first period then rode him out. The pair started neutral in the second and after a scramble, Trulson got a takedown near the edge of the mat for a 4-0 lead. Bond escaped quickly, though, but Trulson countered a shot by Bond and spun around him for the takedown and a 6-1 lead. Trulson let Bond up and the period ended with the Sun Devil leading, 6-2. Trulson started down in the second and escaped after a strong ride by Bond, then he held off Bond's late offense for the 7-2 win to knock the Illini sophomore out of the tournament.
Wise then took on Edinboro's Joe Fendone in a consolation second-round bout and Wise shot through for a takedown with 1:12 left in the first. Wise rode him out and started down in the second before reversing Fendone in 30 seconds for a 4-0 lead. Wise rode him out once again, then started down in the third period. Fendone rode him out, but Wise won, 4-0, to advance to the consolation third round against Northern Colorado's Reece Hopkin.
Dergo was quick to get back on the mat, where he faced Burk in the consolation third round. The two traded shots but didn't land any through the first period, then Dergo started down in the second. He escaped in nine seconds and the two wrestled the rest of the period on their feet. Burk started down in the third and Dergo worked to get the early tilt, but he wasn't successful as a stalemate was called. Burk managed to escape off a restart just before Dergo locked up the riding time point, tying the bout at 1 with Dergo holding 56 seconds of riding time. Burk was warned for stalling with 26 seconds left, but time ran out before any points were scored, sending it to overtime. Burk shot early in sudden-victory time and ended Dergo's season with a takedown 16 seconds into overtime, winning 3-1.
Wise then jumped back on the mat against Hopkin, where he got a takedown 25 seconds into the bout and led 2-0 after one period. Wise started down in the second and got a quick reversal then rode out Hopkin. Wise started down when Hopkin chose top in the third and he escaped in 35 seconds to extend his lead to 5-0. Wise scored another takedown for a 7-0 lead and added a riding time point with 4:45 of riding time to win by major decision, 8-0. He advances to face Central Michigan's eighth-seeded Bubba Gritter in the consolation fourth round, needing one win to reach All-America status.
TEAM STANDINGS 1. Iowa 67.0 2. Nebraska 47.5 Oklahoma State 47.5 4. Ohio State 44.5 5. Central Michigan 43.0 6. Penn State 42.0 7. Missouri 38.5 8. Cornell 34.5 Minnesota 34.5 10. Iowa State 33.0 Michigan 33.0 12. ILLINOIS 30.0 Hofstra 30.0
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT RESULTS
125: No. 6 seed, #6 Gabe Flores
First Round: dec. Nicholas Bedelyon (Kent State), 6-4
Second Round: dec. No. 11 seed, #11 Dave Tomasette (Hofstra), 4-3
Quarterfinals: dec. by No. 3 seed, #3 Paul Donahoe (Nebraska), 4-2
Up Next - Consolation Fourth Round: #19 Mark McKnight (Penn State)
133: No. 2 seed, #2 Jimmy Kennedy
First Round: maj. dec. David Marble (Bucknell), 12-2
Second Round: dec. #19 Tyler McCormick (Missouri), 6-1
Quarterfinals: dec. No. 7 seed, #4 Mike Grey (Cornell), 8-6 (SV1)
Up Next - Semifinals: No. 3 seed, #3 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State)
157: No. 2 seed, #2 Mike Poeta
First Round: Bye
Second Round: dec. #17 Newly McSpadden (Oklahoma State), 3-2
Quarterfinals: dec. No. 10 seed, #12 Michael Chandler (Missouri), 7-3
Up Next - Semifinals: No. 3 seed, #3 Dan Vallimont (Penn State)
165: #20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud
First Round: dec. by No. 9 seed Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan), 4-2
Consolation First Round: dec. Matt Epperly (Virginia Tech), 8-6
Consolation Second Round: dec. by Zack Shanaman (Penn), 4-1
Smith-Bergsrud eliminated
174: #15 John Dergo
First Round: dec. #16 Philip Moricone (Edinboro), 5-1
Second Round: pinned by No. 4 seed, #4 Jay Borschel (Iowa), 6:06
Consolation Second Round: dec. Chris Henrich (Virginia), 5-1
Consolation Third Round: dec. by Duke Burk (Northern Illinois), 3-1
Dergo eliminated
197: No. 9 seed, #9 Patrick Bond
First Round: dec. Thomas Shovlin (Penn), 3-1 (SV1)
Second Round: dec. by No. 8 seed, #8 Craig Brester (Nebraska), 7-2
Consolation Second Round: dec. by Jason Trulson (Arizona State), 7-2
Bond eliminated
HWT: #13 John Wise
First Round: dec. by No. 12 seed Mark Ellis (Missouri), 5-4
Consolation First Round: dec. Trey McLean (Penn), 6-0
Consolation Second Round: dec. Joe Fendone (Edinboro), 4-0
Consolation Third Round: maj. dec. Reece Hopkin (Northern Colorado), 8-0
Up Next - Consolation Fourth Round: No. 8 seed Bubba Gritter (Central Michigan)
