University of Illinois
NCAA Championships Medal Round
Kennedy Takes Fourth at NCAA Championships
March 22, 2008 | Wrestling
March 22, 2008
ST. LOUIS - No. 2 seed Jimmy Kennedy finished fourth at the NCAA Championships, defeating eighth-seeded Mack Reiter (Minnesota) but dropping his third-place bout to Michigan State's top-seeded Franklin Gomez. It is Kennedy's first All-America honor and highest finish, ending his sophomore campaign with a 32-7 record. No. 2 seed Mike Poeta is the lone Illini left and he will face Cornell's eighth-seeded Jordan Leen Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the 157-pound championship, which will be televised live by ESPN. The Illini remain in 12th place with 40.5 points after the medal round.
No. 2 seed Jimmy Kennedy faced No. 8 seed Mack Reiter (Minesota) for the right to wrestle for third place and the two stayed on their feet throughout the first period. Reiter started down in the second and Kennedy rode him the entire period, leaving the bout scoreless but Kennedy with two minutes of riding time. Kennedy finally broke free after 1:01, taking a 1-0 lead but losing his riding time advantage. With 40 seconds left, he shot through on a double-leg, but Reiter kept one of Kennedy's legs for 20 seconds until the Illini sophomore was able to score the takedown for a 3-0 lead. Kennedy rode him the final five seconds to advance to the third-place bout against Michigan State's Franklin Gomez, a rematch of the Big Ten title bout.
Kennedy and Gomez wrestled to a scoreless end of the first period and Gomez started down in the second. Kennedy put a good ride on the Spartan, racking up 1:01 before Gomez escaped to take a 1-0 lead. After a scramble, Gomez controlled Kennedy's legs with 20 seconds left in the second period for a 3-0 lead. Kennedy started down in the third and escaped 41 seconds later with riding time no longer a factor. Gomez shot in with 50 seconds left and scored the takedown for a 5-1 lead. Kennedy escaped, but Gomez got a late takedown to make the final score 7-2.
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT RESULTS 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) Semifinals: dec. by No. 3 seed, #3 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State), 4-2 Consolation Semifinals: dec. No. 8 seed, #8 Mack Reiter (Minnesota), 4-0 Third Place Match: dec. by No. 1 seed, #1 Franklin Gomez (Michigan State), 7-2 157: 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 Semifinals: dec. No. 3 seed, #3 Dan Vallimont (Penn State), 6-5 Up Next - Championship: No. 8 seed, #8 Jordan Leen (Cornell)
