Dec. 23, 2009
Illinois Notes for Midlands 
#20 Illinois at Midlands Championship
Dec. 29-30 // Welsh-Ryan Arena // Evanston, Ill.
Illinois (4-2) Probable Wrestlers
125: John Deneen (4-3), Jr., Marengo, Ill. and Sam White (4-2), Fr., Massillon, Ohio
133: Daryl Thomas (10-6), r-Fr., Edwardsville, Ill.
141: Jimmy Kennedy (0-0), Sr., Ingleside, Ill. and #16 Ryan Prater (3-1), Jr., Plainfield, Ill.
157: Conrad Polz (10-6), r-Fr., Orland Park, Ill. and Clint Arlis (9-2), Sr., Batavia, Ill. and Kyle Dooley (7-6), r-Fr., Monticello, Ill.
165: Joe Barczak (7-3), Jr., Fox Lake, Ill.
174: #9 Jordan Blanton (8-1), So., Richmond, Ill.
184: #6 John Dergo (13-2), Sr., Morris, Ill. and Matt McCarter (1-4), r-Fr., Batavia, Ill.
197: Patrick Bond (7-4), Sr., Chesapeake, Va.
Hwt: Pat Walker (9-9), r-Fr., Lombard, Ill. and Martin Smith (8-6), So., Quincy, Ill. and Jake Norman (2-2), Sr., Batavia, Ill.
• After a strong freshman year, sophomore No. 9 Jordan Blanton is enjoying his move down to 174 pounds this season with a 8-1 start and five pins. His five falls are more than halfway to his total of eight from a year ago.
• No. 7 John Dergo also has started strong in his move up to 184, holding a 13-2 record, with both losses coming to top-7 opponents. Dergo won a title at the Lindenwood Open and finished second at the Las Vegas Invitational, defeating top-seeded and third-ranked Mike Pucillo (Ohio State) on the way. His two losses on the season have come to No. 2 Max Askren (Missouri) and No. 7 Kirk Smith (Boise State).
• Junior John Deneen has performed admirably after being thrust into the starting role at 125 because of an injury to B.J. Futrell. Deneen scored a major decision over Missouri's Troy Dolan before going 2-1 at Sprawl & Brawl. He's 4-3 on the season with two major decisions.
• Injuries have been a big story already for the Fighting Illini, as four starters were missing at the Las Vegas Invitational. B.J. Futrell (125 pounds) and No. 9 Jordan Blanton (174) returned for the duals against Findlay and McKendree, but Futrell will be out for Midlands. No. 16 Ryan Prater (141) will be back in the lineup for Midlands and Eric Terrazas (149) may be available for the SIUE dual on Jan. 8.
• Sophomore 149-pounder Eric Terrazas battled through a tough freshman year but has burst out to a fast start this season before breaking his foot over Thanksgiving break. He's 9-0 with a first-place finish at the Lindenwood Open and a dual win over Missouri's Brandon Wiest. Terrazas didn't get his first dual win against a Division I opponent until Feb. 20 last season.
Illini Head to Midlands
No. 20 Illinois will return after a break for the holidays and travel to the 47th Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., annually one of the top tournaments in the country. The Illini will be without starters B.J. Futrell (125) and Eric Terrazas (149), who both will miss the tournament with injuries, but redshirt-freshman Conrad Polz will make a move down to 157 pounds after wrestling the first half of the season at 165. Taking his spot at 165 will be Joe Barczak.
In addition to the rest of the starting lineup, Clint Arlis (157), Kyle Dooley (157), Matt McCarter (174), Marty Smith (HWT) and Jake Norman (HWT) will compete in the tournament. Jimmy Kennedy (141) and Sam White (125), who are redshirting this season, both will be entered unattached in the event.
Kennedy grabbed the No. 1 pre-ranking at 141 for Midlands and Ryan Prater took the No. 7 pre-ranking in the class. No. 9 Jordan Blanton took the No. 5 pre-ranking at 174 and No. 6 John Dergo is pre-ranked No. 4 for Midlands. The Big Ten Network will televise the finals of the tournament on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. CT.
Illini Notch Early Pins
Nearing the halfway point of the season, Illinois already has registered 27 pins by non-redshirting wrestlers, on pace to reach the top 10 in school history for single-season pins. The tenth-best entry on that list is 37 pins, which the Illini are well within range of. Leading the way so far is No. 7 John Dergo (184) with a career-high six falls and No. 9 Jordan Blanton (174) has five. B.J. Futrell (125) is close behind with four pins.
The Redshirts are Coming!
After seeing Roger Smith-Bergsrud and John Wise graduate and with senior Jimmy Kennedy redshirting this season, the Illini have turned to a trio of redshirt-freshmen to fill the classes of 133, 165 and heavyweight. Daryl Thomas, of Edwardsville, Ill., Conrad Polz, of Orland Park, Ill., and Pat Walker, of Lombard, Ill., have compiled a 29-21 record thus far. Thomas finished second at the Lindenwood Open to 2009 NAIA champion Ray Stephens before dropping a close bout at Missouri. Polz was 4-2 at Lindenwood prior to his near miss at Missouri and Walker went 4-2 at Lindenwood and 3-2 at the Eastern Michigan Open.
Dergo, Blanton Switch Spots in Lineup
After both John Dergo and Jordan Blanton had strong seasons in 2009, few would've predicted the move they have executed for 2010 - switching weight classes. Dergo has bumped up to 184 pounds - where he wrestled as a true freshman, going 24-12 and placing fifth at the Big Ten Championships - and Blanton has dropped to 174 after going 27-11 with a fourth-place Big Ten finish at 184 a year ago. So far the results bear out the switch, as Blanton is 8-1 with a tournament title and a win over a ranked opponent, and Dergo is 13-2 with a tournament title, a second-place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational and a hard-fought loss to No. 2 Max Askren (Missouri).
#20 Illini Top Findlay, McKendree
Sophomores B.J. Futrell and No. 9 Jordan Blanton didn't waste any time upon returning to the Illini lineup against Findlay and McKendree after being sidelined by injuries in recent weeks, as Futrell recorded two pins and Blanton notched a pin and a major decision to lead the Illini to a pair of wins. Illinois downed Findlay by a 46-3 margin and got past McKendree, 29-16. No. 7 John Dergo also notched a pin and a major decision, and Clint Arlis scored a pair of wins at 157 on the day. Daryl Thomas (133), Vince Vercelli (141), Jake Beechy (149), Kyle Dooley (165), Patrick Bond (197), Pat Walker (HWT) and Marty Smith (HWT) all recorded one win each.
Dergo Leads #20 Illinois at Las Vegas
Ninth-ranked John Dergo finished second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, a career-best finish, and downed top-seeded and third-ranked Mike Pucillo (Ohio State) in the semifinals before dropping an overtime championship bout to No. 7 Kirk Smith (Boise State). Both Daryl Thomas (133) and No. 17 Conrad Polz (165) went 3-2, bowing out on the first day, and No. 17 Patrick Bond (197) reached the quarterfinals with a pair of wins before dropping consecutive bouts to see his run end on the first day of the tournament. The Illini finished 19th out of a 44-team field.
#17 Illinois Goes 2-1 at Sprawl & Brawl
No. 17 Illinois won two of its three duals at the Journeymen/ASICS Sprawl & Brawl, defeating Davidson 47-0 and West Virginia by a 23-15 score, while dropping an 18-15 match to Pittsburgh. Against the Panthers, the Illini won five of the 10 bouts but Pitt earned a technical fall at 141 and a major decision at heavyweight for the decisive bonus points. In the Davidson match, Illinois scored bonus points in seven bouts - including three pins and two forfeits - and against WVU, the Illini won six bouts and scored bonus points in four.
#19 Illinois Falls to #10 Mizzou, 18-16
No. 19 Illinois battled valiantly but No. 7 Nick Marable used a 3-2 win over Illini redshirt-freshman Conrad Polz to give No. 10 Missouri an 18-16 win at the Hearnes Center on Nov. 12. The Illini trailed 15-7 with only four bouts left, but Ryan Prater, Eric Terrazas and Clint Arlis all scored decisions at 141, 149 and 157 to push Illinois ahead 16-15. That set the stage for the Marable-Polz bout, which the two-time All-American narrowly pulled out for the dual win.
Arlis Keeps Busy with Heavy Load
Senior 157-pounder Clint Arlis is a prototype of a student-athlete. An architecture major, Arlis spends nearly the length of a 9-to-5 workday in class most days of the week. Whenever he has a free chunk of time, he hustles to Illinois' weight room or practice facility at Huff Hall to squeeze in a quick workout. Arlis then often spends much of his evenings in the architecture studio on campus working on projects or homework. Despite that potentially overwhelming course load, the three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection has started his final season with an impressive 7-2 mark and a third-place finish at the Lindenwood Open. He also won his match against Missouri and went 1-1 at Sprawl & Brawl.
Heffernan Takes Hold of Reins
Head coach Jim Heffernan has taken the reins of the Illinois wrestling program after former head coach Mark Johnson retired following the end of the 2009 season, but don't expect a great deal of change in the Illini program. Heffernan was with Johnson for his entire 17-year stint in Orange and Blue and has kept the coaching staff intact, promoting Carl Perry to associate head coach and Jeremy Hunter to a full-time assistant position. Three-time All-American Mike Poeta joins the group as a volunteer assistant coach while he is training for freestyle competitions.
Illinois Returns 6 NCAA Qualifiers
The Fighting Illini enter the season with six returning NCAA qualifiers from a year ago, but only five will likely see the mat for Illinois this season. Senior two-time All-American Jimmy Kennedy is planning to redshirt before moving up to 141 next year, while junior Ryan Prater is likely to be the starter at 141. Sophomore B.J. Futrell returns following an appearance at the national meet last year and classmate Jordan Blanton is in the lineup at 174 this year after wrestling at 184 a year ago. Three-time NCAA qualifier John Dergo, who was one win from an All-America honor last season, moves up to 184 and fellow three-time NCAA qualifier and senior Patrick Bond is Illinois' 197-pounder.
Illinois Signs Three For 2010
Head coach Jim Heffernan announced the signing of three of the top wrestlers in the nation for the Class of 2010 on Nov. 12. Jamie Clark, of Medina, Ohio, Jed Lightfoot, of Yorkville, Ill., and Jackson Morse, of Alto, Mich., will join the Illini squad next year. Clark is currently listed as the No. 7 overall recruit in the country by Intermat, while Morse is No. 21 overall. Lightfoot was a two-time Junior National All-American.
Clark, who hails from St. Edward High School - Heffernan's alma mater - is a two-time Ohio state champ and the top-ranked recruit in the nation at 130 pounds. He was the Outstanding Wrestler at the Freestyle Cadet Nationals in 2007 and will wrestle at 133 for Illinois.
Lightfoot was the 2009 IHSA Class 2A runner-in at 125, going 25-5 for the season. He also led Yorkville to a team runner-up finish at the 2009 IHSA Class 2A dual team state tournament. He'll wrestle either 141 or 149 at Illinois.
Morse won consecutive Michigan Division 2 state titles at 140 in 2008 and 152 in 2009, while finishing runner-up at 125 in 2007. He's the No. 2 national recruit at 152 and No. 21 overall, having won consecutive titles at the Super 32 tournament. He will wrestle 157 in college.
