Dec. 30, 2009
Final Midlands Team Standings 
Final Midlands Brackets
EVANSTON, Ill. - Senior No. 6 John Dergo won the Midlands title at 184 pounds Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, his first title in a major tournament, by defeating American's No. 2 and second-seeded Mike Cannon, 11-9 in sudden-victory overtime. Dergo beat three two-time All-Americans in a row in Cannon, Missouri's top-ranked Max Askren and fourth-seeded Louis Caputo (Harvard). Also for the Illini, senior Jimmy Kennedy took second at 141, junior No. 16 Ryan Prater took fifth at 141 and senior Patrick Bond finished sixth at 197. The Illini placed 10th in the 54-team field.
"He had an unbelievable tournament," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. "He beat three two-time All-Americans in a row, so it was awesome. A lot of times last year, he saw what he was supposed to do and he was a half-step behind. But he's going full-speed now. There's no holding back. He's going as hard as he can every time he wrestles."
Dergo had the most exciting run of the Illini on Wednesday, avenging a loss earlier in the season with a 3-2 win over top-ranked and top-seeded Max Askren (Missouri) in the semifinals to set up a title bout with American's second-ranked and second-seeded Mike Cannon. Dergo trailed Cannon 8-6 late in the bout but scored a takedown and Cannon was called for a technical violation, giving Dergo a 9-8 lead. Cannon earned a point for the riding-time advantage, tying the bout and sending it to sudden-victory overtime. Dergo stayed aggressive, recording a takedown to win the match and the championship. In the tournament, Dergo defeated Askren, Cannon and Harvard's fourth-seeded Louis Caputo all for the first time in his career.
Kennedy won his third career bout against Iowa's fourth-seeded Joey Slaton in the semifinals, 6-5, but fell behind early in his championship bout against Maryland's 10th-ranked and third-seeded Alex Krom and dropped a 9-2 decision to finish second.
Prater was one of the bigger surprises of the tournament, reaching the semifinals against Krom before being pinned by the Terrapin. Prater dropped a tight 4-3 bout to Hofstra's eighth-seeded Lou Ruggirello but rebounded by pinning Iowa's ninth-seeded Montell Marion in 2:24 to earn fifth place.
After Bond dropped his quarterfinal bout on Tuesday, he responded by winning a pair of consolation bouts to stay alive. He began Wednesday by knocking off Purdue's 12th-ranked and seventh-seeded Logan Brown, 5-3, in the round of 12 to ensure a placing finish. Bond kept rolling with an 8-5 win over No. 11 and sixth-seeded Brent Haynes (Missouri), avenging a dual loss earlier in the season, but dropped a 6-2 match to Iowa's No. 9 and fifth-seeded Chad Beatty in the consolation semifinals. That set up a fifth-place match with second-seeded and third-ranked Hudson Taylor (Maryland), which Taylor took by fall in 3:55, giving Bond a sixth-place finish.
The Illini return to action on Jan. 8 when they host SIUE at Huff Hall at 7 p.m.
141: Jimmy Kennedy (No. 1 seed), Sr., Ingleside, Ill., 4-1
1st Round: Dec. Michael Mangrum (Oregon State), 8-3
2nd Round: Dec. Luke Cherep (Missouri), 12-5
Quarterfinals: Dec. 8-seed Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra), 8-3
Semifinals: Dec. 4-seed Joey Slaton (Iowa), 6-5
Championship: Dec. by #10, 3-seed Alex Krom (Maryland), 9-2
Kennedy - 2nd
141: #16 Ryan Prater (No. 7 seed), Jr., Plainfield, Ill., 8-3
Pigtail: Maj. dec. Max Mayfield (Iowa State), 10-2
1st Round: Maj. dec. Jordan Lipp (American), 12-2
2nd Round: Dec. #18, 10-seed Todd Schavrien (Missouri), 7-4
Quarterfinals: Dec. #7, 2-seed Dan LeClere (Iowa), 6-0
Semifinals: Pinned by #10, 3-seed Alex Krom (Maryland), 2:00
Consolation Semifinals: Dec. by 8-seed Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra), 4-3
Fifth-Place: Pinned 9-seed Montell Marion (Iowa), 2:24
Prater - 5th
174: #9 Jordan Blanton (No. 4 seed), So., Richmond, Ill., 10-3
1st Round: Dec. Andy Vaughan (Pittsburgh), 6-5
2nd Round: Dec. Derrick Yant (Northern Illinois), 7-5
Quarterfinals: Dec. by #11, 5-seed Duke Burk (Iowa State), 9-8
Consolation Round of 12: Dec. by #7, 3-seed Luke Manuel (Purdue), 5-4
Blanton eliminated
184: #6 John Dergo (No. 4 seed), Sr., Morris, Ill., 18-2
1st Round: Maj. dec. Nate Schiedel (Binghamton), 18-5
2nd Round: Tech. fall Zach Benzio (Northern Illinois), 23-7 (6:28)
Quarterfinals: Dec. 4-seed Louis Caputo (Harvard), 6-3
Semifinals: Dec. #1, 1-seed Max Askren (Missouri), 3-2
Championship: Dec. #2, 2-seed Mike Cannon (American), 11-9 (SV1)
Dergo - 1st
197: #17 Patrick Bond, So., Chesapeake, Va., 13-7
Pigtail: Dec. Scott Penny (Northern Illinois), 2-1
1st Round: Dec. Dustin Bauman (Northern Iowa), 11-4
2nd Round: Pinned by #1, 1-seed Jake Varner (Iowa State), 2:37
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Jay Hahn (Bucknell), 8-3
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. A.J. Hunt (Pittsburgh), 8-2
Consolation Round of 12: Dec. #12, 7-seed Logan Brown (Purdue), 5-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: Dec. #11, 6-seed Brent Haynes (Missouri), 8-5
Consolation Semifinals: Dec. by #9, 5-seed Chad Beatty (Iowa), 6-2
Fifth-place: Pinned by #3, 2-seed Hudson Taylor (Maryland), 3:55
Bond - 6th
