March 19, 2009
Team Scores Through Session 1 
Brackets Through Session 1
Five Illini advanced to the second round at the NCAA Championships and four others will continue in the wrestleback brackets as Illinois stands in 10th place after Thursday's first session at the NCAA Championships. The tournament continues at 6:30 p.m. Top-ranked and second-seeded Mike Poeta (157), eighth-ranked and ninth-seeded John Wise (HWT), No. 19 John Dergo (174), B.J. Futrell (125) and Ryan Prater (141) all won their first-round matches to stay alive in the championships brackets.
In action first for the Illini, third-seeded and third-ranked Jimmy Kennedy dropped his pigtail match to Bucknell's David Marble, 7-5 in sudden victory. Kennedy got out to an early lead with a pair of first-period takedowns then started down in the second and escaped for a 5-2 lead. But Marble started down and escaped in the third, and got a takedown with 33 seconds left to send it to overtime. Marble stayed aggressive in the extra time, shooting early in the period, which Kennedy looked to have blocked, but the Bison grappler kept pushing and got the takedown on the edge. Kennedy will face Oklahoma State's Christopher Notte in the wrestleback pigtail match.
Freshman B.J. Futrell wrestled hard against Duquesne's William Chamberlain in their first-round match, downing the Duke, 1-0. After the pair wrestled a scoreless first period, Futrell chose neutral in the second. Neither man scored in the period, leading Chamberlain to start down in the third. But Futrell rode him the entire period for the riding-time point and the 1-0 lead. He'll face top-seeded and top-ranked Paul Donahoe of Edinboro in the second round.
Ryan Prater used a strong ride in the first and third periods to earn his first career NCAA win, downing Liberty's Tim Horner, 7-3. Prater scored the early takedown in the first period and rode out Horner for a 2-0 lead. Prater started down in the second and gave up a three-point near-fall near the end of the period, but reversed the hold before time ran out to regain a 4-3 lead. Horner started down in the third and Prater scored two back points with 39 seconds left before tacking on a riding-time point for the 7-3 win. Prater will take on Michigan's top-seeded and top-ranked Kellen Russell in the second round.
No. 1 and second-seeded Mike Poeta cruised through his first round match, earning a 14-5 major decision over West Virginia's Ryan Goodman. Poeta notched three first-period takedowns for a 6-2 lead after three minutes, then started down in the second and escaped. He got another takedown in the second to go up 9-3. Goodman started down and escaped quickly in the third, but Poeta added two more takedowns to reach the final of 14-5. He'll take on Chattanooga's Joseph Knox in the second round.
No. 16 Roger Smith-Bergsrud lost a heartbreaker at 165, giving up a takedown and two back points in the final 10 seconds to drop a 6-3 bout to Bloomsburg's Rick Schmelyun. Schmelyun got a takedown late in the first period, but Smith-Bergsrud started down in the second and got quick reversal before riding out Schmelyun. But the Bloomsburg grappler finished a takedown and scored the near-fall as time ran out to win, 6-3.
At 174, No. 19 John Dergo got a takedown with 26 seconds left and held on for the win against Lehigh's Alex Caruso to advance, 3-1. After a scoreless first period, Dergo started down in the second and escaped but Caruso started down in the third and escaped. Dergo was able to make a nice reshot after Caruso blocked his first attack to secure the winning takedown. Dergo will face American's second-seeded and second-ranked Michael Cannon in the second round.
No. 12 Jordan Blanton started on fire against Wyoming's ninth-seeded Joe LeBlanc, scoring two takedowns in the first 90 seconds, but LeBlanc got a late takedown and two back points to take control of the match. LeBlanc added three more points in the second period and three more in the third for the 12-7 win. Blanton will face Virginia's Rocco Coponi in the consolation first round.
Patrick Bond couldn't find an opening against third-seeded and sixth-ranked Brent Chriswell of Boise State at 197, with Chriswell taking a 9-2 victory. Chriswell scored a takedown in the first, an escape in the second, a takedown in the third, a three-point near-fall as time ran out and the riding-time point for the victory. Bond will take on Boston's John Hall in the consolation first round.
Ninth-seeded and eighth-ranked John Wise met the challenge from UC Davis' Ricardo Alcala, winning 9-5. Wise scored the final six points after trailing 5-3 following the first period. The Illini senior will meet Wisconsin's eighth-seeded and 19th-ranked Kyle Massey in the second round.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Iowa State 25.0
2. Iowa 22.0
3. Ohio State 17.5
4. Boise State 15
Nebraska 15
6. Lehigh 14
7. Edinboro 12.5
8. Central Michigan 12
Cornell 12
10. Illinois 11
Hofstra 11
Missouri 11
Penn State 11
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT RESULTS
125: B.J. Futrell (Fr., 25-12)
1st round: Dec. William Chamberlain (DUQ), 1-0
2nd round: No. 1 seed, #1 Paul Donahoe (Edinboro)
133: No. 3 seed, #3 Jimmy Kennedy (Jr., 29-5)
Pigtail: Dec. by David Marble (BUCK), 7-5 (SV1)
Consolation Pigtail: Chris Notte (OKST)
141: Ryan Prater (So., 12-15)
1st round: Dec. Tim Horner (LIB), 7-3
2nd round: No. 1 seed, #1 Kellen Russell (MICH)
157: No. 2 seed, #1 Mike Poeta (Sr., 14-0)
1st round: Maj. dec. Ryan Goodman (WVU), 14-5
2nd round: vs. Joseph Knox (Chattanooga)
165: #16 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (Sr., 19-11)
1st round: Dec. by Rick Schmelyun (BLOOM), 6-3
Consolation round 1: Ryan Smith (OKLA)
174: #19 John Dergo (Jr., 15-8)
1st round: Dec. Alex Caruso (LEH), 3-1
2nd round: No. 2 seed, #2 Mike Cannon (AMER)
184: #12 Jordan Blanton (Fr., 27-10)
1st round: Dec. by Joe LeBlanc (WYO), 12-7
Consolation round 1: Rocco Caponi (VIR)
197: Patrick Bond (Jr., 16-14)
1st round: Dec. by No. 3 seed, #6 Brent Chriswell (BSU), 9-2
Consolation round 1: John Hall (BU)
HWT: No. 9 seed, #8 John Wise (Sr., 22-7)
1st round: Dec. Ricardo Alcala (UCD), 9-5
2nd round: No. 8 seed, #19 Kyle Massey (WIS)
