Feb. 12, 2010

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 21 Illinois struggled early and never was able to right the ship as No. 2 John Dergo scored the Illini's only win with a 6-2 victory over No. 7 Mike Pucillo in a 38-3 team win by No. 3 Ohio State. Dergo increased his winning streak to 16 and improved his season record to 27-2.

"Dergo was great," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. "He was outstanding and he keeps getting better every time he wrestles. We need to get more consistent throughout our lineup and we need to work hard to keep getting better."

The Buckeyes started off with a 9-3 win by Corey Morrison over Pat Walker at heavyweight, and No. 20 Nikko Triggas pinned John Deneen in 1:56 at 125. Daryl Thomas got into an early hole at 133, falling behind 14-2 through two periods before getting more active in the third period. He outscored Ohio State's Ian Paddock 5-2 in the final period but the Buckeye held on for the 16-7 major decision, pushing OSU's team lead to 13-0.

In one of the first matches between ranked opponents, No. 14 Ryan Prater gave up the first takedown to No. 2 Reece Humphrey at 141 but responded with a takedown of his own with 1:05 left in the first period and rode out the Buckeye for a 3-2 lead. Prater started down in the second and escaped, then gave up a takedown to Humphrey and escaped to push his lead back to 5-4. But Humphrey got a takedown with 57 seconds left and tacked on a pair of two-point near-falls to take a 10-5 lead after the second period. Each wrestler scored four points in the third period as Humphrey held off Prater for a 14-9 decision.

No. 2 Lance Palmer scored a fall over No. 18 Eric Terrazas in 2:54 at 149 and Clint Arlis lost a 7-4 decision to Sean Nemec at 157 as OSU extended its lead to 25-0. No. 6 Colt Sponseller rushed out to a 15-5 lead before getting Joe Barczak on his back and sticking him at 6:20 for a 31-0 margin.

No. 13 Jordan Blanton looked to stem the tide at 174 against No. 11 Dave Rella, and Blanton scored the first takedown with 1:13 left in the first to hold a 2-1 lead after the first period. Rella started down and escaped in the second, then countered a Blanton shot for a takedown. Blanton escaped to cut Rella's lead to 4-3, then started down in the third and escaped quickly. Neither wrestler could land any offense in regulation and they went to overtime, where the two got into a scramble and Blanton looked to gain control with a fireman's carry, but Rella blocked it and ended up in control for the takedown and the 6-4 sudden-victory win.

Dergo and Pucillo battled through a scoreless first period and the Illini senior started down in the second before escaping quickly. He then worked a front headlock into a single-leg before upsetting Pucillo's balance for a takedown and a quick 3-0 lead. Pucillo got out in 11 seconds but Dergo took a 3-1 lead to the third period. Pucillo started down and got out quickly, but the two engaged in a scramble where Pucillo tried to flip Dergo over him. But Dergo avoided it and controlled the Buckeye's legs for the clinching takedown before riding out Pucillo to tack on the riding-time point for a 6-2 win. OSU's C.J. Magrum took care of Clinton Polz with a 16-2 major decision to finish the 38-3 Buckeye win.

The Illini wrap up the dual season on Thursday, Feb. 18, when they host No. 24 Purdue at 7 p.m. for The Great Escape. All fans will be granted free admission and the first 1,000 fans will receive free food as Illinois will honor its four seniors.

#3 Ohio State 38, #21 Illinois 3
HWT: Corey Morrison (OSU) dec. Pat Walker (ILL), 9-3 (0-3)
125: #20 Nikko Triggas (OSU) pinned John Deneen (ILL), 1:56 (0-9)
133: Ian Paddock (OSU) maj. dec. Daryl Thomas (ILL), 16-7 (0-13)
141: #2 Reece Humphrey (OSU) dec. #14 Ryan Prater (ILL), 14-9 (0-16)
149: #2 Lance Palmer (OSU) pinned #18 Eric Terrazas (ILL), 2:54 (0-22)
157: Sean Nemec (OSU) dec. Clint Arlis (ILL), 7-4 (0-25)
165: #6 Colt Sponseller (OSU) pinned Joe Barczak (ILL), 6:20 (0-31)
174: #11 Dave Rella (OSU) dec. #13 Jordan Blanton (ILL), 6-4 (0-34)
184: #2 John Dergo (ILL) dec. #7 Mike Pucillo (OSU), 6-2 (3-34)
197: C. J. Magrum (OSU) maj. dec. Clinton Polz (ILL), 16-2 (3-38)