March 19, 2010

OMAHA, Neb. - Illinois battled through a tough Session III of the 2010 NCAA Championships as both second-seeded John Dergo (184 pounds) and tenth-seeded Jordan Blanton (174) took hard-fought losses in their quarterfinal bouts. Senior 197-pounder Patrick Bond won his first consolation match of the day but dropped a 6-5 bout in his second match to see his season come to an end. Dergo and Blanton each need one win in the consolation bracket to secure All-America status, which they can achieve in Friday night's session beginning at 6 p.m.

Blanton was the first Illini to wrestle in the morning session as he looked to knock off second-seeded Jay Borschel of Iowa in the quarterfinals. Blanton blocked a couple of shots by Borschel then Borschel tried a throw and nearly got a takedown, but Blanton kept hold of his leg and fended off the takedown as the pair tumbled out of bounds. After a scoreless first period, Borschel started down and got out in 24 seconds for a 1-0 lead. Blanton shot in and got a leg and nearly swung behind for the takedown but Borschel fought him off to retain a 1-0 lead. That's how the second period ended and Blanton chose neutral to start the third. He shot in on a high crotch but Borschel avoided giving up points once again. Blanton shot again and got a stalling warning on Borschel, but the Hawkeye fought it off and shot off the restart, landing the takedown and riding out Blanton for the 3-0 win. Blanton will take on Ohio's Jacob Ison, who upset Purdue's ninth-seeded Luke Manuel.

Dergo got in on a shot but LeBlanc scrambled through for the takedown and two near-fall points on the edge of the mat to go up 4-0 early. Dergo escaped quickly and nearly worked the escape into a slide-by takedown but the pair went out of bounds and the period ended with Dergo trailing 4-1. Dergo started down in the second and escaped quickly before shooting on a double-leg, working it to a high waist and dropping LeBlanc for the takedown to tie the match 4-4. The Cowboy escaped and shot late in the period, but Dergo fended it off to go to the third period trailing 5-4. LeBlanc started down in the third and Dergo cut him loose, then used a front headlock to get a takedown on the edge and make it 6-5. He cut LeBlanc loose then fired through a double-leg for a takedown and an 8-7 lead. But LeBlanc got free with 30 seconds left to tie the match 8-8. That's how the third period ended and they went to sudden-victory, where Dergo took the first shot but LeBlanc fought it off and shot on the edge, eventually finishing it with 19 seconds left in the overtime period for the 10-8 win. Dergo will face Cornell's Steve Bosak in his Round of 12 match. Dergo pinned Bosak in the quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this year.

Riley Orozco of Cal State Bakersfield took the first shot but Patrick Bond blocked it. Bond got a leg and lifted it but Orozco slithered out. Bond blocked another shot and got another single-leg, this time lifting it and tripping Orozco for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Orozco got out in 18 seconds and the period ended with Bond leading 2-1. Bond started down in the second and got out quickly to go up 3-1. Bond kept blocking Orozco's shots and got a takedown with 15 seconds left in the second to go up 5-1. He gave up a stalling warning while riding out Orozco, who started down in the third. Bond rode him long enough to get his riding time up to 1:23 before Orozco got loose, cutting Bond's lead to 5-2. Orozco got in on Bond's legs and finished the takedown before cutting Bond loose to make it 6-4 in the Illini senior's favor, with his riding-time advantage still intact. Bond blocked a shot but got hit with a stalling call to make the score 6-5, but he held off Orozco at the end and added a riding-time point to win, 7-5.

Bond then faced Alan Gelogaev of Oklahoma State in the third round of consolation matches and Gelogaev passed Bond's elbow and slid behind for a takedown with 1:40 left in the first period. Bond escaped in 39 seconds to make it 2-1 in favor of the Cowboy, but Gelogaev pulled the same move for another takedown. Bond got out just before the end of the first period to trail 4-2 after three minutes. He started down in the second and got out in 23 seconds. Gelogaev looked to slide behind for another takedown, but Bond locked his leg and scrambled through for a takedown and a 5-4 lead. But Gelogaev escaped quickly, tying the bout at 5 at the end of five minutes. Gelogaev started down in the third and escaped quickly and Bond got knocked in the head during a scramble, forcing him to take injury time. He used the entire 90 seconds, but rebounded enough to return to action. He couldn't land any late offense, though, as Gelogaev held on for the 6-5 win, ending Bond's season and Illini career.

174: Jordan Blanton (No. 10 seed), So., Richmond, Ill., 22-8
First Round: Dec. Duke Burk (Iowa State), 4-3
Second Round: Dec. No. 7 seed Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 5-2
Quarterfinals: Dec. by No. 2 seed Jay Borschel (Iowa), 3-0
Consolation Round of 12: vs. Jacob Ison (Ohio)

184: John Dergo (No. 2 seed), Sr., Morris, Ill., 33-3
First Round: Dec. Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh), 6-1
Second Round: Tech. fall over Andrew Saunders (UNC Greensboro), 21-5 (6:27)
Quarterfinals: Dec. by No. 7 seed Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming), 10-8 SV1
Consolation Round of 12: vs. Steve Bosak (Cornell)

197: Patrick Bond (No. 11 seed), Sr., Chesapeake, Va., 24-14 First Round: Dec. by Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh), 2-0
Consolation First Round: Dec. Matt Powless (Indiana), 6-4
Consolation Second Round: Dec. Riley Orozco (Cal State Bakersfield), 7-5
Consolation Third Round: Dec. by Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State), 6-5
Bond eliminated