March 20, 2010

NCAA Championships Brackets Through Medal Round
Team Standings Through Medal Round

OMAHA, Neb. - Illinois senior John Dergo (184 pounds) and sophomore Jordan Blanton (174) each bounced back from heartbreaking defeats in the consolation semifinals to win their next match and earn fifth place at the 2010 NCAA Championships at the Qwest Center. The second-seeded Dergo scored a 10-4 win over fifth-seeded Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) and tenth-seeded Blanton topped Central Michigan's seventh-seeded Ben Bennett, 3-2, for the second time in the tournament. Illinois finishes in 23rd place as a team.

Dergo finished the season with a 36-4 record, which ties him with teammate Jimmy Kennedy for the ninth-most wins in a single season in school history. That also gives him a season winning percentage of .900, which ranks 11th all-time, just ahead of volunteer assistant coach Mike Poeta's .893 season from 2006-07. He also finishes with nine falls on the year, tied for seventh on the school record list. Dergo ends his career with a record of 105-41, which ties him with Poeta and Kevin Puebla for 15th on the all-time wins list. His .719 career winning percentage ranks 19th, edging Gabe Flores' .717.

"I'm very proud of both guys for the way they wrestled today," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. "Dergo fought back and beat a very good guy for fifth place and Blanton did very well against a guy who is really hard to wrestle. It's a huge win for Jordan as far as him learning how to wrestle through this tournament. To wrestle three days in this tournament, you have to be a warrior and both guys proved they were."

Blanton shot first in his rematch with Central Michigan's seventh-seeded Ben Bennett, leading to an extended scramble that ended with a stalemate. Bennett shot with 25 seconds left and the two scrambled again but neither was able to gain control as they wrestled out the period scoreless. Bennett started down in the second and escaped after 40 seconds when he rolled through after Blanton tried to tilt him. Blanton shot off a restart but Bennett kept him from gaining control and got a stalemate. Blanton forced a stalling warning on Bennett when he shot near the edge and got a leg but Bennett once again fought it off as the period ended with the Chippewa leading 1-0. Blanton started down in the third and tried to reverse Bennett of the whistle but the Chip fended it off and kept his ride. After a restart, Blanton was able to shake free and reverse Bennett for a 2-1 lead with 1:22 left in the match. Blanton put on a good ride, securing the riding-time advantage before nearly giving up a reversal with 16 seconds left, getting a stalemate called instead. Blanton let Bennett out off a restart and held off his late attacks for the 3-2 win after adding his riding-time advantage, and a fifth-place finish at his second NCAA Championships.

"This is a good finish to a good year, but I don't want to just be good - I want to be great," Blanton said. "When I finally came around after going 2-2 at Midlands, I made some lifestyle changes to focus more on school and wrestling and stop taking the easy, lazy way out of things. I started doing things the right way and it paid off this weekend."

Dergo and fifth-seeded Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State battled through two scoreless minutes before Dergo landed a shot with less than a minute left in the first period to go up 2-0. Foster escaped after 10 seconds and the pair wrestled on their feet for the rest of the period. Dergo started down in the second and got out in 15 seconds before getting in on a leg and finishing the takedown to go up 5-1. Foster escaped 22 seconds later to make it 5-2 and the two finished the period on their feet before Foster started down in the third and got out in four seconds, cutting Dergo's lead to 5-3 with no riding-time advantage. Foster shot and Dergo blocked it, circled around for two and put the Cowboy on his back for a quick two-point near-fall count and a 9-3 lead. Looking for the major decision, Dergo tried to turn him again but Foster got out after Dergo ensured his riding-time advantage, making the final score 10-4 in Dergo's favor.

"Like Mike Poeta told me, in a couple of days, winning that last match will be really satisfying," Dergo said. "Right now, it hurts because I was aiming at the national title, but it was good to get that last win because it was the only way I could go out on top from the position I was in."

Earlier in the day, Blanton gave up a takedown off the starting whistle to fourth-seeded Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska) then took injury time after Dwyer's attempt to turn him tweaked his knee. After the restart, Dwyer put on a hard ride and was able to turn Blanton for three near-fall points just before the end of the period. Dwyer started down in the second and Blanton rode him for 1:23 before the Husker escaped to increase his lead to 6-0. Blanton chose neutral to start the third and took a shot with less than a minute left, but Dwyer blocked it and circled for the takedown on the edge. He added the riding-time point for the 9-0 major decision win.

Dergo and fourth-seeded Mike Cannon of American wrestled to a scoreless first period and Dergo started down in the second. He escaped quickly then shot in and got a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Dergo rode him out in the second and Cannon started down in the third. He escaped then shot in and got a takedown with 1:20 left in the match, tying the score 3-3 and working off Dergo's riding-time advantage. After he cleared the riding time, he let Dergo up before shooting in and catching Dergo on his back for two near-fall points, but it was in a position that proved to be controversial because it wasn't clear that control was established. Regardless, Cannon was awarded four points on the maneuver. Dergo escaped and shot in late, getting a leg, but couldn't finish in time as Cannon took a 7-5 win.

174: Jordan Blanton (No. 10 seed), So., Richmond, Ill., 25-9
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: Dec. Jacob Ison (Ohio), 6-1
Consolation Quarterfinals: Dec. Scott Giffin (Pennsylvania), 8-5
Consolation Semifinals: Maj. dec. by No. 4 seed Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska), 9-0
Fifth Place: Dec. No. 7 seed Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 3-2
Blanton - 5th place

184: John Dergo (No. 2 seed), Sr., Morris, Ill., 36-4
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: Dec. Steve Bosak (Cornell), 9-5
Consolation Quarterfinals: Dec. No. 3 seed Dustin Kilgore (Kent State), 11-9
Consolation Semifinals: Dec. by No. 4 seed Mike Cannon (American), 7-5
Fifth Place: Dec. No. 5 seed Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State), 10-4
Dergo - 5th place

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