University of Illinois
NCAA Championships Session 4
Futrell, Kennedy Earn All-America Honors
March 18, 2011 | Wrestling
March 18, 2011
PHILADELPHIA - Fourth-seeded Jimmy Kennedy (141 pounds) and seventh-seeded B.J. Futrell (133) both became All-Americans by winning their opening match during Friday's evening session at the NCAA Championships at the Wells Fargo Center. It was Kennedy's third career All-America honor and Futrell's first and helped lift the Illini into twenty-fourth place.
Kennedy proceeded to win his second match to advance to Saturday's consolation semifinals, while Futrell dropped his bout and will wrestle for seventh place on Saturday against Hofstra's fifth-seeded Lou Ruggirello.
"Both guys wrestled really well in their Round of 12 match," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan. "It was good to get a couple of All-Americans and Jimmy did a nice job in his second match. Now they both have to try to beat two more really good guys tomorrow. B.J. has to try to meet his seed and Jimmy still has a chance to exceed his."
Futrell looked to become an All-American for the first time when he took on No. 9 seed Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) in the Round of 12. The pair traded shots through the first minute of the bout, with Futrell getting in deep on a single-leg 47 seconds into the bout and planting Carter for an early takedown. Futrell put on a hard ride and racked up 2:10 of riding time by riding him out. Carter chose a neutral start to the second period and Futrell shot immediately off the whistle, scrambling through for a takedown and a 4-0 lead. Carter finally broke free with 56 seconds left in the period but Futrell shot back in on a leg and finished the takedown to go up 6-1. He rode out Carter and chose a neutral start to the third with a 6-1 lead and 3:30 of riding time. He shot in on Carter's leg but the Hokie locked a high crotch, forcing a stalemate. Carter scored a takedown and cut Futrell loose to get within 7-3 and shot back in on Futrell, but the Illini sophomore blocked it and turned the corner for a takedown and a 9-3 lead. Futrell rode out Carter to add the riding-time point for a 10-3 win and his first All-America honor.
Kennedy shot in on Matthew Mariacher's legs off the opening whistle at 141 and was able to turn the corner for a takedown near the edge. Mariacher broke free off a restart with 33 seconds left and the pair ended the period neutral with Kennedy leading 2-1. Mariacher started down in the second and escaped after 38 seconds as Kennedy increased his riding time to 2:45 but the match was tied, 2-2. Kennedy earned a stalling point with 30 seconds left in the period to go up 3-2 and that's how the period ended. Kennedy started down in the third and escaped in 19 seconds to go up 4-2 with riding time locked up. Mariacher took 32 seconds of injury time after tumbling off the edge of the mat and nearly got a takedown after returning to action but the wrestlers tumbled out of bounds. Kennedy passed the elbow and circled for the takedown on the edge to go ahead 6-2. Mariacher escaped with 12 seconds to go and shot in on the edge but Kennedy held him off to take the 7-3 win after adding the riding-time point.
Futrell got in on a shot with a minute left in the first period but Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) locked in a tight waist to force a stalemate. The pair ended the period scoreless and Sentes started down in the second. He escaped in nine seconds and he was awarded a point when Futrell was called for fleeing the mat as Sentes shot at him near the edge. The pair stayed neutral through the rest ofh te period and Futrell chose a neutral start to the third. Futrell shot in with 45 seconds left but Sentes blocked it and eventually circled behind for the takedown with 23 seconds left to ice the 4-0 victory and send Futrell to Saturday's seventh-place match.
Kennedy and No. 8 seed Zack Bailey (Oklahoma) traded shots early with Kennedy getting in on a shot on the edge but Bailey fell off the edge of the mat, forcing a neutral restart. They finished the period on their feet and Bailey started down in the second. He escaped in nine seconds and Kennedy was able to pass the elbow and slip behind, dropping Bailey ot the mat with nine seconds left in the period. Bailey jumped out off the whistle to tie the bout 2-2 heading to the third. Kennedy started down and escaped in four seconds to go ahead 3-2. The two wrestlers traded shots through the middle section fo the period with Bailey getting in on a knee on the edge but Kennedy scrambled through and they tumbled out of bounds to earn a neutral restart. Bailey shot off that restart but Kennedy dodged the takedown, then they went out of bounds off another Bailey shot. Kennedy was hit with a stalling call with 12 seconds left and he kept Bailey from scoring to take a 3-2 win and head to the consolation semifinals on Saturday morning.
Session five of the NCAA Championships begins Saturday at 10 a.m. CT and will feature the consolation semifinals followed by the third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. They will air live on ESPNU. Saturday's championships finals begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. and will be shown on ESPN.
133: No. 7 seed B.J. Futrell, r-So., Park Forest, Ill., 28-9
First Round: Dec. Eric Morrill (Edinboro), 11-6
Second Round: Maj. dec. Flint Ray (Utah Valley), 12-4
Quarterfinals: Maj. dec. by No. 2 seed Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State), 10-2
Consolation Round of 12: Dec. No. 9 seed Devin Carter (Virginia Tech), 10-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: Dec. by No. 11 seed Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan), 4-0
7th Place: vs. Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra)
141: No. 4 seed Jimmy Kennedy, r-Sr., Ingleside, Ill., 22-3
First Round: Dec. Justin Morrill (Utah Valley), 9-3
Second Round: Pinned Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech), 4:43
Quarterfinals: Dec. by No. 5 seed Montell Marion (Iowa), 8-7
Consolation Round of 12: Dec. No. 11 seed Matthew Mariacher (American), 7-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: Dec. No. 8 seed Zack Bailey (Oklahoma), 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: vs. No. 2 seed Mike Thorn (Minnesota)
