EVANSTON, Ill. – In the team's final completion of 2015, the Illinois grapplers sent seven wrestlers to the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands tournament at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Of the seven competitors, five were freshmen that wrestled unattached and did not count towards the team's score. Danny Hicks (184) and Duece Rachal (HWT) competed in Illini singlets this afternoon, combining to go 1-4 on the day. Coach Heffernan decided to hold his starters in Champaign as they prepare to host No. 8 Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Hopefully they learned they all need to improve," said Coach Heffernan. "They'll all get better with their experience at this event."
The strongest performance of the day came from heavyweight Duece Rachal, who entered the tournament with a 7-4 record on the season. After receiving an opening round bye in the championship bracket, Rachal lost to Garrett Ryan (Columbia) by major decision, 14-4. Rachal bounced back in impressive fashion in his first consolation round, pinning Northern Illinois' Jake Cochrane in 55 seconds. The fall was Rachal's sixth of the season. The redshirt-freshman made it back-to-back wins when he won a close battle with Brock Horwath (Wisconsin), 4-2. However, Rachal's run came to an end against Maryland's Dawson Peck who pinned him (3:23).
After going 3-2 in Reno, Danny Hicks suited up again for the Illini on Tuesday, but suffered a close defeat at the hands of Ben Schwery (South Dakota State), 3-1. After receiving a bye in the consolation bracket, Hicks fell to Dane Pestano (Iowa State) by a decision of 10-4.
Five Illini freshmen made their Midlands debut today, each of them wrestling unattached. At 141 pounds, Mousa Jodeh dropped two matches, the first to Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) and the second to Trevor Jauch (Northern Iowa). Following Jodeh at 149 pounds, Eric Barone also finished the day 0-2 with a close loss by decision to Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), and then a defeat at the hands of Sam Melikian (NC State).
The Orange and Blue had two representatives at 157 pounds. However, Tim McCarthy and Carver James both finished their Midlands competition with an 0-2 record. James hung tough into the second period with both John Boyle (American) and Jordan Kutler (Lehigh), but eventually fell to both of them.
Finally, Xavier Montalvo fell to Jason Grimes (American) in a tough battle, Grimes outlasting him 3-1. In the consolation round, Montalvo could not overcome Drew Foster (Northern Iowa), dropping the bout 9-3.
Full Results:
Mousa Jodeh (141):
Champ Round 1: Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) maj. dec. over Jodeh, 16-3
Cons. Round 1: Jodeh received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Trevor Jauch (Northern Iowa) won by fall (3:48) over Jodeh
Mousa Jodeh was eliminated
Eric Barone (149):
Champ Round 1: Eric Barone received a bye
Champ Round 2: Gabe Moreno (Iowa State) won by dec. over Barone, 7-2
Cons. Round 2: Barone received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Sam Melikian (North Carolina State) won by maj dec over Barone, 13-5
Eric Barone was eliminated
Tim McCarthy (157):
Champ Round 1: Brock Wingbermuehle (Oklahoma) won by fall over McCarthy (1:59)
Cons. Round 1: McCarthy received a bye
Cons. Round 1: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Iowa St.) won by tech fall over McCarthy, 19-4
Tim McCarthy was eliminated
Carver James (157):
Champ Round 1: John Boyle (American) won by maj dec over James, 12-4
Cons. Round 1: James received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) won by dec over James, 12-6
Carver James was eliminated
Xavier Montalvo (174):
Champ Round 1: Jason Grimes (American) won by dec over Montalvo, 3-1
Cons. Round 1: Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) won by dec over Montalvo, 9-3
Xavier Montalvo was eliminated
Danny Hicks (184):
Champ Round 1: Hicks received a bye
Champ Round 2: Ben Schwery (South Dakota State) won by dec over Hicks, 3-1
Cons. Round 2: Hicks received a bye
Cons. Round 3: Dane Pestano (Iowa State) won by dec over Hicks, 10-4
Danny Hicks was eliminated
Duece Rachal (HWT):
Champ Round 1: Rachal received a bye
Champ Round 2: Garrett Ryan (Columbia) won by maj. dec over Rachal, 14-4
Cons. Round 2: Rachal received a bye
Cons. Round 3: won by fall (0:55) over Jake Cochrane (Northern Illinois)
Cons. Round 4: won by dec over Brock Horwath (Wisconsin), 4-2
Cons. Round 5: Dawson Peck fall (3:23) over Rachal
Duece Rachal eliminated
