Full Illinois Results
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Four Fighting Illini wrestlers won individual crowns, as Head Coach Jim Heffernan's squad began the 2016-17 season at the Kaufman Brand Open in St. Louis, Missouri. Zane Richards (133), Zac Brunson (174), Brock Ervin (149) and Emery Parker (184) each won their respective weight class brackets to pace the Illini.
"Our guys wrestled okay today," said Coach Heffernan. "There's a lot of glaring things to fix, but it was good to get out of the practice room and compete against someone else. As much as anything, we need to make better decisions and take more pride in the way we compete."
2015 All-American Zane Richards started his redshirt senior season off with a trio of victories in route to the 133-pound Kaufman Brand title. After receiving a bye in the opening round, the Carbondale, Illinois native used a pin of Joe Antonelli (SIU Edwardsville) 2:24 into the first period to advance to the semifinal round. After an 8-4 decision over Micky Phillippi  (Virginia), Richards defeated teammate Dylan Duncan with a 5-3 decision to win the individual crown.
Similar to 133 pounds, the Orange and Blue sent two grapplers to the 174-pound final as Zac Brunson squared off against redshirt freshman Xavier Montalvo. The 2015 Big Ten runner-up got the best of the redshirt freshman, as Brunson used an early takedown and four minutes of riding time to win by a 4-1 decision. Brunson reached the final by way of his first pin (3:53) of the season, followed by an 8-1 decision of Clayton Bass (Southern Illinois Edwardsville), Montalvo outscored his opponents 35-14 in his three victories.
After missing the majority of last season with an injury, redshirt sophomore Brock Ervin returned to the mat today with four victories to earn the 149-pound title. Wrestling up a weight class from last season, Ervin started his path to the title off with a 24-6 tech fall, followed by back-to-back decisions to reach the final. In the final, Ervin defeated SIU Edwardsville's Tyshawn Williams by decision, 6-4.
Adding a fourth individual title for the Illini was redshirt sophomore Emery Parker. Parker earned bonus points in all four of his matches at the Brand Open, using two technical falls and beat his opponents by a combined score of 62-14 on the day. In the final, Parker used a takedown in the opening period and two more in the second to put John Fillpek (McKendree) away, winning by an 12-8 decision.
Andre Lee was the fifth Illini to advance to a first-place at the Kaufman Brand Open, but dropped the title bout to finish runner-up at 197 pounds. Following an opening round decision of Eldon Valery (King University), Lee won a hard-fought dual against teammate Danny Hicks by decision, 2-1. Lee took a 3-1 lead into the final period of the title match, but was unable to hold on, losing 5-3. Hicks, trailing 4-1 in the third-place match, battled back to win 9-7 in sudden victory for third place.
Wrestling up a weight class from last year, redshirt junior Kyle Langenderfer earned a third-place finish at the Brand Open, fighting back from an opening round defeat with five straight victories. After the opening round loss, Langenderfer responded with four straight bonus point performances, highlighted by two pins to put him into the third-place match. In the third-place bout, the Mokena, Illinois product used two first-period takedowns and cruised to a 9-2 decision.
Wrapping up the championship tournament for the Orange and Blue was heavyweight wrestler Duece Rachal. Coming off a redshirt season where he tallied six pins, Rachal opened his sophomore campaign with a pin in just 34 seconds. Following a quarterfinal-round defeat, Rachal racked up two more falls, both in less than a minute, to advance to the consolation semifinal round. After a 6-0 shutout to reach the third place match, where Rachal lost by pin in the closing seconds.
Eight Illini made their debut at the Kaufman Brand Open, as Jake Silzer (125), David Rivera-Kohr (125), Dylan Duncan (133), Dylan Thurston (141), Michael Ordonez (149), Ryder Punke (157), Danny Gallo (165) and Wes Kibler (197) each wrestled for the Orange and Blue for the first time today.
Duncan, a two-time IHSA state champion at 132 pounds, made his Illini debut with a runner-up finish in the elite division, outscoring his opponents 52-14. In the amateur division, Kibler highlighted the day with a 4-0 record in route to the 197-pound title, including two pins and an 11-9 sudden-victory in the first-place match. Silzer and Punke finished with third-place honors, while Rivera-Kohr placed fifth.
The Fighting Illini wrestling team will be back in action next Saturday, November 19 as they compete at the Lindenwood Joe Parisi Open in St. Charles, Missouri.
