Updated Brackets | Team Scores
New York City, NY — For the second straight season, 157-pounder Isaiah Martinez will wrestle for an NCAA Championship. After rolling through the field to get to tonight's semifinal, Martinez won a seesaw battle that required overtime to advance him to the championship round. He will wrestle #3 Jason Nolf (33-1) of Penn State tomorrow night at 7 p.m. central time.
"That was fun," exclaimed Martinez. "I love those kind of matches. I don't want to go to overtime. I wanted to control the match, but Ian is a special athlete, and he's a tough, tough guy."
Elsewhere, Steven Rodrigues defeated two top-10 grapplers to stay alive in the consolation bracket, while Zane Richards dropped a hard-fought bout against Cory Clark in the 133-pound semifinal. Both wrestlers seek third-place tomorrow afternoon.
Martinez Wins Sudden Victory Thriller to Advance to Title Bout
After cruising through the first three rounds, #1 Isaiah Martinez (31-1) got every bit of Ian Miller's best and a little more in tonight's semifinal. The Kent State All-American got a takedown to open the scoring in period one, but Martinez battled back with a takedown of his own to take the lead. After pushing it out to 4-2 with an escape, Miller used an escape and takedown to retake the lead with under a minute to go. The Illini sophomore quickly escaped to tie it, 5-5. After Martinez tight-roped out of danger in the final seconds of regulation, the duo sent the match into sudden victory. In the opening 20 seconds of the one-minute period, Martinez drove Miller to the mat with an ankle takedown, claiming the victory to advance to tomorrow night's 157-pound title match.
After the match, Isaiah Martinez talked about the difference between this year and last season's undefeated run, and how he feels he's better off because of it.
"I think mentally it was way more taxing last year," explained Martinez. "I had the freshman jitters coming into the first round. Even though I got a tech fall in that match, I felt different. I feel more confident now in my abilities because I knew what I was afraid of last year and the kind of wrestler that I didn't want to wrestle, and those are kind of secrets that every athlete has. You know your weaknesses, and this year they really -- I've kind of sealed up those weaknesses, and my confidence is at an all-time high, even though I'm not racking up the same amount of points, I feel more confident going up against the best of the best."
Up Next, defending national champion Isaiah Martinez (31-1) will seek his second national title in as many seasons. The match will be the newest chapter in a budding rivalry, as Martinez wrestles Penn State's Jason Nolf. Nolf handed Martinez his first collegiate loss on January 23 at Huff Hall. Less than two months later, Martinez returned the favor at Big Ten Championships with a 4-3, double-overtime instant classic victory against Nolf to claim his second Big Ten title.
"I had a feeling it was going to come down to me and [Nolf]," said Martinez. "I just don't think anyone knows the right way to wrestle him, and I've kind of figured it out. If it's the way I want it to be tomorrow, it'll be entertaining and it'll be a brawl."
Rodrigues Earns All-American Honors
Steven Rodrigues clinched his first ever All-America honor tonight with a 4-2 decision over Purdue's Chad Welch. Later in the evening, Rodrigues came back with another gritty performance against #10 Austin Wilson of Nebraska. With the match tied 1-1 in sudden victory, Rodrigues drove through and got the ankle takedown. The win, his second over a top-10 wrestler today puts him one win away from the third-place match.
"Steven had a great day," said Coach Heffernan. "He deserves, and has earned, this accomplishment through a lot of hard work and tons of discipline. I'm really happy for him and looking forward to seeing what he can do tomorrow. He's one tough kid."
Rodrigues (29-4), a Mount Kisco, New York native, has set a career-high in wins since coming to Illinois after spending his first season at Rutgers. After wrestling at 141-pounds in his previous three seasons at Illinois, Rodrigues made the jump up to 165-pounds this season. He has yet to lose to anyone outside of the top-five in his class and will seek a third-place finish tomorrow in the consolation bracket.
Richards Loses Tight Semifinal Match, Eyes Third Place
The 133-pound semifinal was the third of three highly contested matches between Zane Richards and Iowa's Cory Clark. With the two grapplers splitting the two prior matches, tonight's bout would be the tiebreaker and decider in who wrestled for the national championship tomorrow night. Richards started fast with a takedown in the first minute and a half of the first period, and then held on to that lead through most of the next two periods. However, with under 20 seconds remaining, Cory Clark was able to get a last ditch effort at a takedown to overtake Richards in the match's final seconds. Richards will attempt to bounce back tomorrow in wrestle backs with hopes of placing third.
Black Eliminated After Dropping Match to #9 Kroells
Brooks Black strong run of wins over ranked opponents came to an end Friday night wit ha loss to Minnesota's ninth-seeded Michael Korells. After Black placed fifth at Big Tens, he continued his improved wrestling with a win over #6 Denzel Dejournette (APP) to make it to the quarterfinals. However, back-to-back losses to Walz and Kroells ended his run at NCAA Championships. Just a sophomore, Black will look to get on the podium in his final two seasons at Illinois.
Complete Illini Results:
133: #3 Zane Richards
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over Joey Palmer (ORST), 5-4
Champ. Round 2: won by decision over #14 Geoffrey Alexander (MD), 9-5
Quarterfinals: won by major decision over #6 George DiCamillo (UVA),12-4
Semifinals: lost by decision to #2 Cory Clark (Iowa), 4-3
157: #2 Isaiah Martinez
Champ. Round 1: won by tech fall over Robert Henderson (UNC), 16-0
Champ. Round 2: won by major decision over #16 Markus Scheidel (COLU), 15-4
Quarterfinals: won by decision over #8 Nick Brascetta (VT), 6-3
Semifinals: won by decision over #4 Ian Miller (Kent State), 7-5 (SV-1)
165: #6 Steven Rodrigues
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over George Pickett (CORN), 5-2
Champ. Round 2: won by decision over Geno Morelli (PSU), 3-1 (SV-2)
Quarterfinals: lost by major decision to #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 10-2
Cons. Round 4: won by decision over #8 Chad Welch (PUR), 4-2
Cons. Round 5: won by decision over #10 Austin Wilson (NEB), 3-1 (SV-1)
174: #5 Zac Brunson
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over Keaton Subjeck (STAN), 3-1
Champ Round 2: lost by major decision to #12 Nathan Jackson (IND), 10-1
Cons. Round 2: won by decision over Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 9-2
Cons. Round 3: lost by decision to #3 Blaise Butler (Missouri), 3-1
Zac Brunson eliminated
184: #7 Jeff Koepke
Champ. Round 1: loses by major decision to Domenic Abounader (MICH), 8-0
Cons. Round 1: won by decision over Samson Imonode (Army), 6-5
Cons. Round 2: won by decision over Joe Ariola (Buffalo), 2-1
Cons. Round 3: lost by decision to #6 Blake Stauffer (ASU), 5-3 (SV-1)
Jeff Koepke eliminated
HWT: #7 Brooks Black
Champ. Round 1: wins by decision over #6 Denzel Dejournette (APP), 7-2
Champ. Round 2: wins by decision over Boyce Cornwell (GW), 4-3 (2OT)
Quarterfinals: lost by decision to #3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 4-1
Cons. Round 4: lost by decision to #9 Michael Kroells (MINN), 4-2
Brooks Black eliminated
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State 114.0
2. Oklahoma St. 79.5
3. Iowa 77.5
4. Virginia Tech 69.5
5. Ohio St. 68.0
6. Missouri 58.5
7. Nebraska 56.0
8. Cornell 53.5
9. NC State 43.0
10. ILLINOIS 42.0
