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ST. LOUIS – Four of the five Fighting Illini wrestlers won their second round matches to advance to Friday morning's quarterfinal round at Scottrade Center. No. 11 Emery Parker highlighted the night with a 14-9 decision over No. 6 seed, and 2016 NCAA champion, Myles Martin (Ohio State). No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (157), No. 8 Zane Richards (133) and No. 10 Zac Brunson (174) also won their second round bouts to reach the round of 16 for the second straight year. 157-pounder Kyle Langenderfer and 125-pounder Travis Piotrowski remain alive in wrestlebacks after finishing 1-1 on day one.

"It's great to have 4 quarterfinalists and have six left wrestling," said Head Coach Jim Heffernan. "Emery was sensational, beating the defending national champion. Zane, Zac and Isaiah all had solid days as well."

As a team, the Orange and Blue tallied 13.5 points sit in 12^th place through day one of competition. Session three begins tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. with the quarterfinal rounds and two rounds of wrestlebacks.

No. 11 seeded Emery Parker (30-8) pulled off one of the biggest day one victories at NCAA Championships, defeating No. 6 seed Myles Martin 14-9. The 2016 174-pounds national champion took an early 2-0 lead against Parker. After two escapes - one to end the first and one to start the second - Parker got in on Martin's leg and got the takedown. Parker tripled his two-point lead by getting Martin on his back to increase his advantage to 8-2. The No. 6 seeded Martin battled back, getting two takedowns to draw within 11-8, but Parker added a fourth and final takedown to seal the victory.

"I think early in the year I came out ready, but got caught [on my back,] said Parker. "It's a little harder to cover ground on a guy like that; a returning national champion that isn't going to give up points easily, especially when he has that advantage. I figured I needed to stop his shots and get to mine early, and then he broke a little bit once I scored all of those points."

Parker's two victories in his NCAA Championships debut give him 30 for the season, tying him with Zac Brunson for the team lead.

"He's an exceptional athlete and a sponge to learning wrestling," Coach Heffernan said of the redshirt sophomore. "He's a student of the sport, works really hard and takes it seriously. He's wrestled all those top guys except [Sammy] Brooks this year. I think he got a really good feel for [Myles] Martin last year, made one critical error – got put on his back and gave up the riding time point for a seven-point swing – that changed the match. We discussed not making mistakes and not letting [Martin] put him on his back. He almost put [Martin] on his back in the first period, and then took him down in the second period. Emery has the potential and is just now realizing how good he is."

No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (29-0) defeated Nick Wanzek (Minnesota) in his second round match, defeating the Golden Gopher by an 8-5 decision. Improving to 29-0 on the season, Martinez tallied three takedowns in the opening two periods to lead 8-2 in the third period. Wanek cut the lead in half with an escape and takedown at the beginning of the final frame, but was unable to upset the top-ranked Illini.

Zane Richards (27-4) punched his ticket to the quarterfinal round with a 7-6 decision in sudden victory over the No. 9 seed Scotty Parker (Lehigh). Richards and Parker traded takedowns early in the first period, but the Illini grappler added a second takedown to take a 5-4 lead into the second frame. Richards added an escape to his lead in the second period, but Parker tied the match with an escape and stalling point in period three. With the clocking winding down in the final period, Richards looked to have notched the winning takedown along the edge of the mat, but the call was overturned after a Lehigh challenge. In the extra period, Parker was called for his third stall warning, giving Richards a penalty point and the match.

With the win, Richards surpasses former Illini B.J. Futrell for 13^th place on Illinois' all-time list with 109 victories.

After SIU-Edwardsville's Jake Residori upset the No. 7 seed at 174 pounds in the opening round on Thursday, No. 10 seed Zac Brunson (30-8) took down Residori on Thursday evening to advance to the quarterfinal round. A defensive struggle for the first half of the match, Brunson got the first takedown of the match late in the second period to lead 3-0 after five minutes. Brunson added a second takedown in the third to finish off the match.

The win for Brunson was his 30^th of the year, setting a new career high for wins in a single season, surpassing his 29 wins in 2014-15 as a redshirt sophomore. The win was also Brunson's 105^th of his career, tying him for 19^th place on Illinois' all-time list with Jon Dergo, Mike Poeta and Kevin Puebla.

After taking down No. 13 seed John Van Brill in the first round on Thursday morning, Kyle Langenderfer (24-9) battled tough against No. 4 seed Tyler Berger (Nebraska) before falling in an 11-7 decision. After Berger took a 2-0 lead, Langenderfer rebounded with a takedown of his own, and then added two back points to take the lead over the fourth-seeded Husker. However, the Nebraska 157-pounder ended the match on a 9-3 run to take the match and advance to the quarterfinals.

In wrestlebacks, Travis Piotrowski (19-14) stayed alive in the 125-pounds bracket with a 6-0 shutout of Ibrahim Bunduka (George Mason). Piotrowski drew first blood in the second period with a takedown, and then added a second takedown in the third frame to pad the victory.

Eric Barone was eliminated from the 149-pound field, dropping matches to No. 9 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) in round one and No. 8 Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) in the second round.

For complete coverage of Fighting Illini wrestling, go to FIGHTINILLINI.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter and Instagram.

Friday Quarterfinal Matches:
133: (8) Zane Richards (ILL) vs. (1) Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
165: (1) Isaiah Martinez (ILL) vs. (9) Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State)
174: (10) Zac Brunson (ILL) vs. (2) Brian Realbuto (Cornell)
184: (11) Emery Parker (ILL) vs. (3) Sammy Brooks (Iowa)

Friday Consolation Matches:
125: Travis Piotrowski (ILL) vs. (9) Joshua Rodriguez (NDSU)
157: Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) vs. Casey Sparkman (Kent State)

Illini Notes

• Emery Parker's upset of No. 6 Myles Martin is his highest-ranked victory this season. The win is the 30^th of the season, tying him with Brunson for the team lead.
• Brunson's victory over Jake Residori (SIUE) marks the 30^th of the season, setting a new career season-high. His previous high was 29 wins in 2014-15.
• Zane Richards' two victories gives him 109 for his career, passing former Illini B.J. Futrell for 13^th all-time.
• Zac Brunson notched two victories, giving him 105 for his career and moving him into a tie for 19^th all-time with Jon Dergo, Mike Poeta and Kevin Puebla.
• Martinez is 12-0 all-time at NCAA Championships after winning his opening round match 14-4 over Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) and second match 8-5 against Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)
• The win is the 96th of Martinez's career, putting him two shy of Illinois' top-25 all-time wins list. Carl Perry is 25^th on the list with 98 wins.

Team Scores:

1.Penn State – 30.5
2.Ohio State – 26.0
3.Oklahoma State – 25.5
4.Iowa – 24.5
5.Missouri – 20.0
6.Cornell – 19.0
7.Minnesota – 18.5
8.Virginia Tech – 18.0
9. Central Michigan – 14.5
10.Lehigh – 14.0
10.Nebraska – 14.0
12.Illinois – 13.5
12.Arizona State – 13.5
12.Wisconsin – 13.5

Match-By-Match Results (number in parentheses indicates seed)

125 // Travis Piotrowski // Freshman // 1-1

133 // (8) Zane Richards // R-Senior // 2-0

149 // Eric Barone // R-Freshman // 0-2 - Eliminated

157 // Kyle Langenderfer // R-Junior // 1-1

165 // (1) Isaiah Martinez // R-Junior // 2-0

174 // (10) Zac Brunson // R-Senior // 2-0

184 // (11) Emery Parker // R-Sophomore // 2-0