Full Results/Brackets

LAS VEGAS -  Redshirt sophomore Mike Carr won all four of his matches on Friday to advance to tomorrow's semifinals in the 141-pound bracket at the Cliff Keen Invitational. In a field featuring over 100 wrestlers ranked by FloWrestling, No. 18 Illinois saw four wrestlers reach the quarterfinals. Redshirt junior Eric Barone wrestled his way into the 157-pound quarterfinals by upsetting No.5 ranked Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State, with Barone defeating Hayes in a 2-1 decision. Junior Travis Piotrowski (125-pounds) and redshirt junior Joey Gunther (165-pounds) also reached the quarterfinals in their brackets. 

Ranked No. 7 at 141-pounds heading into the Vegas tournament, Carr looked in control in his first action since the Grapple in the Grove on Nov. 3, outscoring his opponents by a combined total of 40-11. He started the day with a dominant performance in a 12-3 decision over Dalton Young of Stanford. Carr then recorded two more decision victories in the rounds of 32 and 16. He first defeated Brown University's Colin Realbuto in an 8-3 decision, then followed up that performance by downing Garrett O'Shea of Air Force, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. Carr ended his first day of action with his strongest performance of the day against Wyoming's Sam Turner, picking up five takedowns on his way to a 14-3 major decision victory. In tomorrow's semifinal matchup, Carr will get a rematch against No. 3 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri, who defeated Carr 12-10 in overtime at the Grapple in the Grove earlier this month. 

While Carr advances to the semis, four additional Illini are set to resume action tomorrow in the consolation brackets. After being defeated in their respective quarterfinal matchups, Piotrowski, Barone and Gunther will all head to their consolation bracket's second round of eight matchups tomorrow morning. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan also heads to the second round of eight consolation match tomorrow after winning two consolation matchups to end the day. 

Barone came away with the performance of the day for the Orange and Blue, upsetting No. 5 Ke-Shawn Hayes of Big Ten rival Ohio State in a 2-1 decision. Prior to beating Hayes, Barone fought his way too a tough victory in the round of 32, pinning Brown's Christian LaBrie in overtime to advance to the round of 16 matchup with Hayes. After Hayes received a stall warning in the first period, he was eventually called for stalling in second, giving Barone the 1-0 advantage. Barone then took a 2-0 lead after landing an escape point with 49 seconds left in the second. Barone was sound defensively the rest of the way and held on to acheive the 2-1 upset victory and head to the quarterfinal round. After dropping his quarterfinal matchup, Barone will look for another strong performance in tomorrow's consolation matchup against Jarrett Jacques of Missouri. 

No. 10 Travis Piotrowski notched two wins in his first action of the season on Friday. After receiving a first round bye, Piotrowski was sound in his first matchup of the season against Cornell's Dominic LaJoie, shutting out LaJoie in a 4-0 decision. Piotrowski moved on to the round of 16 where he faced off against No. 20 Cole Verner of Wyoming. Piotrowski jumped out to an early lead 6-0 lead with a two-point takedown and four-point nearfall. LaJoie answered with an escape, a takedown and a two-point nearfall to make cut Piotrowski's advantage to 6-5. However, Piotrowski never trailed and a third period takedown proved to be the difference as Piotrowski came away with a 9-7 decision over Verner. After losing a hard fought decision to Minnesota's No. 8 Sean Russell, Piotrowski is set for the consolation bracket and a matchup versus Missouri's Colby Smith tomorrow morning. 

No. 14 Joey Gunther advanced to the quarterfinals after winning his first three matchups of the day. Gunther first bested Jacob Thalin of Cal State-Bakersfield in an 8-5 decision. He proceeded to the round of 16 after defeating Dylan Miracle of Cal Poly, tallying five takedowns on his way to a 12-3 major dec. In the round of 16, Gunther battled against No. 20 Jake Wentzel out of Pittsburgh. Trailling 1-0 heading into the third period, Gunther made an escape to tie the score at 1. A takedown by Gunther with 52 seconds remaining was the deciding factor, and the Illini redshirt junior advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 decision victory. Gunther, who was defeated by Nebraska's Isaiah White in the quarterfinals, draws Virginia's Cam Coy in the 165-pound consolation bracket tomorrow. Gunther is now 8-2 to start his first year at Illinois

No. 11 Dylan Duncan is still alive and got off to a fast start in his first appearances of the season. In his first match of the season , Duncan pinned Harvard's Lukus Stricker with 30 seconds to go in the first period, advancing to the round of 32 at 133-pounds. Duncan put together another solid performance against Ty Smith out of Drexel, defeating Smith in a 9-2 decision. After dropping a narrow 4-3 decision to Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech in the round of 16, Duncan quickly bounced back with two wins in the consolation bracket. After defeating Oklahoma's Anthony Madrigal in a 4-1 decision, Duncan was dominant against Colin Valdiviez of Northwestern, jumping out to an early lead and securing a 12-4 major decision. Duncan will face Cornell's Charles Tucker tomorrow morning in his third consolation matchup. 

Redshirt senior Andre Lee picked up three wins in the 197-pound consolation bracket on Friday. After dropping his first round matchup, Lee responded strong by defeating Air Force wrestler Casey Jumps in an 11-4 decision. Lee then went on to beat UNC's Chasen Blair in a 3-1 overtime decision to set up a rematch against Wyatt Koelling of Missouri, who defeated Lee at the Grapple in the Grove earlier this month, 3-1 in overtime. Lee was victorious in the second meeting, this time defeating Koelling in overtime in a 3-1 decision. Lee exits the tournament having finished 3-2 and putting his record at 10-4 for the season. 

Redshirt senior Deuce Rachal picked up a thrilling first round victory against Cal Baptist's Zach Schrader. Trailing 4-3 with two seconds remaining in the match, Schrader was issued a caution warning. Rachal then executed a reversal just as time expired to come away with the win in a 5-4 decision. Redshirt junior Carver James also picked up two victories at the tournament, defeating Kettner Fields of Highline College by major decision, 15-4 and then winning a 7-2 decision over Nebraska-Kearney's Zach Stodden. 

Day two of the Cliff Keen Invitational will begin at 11 a.m. CT tomorrow with the consolation second rounds of eight. Semifinal matchups will start at Noon CT, and championship matchups for first, second, third and fourth places will take place at 5 p.m. CT. 

Illinois Semifinalists :

141: #7 Mike Carr (r-So.) // 4-0

Champ Round 1: Mike Carr Champaign, IL (Illinois) MD Dalton Young Palo Alto, CA (Stanford), 12-3
Champ Round 2: Mike Carr Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Colin Realbuto Providence, RI (Brown University), 8-3
Champ Round 3: Mike Carr Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Garrett O'shea U.S. Air Force Academy, CO (Air Force), 6-2
Quarterfinals: Mike Carr Champaign, IL (Illinois) MD Sam Turner Laramie, WY (Wyoming), 14-3

Illinois in Consolation Brackets:

125: #10 Travis Piotrowski (Jr.) // 2-1

Champ Round 1: Bye
Champ Round 2: Travis Piotrowski Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Dominic Lajoie Ithaca, NY (Cornell), 4-0
Champ Round 3: Travis Piotrowski Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC #20 Cole Verner Laramie, WY (Wyoming), 9-7
Quarterfinals: #8 Sean Russell Minneapolis, MN (Minnesota) DEC Travis Piotrowski Champaign, IL (Illinois), 2-0

133: #11 Dylan Duncan (r-So.) // 4-1

Champ Round 1: Dylan Duncan Champaign, IL (Illinois) F Lukus Stricker Rootstown, OH (Harvard), 2:30
Champ Round 2: Dylan Duncan Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Ty Smith Philadelphia, PA (Drexel), 9-2
Champ Round 3: #12 Korbin Myers Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech) DEC Dylan Duncan Champaign, IL (Illinois), 4-3
Cons Second Round of 16: Dylan Duncan Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Anthony Madrigal Norman, OK (Oklahoma), 4-1
Cons First Round of 8: Dylan Duncan Champaign, IL (Illinois) MD #16 Colin Valdivez Lee's Summit, MO (Northwestern), 12-4

157: Eric Barone (r-Jr.) // 2-1

Champ Round 1: Bye
Champ Round 2: Eric Barone Champaign, IL (Illinois) F Christian Labrie Exeter, RI (Brown University), 8:00
Champ Round 3: Eric Barone Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC #4 Ke-Shawn Hayes Columbus, OH (Ohio State), 2-1
Quarterfinals: #10 Taleb Rahmani Marysville, OH (Pittsburgh) MD Eric Barone Champaign, IL (Illinois), 12-4

149: #14 Joey Gunther (r-Jr.) // 3-1

Champ Round 1: Joey Gunther Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Jacob Thalin Bakersfield, CA (Cal State Bakersfield), 8-5
Champ Round 2: Joey Gunther Champaign, IL (Illinois) MD Dylan Miracle Madera, CA (California Poly), 12-3
Champ Round 3: Joey Gunther Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC #20 Jake Wentzel Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh), 3-2
Quarterfinals: #10 Isaiah White Lincoln, NE (Nebraska) DEC Joey Gunther Champaign, IL (Illinois), 7-3

149: Christian Kanzler (Jr.) // 0-2

Champ Round 1: Robert Lee Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh) DEC Chrisitan Kanzler Champaign, IL (Illinois), 5-1
Cons Round of 32: Davion Jeffries Norman, OK (Oklahoma) DEC Chrisitan Kanzler Champaign, IL (Illinois), 14-7
Christian Kanzler eliminated

174: Carver James (r-Jr.) // 2-2

Champ Round 1: Carver James Champaign, IL (Illinois) MD Kettner Fields Seattle, WA (Highline College), 15-4
Champ Round 2: Carver James Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Zachary Stodden Broomfield, CO (Nebraska-Kearney), 7-2
Champ Round 3: #9 Taylor Lujan Cedar Falls, IA (Northern Iowa) F Carver James Champaign, IL (Illinois), 5:43
Cons. Second Round of 16: Devin Kane Chapel Hill, NC (North Carolina) DEC Carver James Champaign, IL (Illinois), 11-4
Carver James eliminated

197: Andre Lee (r-Sr.) // 3-2

Champ Round 1: Bye
Champ Round 2: #15 Jake Woodley Norman, OK (Oklahoma) DEC Andre Lee Champaign, IL (Illinois), 5-2
Cons. Round of 32: Andre Lee Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Casey Jumps Platte City, MO (Air Force), 11-4
Cons. First Round of 16: Andre Lee Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Chasen Blair San Diego, CA (North Carolina), 3-1 SV
Cons Second Round of 16: Andre Lee Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Wyatt Koelling Columbia, MO (Missouri), 3-1 SV
Cons. First Round of 8: Cordell Eaton Fargo, ND (North Dakota State) DEC Andre Lee Champaign, IL (Illinois), 3-1
Andre Lee eliminated

HWT: Deuce Rachal (r-Sr.) // 1-2

Champ Round 1: Bye
Champ Round 2: Deuce Rachal Champaign, IL (Illinois) DEC Zach Schrader Manhattan Beach, CA (California Baptist University), 5-4
Champ Round 3: Brian Andrews Laramie, WY (Wyoming) DEC Deuce Rachal Champaign, IL (Illinois), 2-0
Cons. Second Round of 16: Zach Elam Kansas City, MO (Missouri) DEC Deuce Rachal Champaign, IL (Illinois), 4-0
Deuce Rachal eliminated

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