CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Fighting Illini wrestling picked up its first win of the season at the Chattanooga Duals on Sunday, defeating UT-Chattanooga, 22-10. Seven Illinois wrestlers won matches in their weight classes to power the Illini to victory. The Illini saw wins in the dual against Chattanooga by Justin Cardani (125), No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (133), We Rachal (141), No. 10 Eric Barone (157), No. 25 Danny Braunagel (165), No. 15 Joey Gunther (174) and Luke Luffman (285). Illinois split, 1-1, at the Chattanooga Duals. The Illini dropped their matchup with Army West Point, 19-15, to start the day.
"We were flat, unemotional and West Point out-hustled us, plain and simple," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "Didn't look much better in the afternoon, but we found a way to win. I'm really proud of the way (Luke) Luffman competed with this his first time out. He really looked like he was genuinely excited to wrestle."
Senior Travis Piotrowski (133), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) and freshman Luke Luffman (285) each won matches in both duals. Luffman secured his first collegiate dual win in the Army matchup, defeating Bobby Heald in an 8-5 decision. Luffman started the heavyweight match with an escape and a two-point takedown, and he and Heald were tied, 3-3 going into the second. He took the lead for good in the second behind an escape and another takedown.
Luffman was dominant in his second bout of the day, winning a 17-3 major decision against Chattanooga's Grayson Walthall. After getting out to a 2-0 lead in the first, Luffman took over in the second behind two four-point nearfalls. He would tack on two takedowns and the riding time point in the final period. The four-point major decision secured by Luffman were the final points in the 22-10 Illini victory over the Mocs.
Senior Travis Piotrowski, starting at 133-pounds for the first time in his career, opened the day with a 5-1 decision against Army's Lane Peters. After a scoreless first period, Piotrowski got on the board in the second with a two-point reversal. In the final period he would add two points for a takedown and was awarded a point for riding time.
In the second match, he helped extend the Illini lead to 6-0 over UT-Chattanooga. Piotrowski scored two quickly with a takedown early in the opening period. After a scoreless second, Piotrowski tacked on five points in the final period with an escape, a takedown and the riding time point. Piotrowski earned the 6-2 decision over Chattanooga's Franco Valdes.
Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel went 2-0 on the day at 165-pounds. Making his first career appearance in the Illini lineup, Braunagel began the day with a 12-5 decision against Army's Mason Smith. Braunagel got out to a strong start with two first period takedowns. He continued to score in the second, recording two more takedowns. In the third he escaped, then recorded his fifth takedown and also received the riding time point.
In his matchup with Chattanooga's Andrew Nicholson, Braunagel was able to come-from-behind to get the win. Trailing 3-0, Braunagel got on the board with a takedown in the second period. He tied the match early in the third with an escape. In the closing seconds of regulation, Braunagel recorded the takedown that would give him the 5-3 decision over Nicholson.
Six Illinois wrestlers picked up their first-career dual wins on Sunday. Braunagel and Luffman each captured theirs in the Army dual. Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125) got the Illini out in front against UT-Chattanooga with his 5-2 decision over Fabian Gutierrez. Redshirt freshman We Rachal (141) extended the Illini lead to 9-0 with his 5-3 decision against Chattanooga's Aidan Murphy. In the dual versus Army, redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (184) won his first collegiate dual matchup, taking down Luke Hodsden in a 6-2 decision. Redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski (197) notched his first-career dual win against Army, recording a takedown in overtime to defeat Alex Hopkins in Sudden Victory-1, 3-1.
Redshirt seniors Eric Barone and Joey Gunther picked up their first dual wins of the season in the Illinois win over Chattanooga. Barone won by decision, 8-5 over George Carpenter, and Gunther shutout Hunter Fortner, 4-0.
Next up, Illinois will take on No. 10 Missouri on Thursday, Nov. 14. The dual will be held at Francis Howell High School in Saint Louis, Mo. and is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
Results:
vs. Army
125- Trey Chalifoux (ARMY) dec. Justin Cardani (ILL), 7-2, ARMY 3, ILL 0
133- No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Lane Peters (ARMY), 5-1, ILL 3, ARMY 3
141- No. 20 Corey Shie (ARMY) Fall We Rachal (ILL), 0:42, ARMY 9, ILL 3
149- No. 24 P.J. Ogunsanya (ARMY) major dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 11-2, ARMY 13, ILL 3
157- Lucas Weiland (ARMY) dec. No. 10 Eric Barone (ILL), 8-3, ARMY 16, ILL 3
165- No. 25 Danny Braunagel (ILL) dec. Mason Smith (ARMY), 12-5, ARMY 16, ILL 6
174- No. 9 Ben Harvey (ARMY) dec. No. 15 Joey Gunther (ILL), 7-3, ARMY 19, ILL 6
184- No. 16 Zac Braunagel (ILL) dec. Luke Hodsden (ARMY), 6-2, ARMY 19, ILL 9
197- Matt Wroblewski (ILL) SV-1 Alex Hopkins (ARMY), 3-1, ARMY 19, ILL 12
285- Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. Bobby Heald (ARMY), 8-5, ARMY 19, ILL 15
vs. UT-Chattanooga
125- Justin Cardani (ILL) dec. Fabian Gutierrez (UTC), 5-2, ILL 3, UTC 0
133- No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Franco Valdes (UTC), 6-2, ILL 6, UTC 0
141- We Rachal (ILL) dec. Aidan Murphy (UTC), 5-3, ILL 9, UTC 0
149- Mason Wallace (UTC) dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 7-2, ILL 9, UTC 3
157- No. 10 Eric Barone (ILL) dec. George Carpenter (UTC), 8-5, ILL 12, UTC 3
165- No. 25 Danny Braunagel (ILL) dec. Drew Nicholson (UTC), 5-3, ILL 15, UTC 3
174- No. 15 Joey Gunther dec. Hunter Fortner (UTC), 4-0, ILL 18, UTC 3
184- Matthew Waddell (UTC) dec. No. 15 Zac Braunagel (ILL), 8-6, ILL 18, UTC 6
197- Rodney Jones (UTC) major dec. Matt Wroblewski (ILL), 14-4, ILL 18, UTC 10
285- Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. Grayson Walthall (UTC), 17-3, ILL 22, UTC 10
All rankings from FloWrestling.
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