EAST LANSING, Mich. - Eight Fighting Illini wrestlers earned top-six place finishes at the MSU Open on Saturday. The Illini had five wrestlers place in the Open division, and three in the Fresh/Soph division. 

Competing unattached, freshman DJ Shannon placed second at 174-pounds in the Open division. Shannon won his first match in a 7-6 decision, and then advanced through the quarterfinal after a medical forfeit by his opponent. He advanced to the final by defeating Oklahoma's Anthony Mantanona in a 7-2 decision. DJ Shannon battled Kaleb Romero, who is ranked No. 20 nationally by FloWrestling, to a tight contest. Shannon dropped the title bout, 4-2, but earned a second-place finish at his first collegiate tournament. 

Also competing unattached, senior Travis Piotrowski wrestled to a third-place finish in the 133-pound Open division. This was the first time Piotrowski has competed at 133-pounds in his college career. After winning his first two rounds by decisions of 11-8 and 4-1, respectively, Piotrowski tested No. 4 Micky Phillippi in the semifinal. Piotrowski took the national top-five wrestler out of Pittsburgh to double overtime before dropping the match in Sudden Victory-2, 5-3. Piotrowski would bounce back in the consolation semifinal, taking down No. 11 Derek Spann of Buffalo in a 6-3 decision. In the third-place match, Piotrowski recorded two takedowns and would go on to defeat Ohio State's Quinn Kinner by decision, 4-1. 

Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel was stellar at 184-pounds at the MSU Open. Competing in the Open Division, Braunagel dominated his first two matches, securing major decision victories by scores of 12-3 and 11-2, outscoring his opponents 22-5 in those first two bouts. After dropping his quarterfinal match to No. 20 Brit Wilson of Northern Illinois, Braunagel responded well in the consolation bracket. He would turn around and defeat Jared Florell of Purdue in a 3-2 decision, and then secure another major decision in his next bout against Ohio's Hunter Yeargan, winning 11-2.

His most notable victory of the day came in the next round, the consolation semis, against No. 13 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State. Braunagel was dominant throughout, recording five takedowns the match, a four-point nearfall in the second period and tacking on the point for riding time to take a 15-7 major decision over Caffey. Braunagel would finish fourth at 184-pounds. 

Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel also earned place-finish in the Open division, finishing fourth at 165-pounds. Braunagel started the day with back-to-back victories, a 7-4 decision followed by a 21-4 tech. fall against Penn's Carl Antrassian. After dropping a decision to No. 17 Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh, Braunagel would rebound with three consecutive victories in the consolation bracket. Trailing late in the consolation semis to Michigan's Cameron Amine, the third of those victories, Braunagel recorded a takedown near the end of the third period to even the score at 5-5 to force overtime. Braunagel made the winning takedown in Sudden Victory-1, and won the match, 7-5, over Amine. 

Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan made his collegiate debut at 141-pounds in the Open division on Saturday. He outscored his first three opponents, 26-2, and advanced to the semifinals. Duncan won by major decision in his first bout of the day, 14-2 against Penn's Alfonso Vindici. He then shutout Marcus Robinson of Buffalo, 4-0, in his second matchup, and then secured another major decision and shutout with his 8-0 victory over Ohio's Moises Guillen of Ohio. Duncan would finish fourth at 141-pounds at the MSU Open. 

The Illini had two wrestlers place first in their weight-classes in the Fresh/Soph division at the MSU Open. Freshman Trey Sizemore went 4-0, including a win by Fall (2:45) and tech. fall (17-2), to capture the 174-pound title. Freshman Luke Luffman secured first-place at 285-pounds. The Urbana native won by Fall (4:48) in his first match, and then rattled off three consecutive decisions en route to placing first at 285-pounds.

Freshman Lucas Byrd finished second in the Fresh/Soph division at 133-pounds. Going 3-1, Byrd won his first two matches by tech. fall (15-0) and Fall (5:45), respectively. 

Up next, the Illini head to a tri-meet at UT Chattanooga along with Army West Point on Sunday, November 10. The matchup with Army West Point will begin at 9 a.m. CT, and the dual with UT-Chattanooga will start later on in the day at 1 p.m. CT.  

Illinois Place-winners at MSU Open

Open Division