EVANSTON, Ill. - No. 20 Illinois wrestling dropped its dual at No. 11 Northwestern at the Welsh-Ryan Arena Friday night, 25-12. Redshirt senior Emery Parker led the Illini with his pin of Brendan Devine in the 184-pound bout. UI also received wins in the 149-pound matchup from junior Christian Kanzler, and in the 133-pound bout from redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan.
"It was good to see Christian Kanzler wrestle the way we know he's capable of," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "He was offensive, and controlled a guy he lost to earlier in the year."
Christian Kanzler picked up a win in the first match of the dual over Shayne Oster in the 149-pound bout. Kanzler got the first points of the match, recording a takedown midway through the first period. Oster would respond with an escape and a takedown in the period's final seconds to take a 3-2 lead heading into the second. Kanzler was able to regain the lead, 4-3, with his second takedown of the match midway through the second frame. An escape by Oster would tie the match at four going into the final period. Kanzler was strong closing out the match, taking the lead, 6-5, with a takedown with under 50 seconds to go, and then adding another takedown in the closing seconds. With another point added for riding time, Kanzler would take a 9-6 decision over Oster. The win put the Illini in front after the first match, 3-0.
After dropping the next three matches, the Orange and Blue looked to No. 6 Emery Parker to get the Illini back on track. Parker was dominant in the match against Brendan Devine, racking up four takedowns in the opening period to take an 8-3 lead into the second. Parker would tack on three more takedowns in the second period, before pinning Devine at the 4:50 mark in the bout. Parker's win by fall would tie the dual score at 9 heading into the intermission. With the victory, Parker is now 13-2 on the season and 6-2 against Big Ten opponents.
"Emery Parker did a good job picking up bonus points for us," Heffernan said. "He's been a slow starter this year, but got four takedowns in the first period before pinning the guy."
The Illini would get a strong effort from Dylan Duncan in the 133-pound bout. Taking on Colin Valdiviez, Duncan would strike first, picking up a takedown early on in the first to take the initial, 2-0 lead. Valdiviez would draw even with a penalty point after Duncan was called for locking the hands, and then an escape. The match would remain tied at two into the third period, when Valdiviez would escape to take a 3-2 lead. Duncan, however, responded with a takedown to regain the advantage, 4-3. Valdiviez would tie the score with an escape, and the bout would head into overtime tied at four. After an overtime and the first tiebreaker period still tied, Duncan persevered in the second tiebreaker period. Duncan wrestled his way to a takedown in the final seconds of the second tiebreaker period and closed out the match to take a 6-5 decision over Valdiviez. The win is the 11th for Duncan on the season.
"Dylan Duncan had a gritty overtime win," Heffernan said. "He's been a little banged up, and stepped up tonight. It's not easy to keep beating the same guy, and this was fourth or fifth time."
Up next, the Illini will return home to Huff Hall to host No. 1 Penn State for Senior Day. The Illini will honor the careers of redshirt seniors Emery Parker, Andre Lee and Deuce Rachal, redshirt juniors Carver James, Nick Gasbarro and Tim McCarthy, and graduate student Colin Carr prior to the dual. Sunday is also Hail to the Orange Day at Huff Hall, with fans receiving Hail to the Orange t-shirts and rally towels.
Full Results:
149: Christian Kanzler (ILL) dec. Shayne Oster (NU), 9-6: ILL 3, NW 0
157: #3 Ryan Deakin (NU) dec. #9 Eric Barone (ILL), 6-1: ILL 3, NU 3
165: Tyler Morland (NU) dec. Nick Gasbarro (ILL), 5-2: NU 6, ILL 3
174: Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Carver James (ILL), 10-5: NU 9, ILL 3
184: #5 Emery Parker (ILL) Fall Brendan Devine (NU), 4:50: ILL 9, NU 9
197: Zack Chakonis (NU) Fall Andre Lee (ILL), 3:29: NU 15, ILL 9
285: #10 Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Deuce Rachal (ILL), 1-0: NU 18, ILL 9
125: #1 Sebastian Rivera (NU) major dec. #12 Travis Piotrowski (ILL), 14-5: NU 22, ILL 9
133: Dylan Duncan (ILL) TB-2 Colin Valdiviez (NU), 6-5: NU 22, ILL 12
141: Alec McKenna (NU) dec. Abdullah Assaf (ILL), 7-4: NU 25, ILL 12
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