CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 20 Fighting Illini wrestling will send six wrestlers to NCAA Championships this week, which will be held March 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Junior Travis Piotrowski, (125), redshirt sophomores Dylan Duncan (133) and Mike Carr (141) and redshirt senior Emery Parker (184) all earned automatic bids to nationals through their finishes at the Big Ten Championships earlier this month. Redshirt juniors Eric Barone (157) and Joey Gunther (165) were awarded at-large bids to NCAAs by the selection committee on March 12. NCAA Championships will have six sessions, with the morning sessions (1,3 and 5) airing on ESPNU and the evening sessions (2, 4 and 6) airing on ESPN.
Illinois Probables
| Illinois Probables |
| Wt. |
Ranking |
Wrestler |
Record |
Year |
Notes |
| 125 |
13/13/12 |
(11) Travis Piotrowski |
20-10 |
Jr. |
Led team in wins with 20, fifth place at 125-pounds at B1G Championships |
| 133 |
24/20/- |
(30) Dylan Duncan |
13-12 |
r-So. |
2x NCAA Qualifier
|
| 141 |
10/14/8 |
(6) Mike Carr |
12-5 |
r-So. |
7-0 in Big Ten regular season duals
|
| 157 |
16/12/11 |
(15) Eric Barone |
18-14 |
r-Jr. |
Defeated two top-five, nationally ranked wrestlers during the regular season |
| 165 |
24/-/- |
(26) Joey Gunther |
18-13 |
r-Jr. |
3x NCAA Qualifier
|
| 184 |
3/3/7 |
(4) Emery Parker |
18-3 |
r-Sr. |
2018 All-American (184-pounds Third-Place), 2019 Big Ten Championships 184-pounds Third Place
|
Rankings in Trackwrestling, W.I.N. Magazine, FloWrestling format
()- Bracket seeds
Schedule & Broadcast Information
| NCAA Championships TV Schedule (All Times Central) |
| Session 1 | March 21 | 11 AM - First Round |
ESPNU |
| Session 2 | March 21 | 6 PM - Second Round |
ESPN |
| Session 3 | March 22 | 10 AM - Quarterfinals |
ESPNU |
| Session 4 | March 22 | 7 PM - Semifinals |
ESPN |
| Session 5 | March 23 | 10 AM - Place Matches |
ESPNU |
| Session 6 | March 23 | 6 PM - Finals |
ESPN |
Quick Hits
*24 times an Illini has been crowned a national champion, including four times in the last six seasons.
*Illinois' two All-Americans in 2018 made it 27 straight years with at least one All-America honor.
*Head coach Jim Heffernan has guided the Illini to three top-10 finishes at NCAA Championships in his eight seasons, highlighted by seventh place in 2012.
*Redshirt senior Emery Parker is the highest seeded Illini for the national tournament, entering as the No. 4 seed at 184-pounds. Redshirt sophomore Mike Carr also earned a top-8 seed as the No. 6 seed at 141-pounds.
*Emery Parker earned All-American honors last season after placing third at 184-pounds at the 2018 NCAA Championships. After losing his first match, Parker rattled off seven consecutive wins in wrestlebacks en route to third-place.
* All of the 2019 Illini qualifiers have qualified multiple times in their career for NCAA Championships. Travis Piotrowski, Joey Gunther and Emery Parker are now 3x qualifiers for NCAAs, and Dylan Duncan, Mike Carr and Eric Barone have each qualified twice for the national tournament.
*All six qualifiers are ranked in the final coach's poll and RPI rankings. Piotrowski, Carr and Parker are each ranked seventh in the RPI rankings for their respective weight classes.
*Illinois enters NCAA Championships with six wrestlers earning spots across various national rankings. Here are their highest ranks across the national polls: 184: No. 3 Emery Parker (WIN Magazine, Trackwrestling), 141: No. 8 Mike Carr, (FloWrestling), 157: No. 11 Eric Barone (FloWrestling), 125: No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (FloWrestling), No. 20 Dylan Duncan (WIN Magazine) and No. 24 Joey Gunther (Trackwrestling).
NCAA Bid Allocations
The Big Ten led the NCAA with 78 automatic qualifying spots for this year's NCAA Championships. The conference totaled 25 more automatic bids than the second place Big 12 Conference. With at least five automatic bids at every weight class, the Big Ten received nine automatic bids at 125 pounds, 141 pounds, 157 pounds and 165 pounds.
Weight Class Big Ten Bid Allocations
125-9
133-8
141-9
149-6
157-9
165-9
174-8
184-8
197-5
HWT-7
The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee met to select the remaining 45 at-large qualifiers, which were announced on March 12. All weight classes will feature 33 wrestlers. At-large selections were made based on head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage.
RPI and Coaches' Rankings
Six Illinois wrestlers are ranked in the final Coach's Poll and RPI Rankings heading into NCAA Championships. Wrestlers must have wrestled at least 17 matches against Division I opponents to qualify for the RPI rankings.
Illinois NCAA History
24 times an Illini has stood atop the podium at NCAA Championships, including four in the last six seasons. Since head coach Jim Heffernan arrived as an assistant in 1992, the Illini have had at least one All-American in each of the last 27 seasons. Illinois' best team finish under head coach Jim Heffernan came in 2012 when the Orange and Blue placed seventh.
Last Time Out
The Illini competed at Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis on March 8 & 9 at Williams Arena. Emery Parker led the way for Illinois with his third-place finish at 184-pounds, the best finish of his career at the conference meet. He avenged a regular season loss to Nerbraska's Taylor Venz in the third-place bout, defeating Venz in a 5-1 decision to claim third place. Parker went 4-1 at the tournament. Junior Travis Piotrowski wrestled to a fifth place finish at 125-pounds at the tournament. He compiled a 4-2 record at the meet, which included his first tech fall of the season with a 17-0 tech fall against Penn State's Devin Schnupp in the opening round. Redshirt sophomores Dylan Duncan (133) and Mike Carr (141) each placed eighth. Illinois finished 11th at the 2018 Big Ten Championships.
Six Illini Ranked Nationally
The Fighting Illini are currently tied for No. 20 in the latest FloWrestling national rankings. Here are the Illini's best ranks across the national rankings: No. 3 Emery Parker Carr, (W.I.N. Magazine, Trackwrestling), No. 8 Mike Carr (FloWrestling), No. 11 Eric Barone (FloWrestling) No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (FloWrestling), No. 20 Dylan Duncan (W.I.N. Magazine) and No. 24 Joey Gunther, (Trackwrestling).
Illini Top-Eight Seeds
184: Emery Parker
Redshirt senior Emery Parker leads the Illini into his final NCAA Championships as the No. 4 seed at 184-pounds. Parker is coming off a third-place finish at 184-pounds at Big Ten Championships earlier this month. He went 4-1 at the conference meet, and defeated Nebraska's Taylor Venz in a 5-1 decision in the third-place bout. With his performance, Parker received an automatic bid to nationals, qualifying for NCAAs for the third time in his career. Parker was an All-American in 2018 after placing third at 184 pounds last season at NCAA Championships.
141: Mike Carr
Redshirt sophomore Mike Carr enters the 2018 NCAA Championships with a top-10 seed, seeding No. 6 at 141-pounds. Carr earned an automatic bid to nationals by placing at Big Ten Championships. It is the second consecutive year he has qualified for the national tournament. Carr went a perfect 7-0 in Big Ten duals this season. One of the only non-Illinois natives on the roster, Carr will get to wrestle in his home state at this year's NCAA Championship. Carr's hometown of South Fayette, Pa. is roughly a 25 minute drive from Pittsburgh.
First Round Matchups
125: (11) Travis Piotrowski vs. (22) Jacob Schwarm (Northern Iowa)
133: (30) Dylan Duncan vs. (3) Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
141: (6) Mike Carr vs. (27) Anthony Sparacio (Binghampton)
157: (15) Eric Barone vs. (18) Logan Parks (Central Michigan)
165: (26) Joey Gunther vs. (7) Isaiah White (Nebraska)
184: (4) Emery Parker vs. (29) WIll Schany (Virginia)
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