Final Brackets

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Fighting Illini wrestling redshirt senior Eric Barone placed fourth at 157-pounds to lead the Illini at the 2020 Big Ten Championships at Rutgers. Six Illini finished in the top eight of their weight-classes at the conference tournament. Senior Travis Piotrowski won the fifth-place bout at 133-pounds, and redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel finished sixth at 165-pounds. Redshirt freshman Dylan Duncan won the seventh-place match at 141-pounds, and redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174) and freshman Luke Luffman (285) each placed eighth in their weight classes. Illinois finished 11th at Big Ten Championships with 49 points.   

Eric Barone knocked off two national top-10 opponents on his way to the best place-finish of his career at a Big Ten tournament. During Session III on Sunday, Barone defeated No. 8 Will Lewan of Michigan in a 4-1 decision. Last night Barone upset No. 6 Kaleb Young of Iowa by decision, 3-1. Now a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier Barone heads into nationals with a record of 15-13.  

Travis Piotrowski took on Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers in the fifth place match at 133-pounds. The matchup between national No. 6 Piotrowski and No. 8 Alvarez went to Sudden Victory. Piotrowski prevailed with the winning takedown to take a 5-3 decision over Alvarez and place fifth. A four-time NCAA qualifier, Piotrowski will enter nationals at a mark of 27-4.  

Danny Braunagel ended his first conference tournament with a record of 3-3 and a sixth-place finish at 165-pounds. He will enter nationals with a record of 23-9 in his first campaign.   

Dylan Duncan won his seventh-place bout at 141-pounds this afternoon, defeating Purdue's Parker Filius in a 3-1 decision. Duncan will enter his third national tournament with an overall record this season of 20-10.  

Joey Gunther finished eighth at 174-pounds. He'll head into his fourth NCAA tournament and second with the Illini with a record of 17-9. Freshman Luke Luffman also finished eighth at 285-pounds at his first Big Ten Championships. Luffman's record currently sits at 17-11.  

Additionally during Sunday competition, redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel punched his ticket to nationals with his wins in the extra ninth-place bracket matches, set up to fill the Big Ten's 10 automatic bids at 184-pounds for NCAA Championships. Ranked 13th nationally, Braunagel defeated Minnesota's No. 19 Owen Webster in a 6-4 decision, and then Billy Janzer of Rutgers in a 7-5 decision.   

Up next, Illinois' six NCAA Championships automatic qualifiers will begin preparation for the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. Remaining Illinois wrestlers will wait to see if they earn an at-large bid to nationals, announced on Tuesday, March 10.    

Team Scores  

1. Iowa- 157.5 
2. Nebraska- 132 
3. Ohio State- 112 
4. Penn State- 107 
5. Purdue- 83 
6. Northwestern- 79.5 
7. Michigan- 73 
8. Minnesota- 63.5 
9. Wisconsin- 62.5 
10. Michigan State- 57 
11. Illinois- 49 
12. Rutgers- 25.5 
13. Indiana- 14.5 
14. Maryland- 0    

Illinois Results  

157: #32 (8) Eric Barone | 3-2 
Champ Round 1: (9) Michael VanBrill (Rutgers) dec. #32 (8) Eric Barone, 6-4 
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #32 (8) Eric Barone dec. #6 (2) Kaleb Young (Iowa), 3-1 
Cons. Round of 4: #32 (8) Eric Barone dec. (12) Garrett Model (Wisconsin), 6-3 
Cons. Semifinal: #32 (8) Eric Barone dec. #8 (4) Will Lewan (Michigan), 4-1 
Third Place Match: #17 (7) Peyton Robb (Nebraska) dec. #32 (8) Eric Barone, 5-4 
Eric Barone Places 4th.

133: #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski | 4-2 
Champ Round 1: #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski major dec. (13) King Sandoval (Maryland), 10-0 
Champ Quarterfinal: #3 (5) Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski, 9-4
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski dec. (11) Boo Dryden (Minnesota), 7-1  
Cons. Round of 4: #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski dec. (8) Joey Silva (Michigan), 5-2 
Cons. Semifinals: #3 (2) Austin DeSanto (Iowa) dec. #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski, 3-1 
Fifth Place Match: #6 (4) Travis Piotrowski SV-1 #8 (7) Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers), 5-3 
Travis Piotrowski Places 5th.  

165: #12 (7) Danny Braunagel | 3-3 
Champ Round 1: #12 (7) Danny Braunagel major dec. (10) Kyle Cochran (Maryland), 14-1 
Champ Quarterfinal: #2 (2) Alex Marinelli (Iowa) major dec. #12 (7) Danny Braunagel, 14-2
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #12 (7) Danny Braunagel dec. #27 (8) Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota), 4-3
Cons. Round of 4: #12 (7) Danny Braunagel dec. (12) Tyler Meisinger (Michigan), 8-7 
Cons. Semifinals: #5 (4) Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. #12 (7) Danny Braunagel, 11-4 
Fifth Place Match: #12 (6) Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. #12 (7) Danny Braunagel, 8-4
Danny Braunagel Places 6th.

141: #18 (7) Dylan Duncan | 3-2 
Champ Round 1: #18 (7) Dylan Duncan dec. (10) Alec McKenna (Northwestern), 4-0 
Champ Round #2 (2) Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. #18 (7) Dylan Duncan, 11-5 
Cons Round of 8 #2: #18 (7) Dylan Duncan dec. (9) Cole Mattin (Michigan), 7-5 
Cons. Round of 4: #3 (3) Max Murin (Iowa) dec. #18 (7) Dylan Duncan, 9-6 
Seventh Place Match: #18 (7) Dylan Duncan dec. #25 (8) Parker Filius (Purdue), 3-1 
Dylan Duncan Places 7th.    

174: #13 (7) Joey Gunther | 2-3 
Champ Round 1: #13 (7) Joey Gunther TB-1 (10) Jared Krattiger (Wisconsin), 2-1 
Champ Quarterfinal: #2 (2) Mark Hall (Penn State) tech. fall #13 (7) Joey Gunther, 16-0 
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #13 (7) Joey Gunther dec. (9) Philip Spadafora (Maryland), 3-1 
Cons. Round of 4: #8 (6) Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) dec. #13 (7) Joey Gunther, 6-2 
Seventh Place Match: #23 (8) Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) dec. #13 (7) Joey Gunther, 5-2
Joey Gunther Places 8th.    

285: #27 (9) Luke Luffman | 2-3 
Champ Round 1: #27 (9) Luke Luffman dec. #26 (8) Thomas Penola (Purdue), 7-2 
Champ Quarterfinal: #2 (1) Mason Parris (Michigan) Fall #27 (9) Luke Luffman, 0:28
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #27 (9) Luke Luffman med. forfeit #16 (7) Seth Nevillis (Penn State), MFF 
Cons. Round of 4: #22 (5) David Jensen (Nebraska) dec. #27 (9) Luke Luffman, 6-1 
Seventh Place Match: #26 (8) Thomas Penola (Purdue) dec. #27 (9) Luke Luffman, 3-2 
Luke Luffman Places 8th.

125: #18 (4) Justin Cardani | 1-3 
Champ Round 1: #18 (4) Justin Cardani dec. (13) Brandon Cray (Maryland), 6-0 
Champ Quarterfinal: #22 (5) Jack Medley (Michigan) TB-1 #18 (4) Justin Cardani, 9-4 
Cons. Round of 8 #2: (11) Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) dec. #18 (4) Justin Cardani, 4-0 
Ninth Place Bracket Semifinals: #17 (8) Nicolas Aguilar dec. #18 (4) Justin Cardani, 4-1

149: (13) Mousa Jodeh | 1-3 
Champ Round 1: #7 (4) Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. (13) Mousa Jodeh, 6-1
Cons. Round of 8 #1: (12) Alex Hrisopoulos (Michigan State) SV-1 (13) Mousa Jodeh, 7-3 
Ninth Place Bracket Quarterfinals: (13) Mousa Jodeh med. forfeit #32 (11) Gerard Angelo, MFF 
Ninth Place Bracket Semifinals: #18 (5) Graham Rooks (Indiana) dec. (13) Mousa Jodeh, 5-2 

184: #13 (7) Zac Braunagel | 3-2 
Champ Round 1: #13 (7) Zac Braunagel dec. #21 (10) Jelani Embree (Michigan), 3-2 
Champ Quarterfinal: #7 (2) Cam Caffey (Michigan State) major dec. #13 (7) Zac Braunagel, 14-3
Cons. Round of 8 #2: (9) Johnny Sebastian (Wisconsin) dec. #13 (7) Zac Braunagel, 8-4 
Ninth Place Bracket Semifinal: #13 (7) Zac Braunagel dec. #19 (8) Owen Webster (Minnesota), 6-4 
Ninth Place Bracket Final: #13 (7) Zac Braunagel dec. #15 (5) Billy Janzer (Rutgers), 7-2  

197: (11) Matt Wroblewski | 1-2 
Champ Round 1: #24 (6) Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) Fall (11) Matt Wroblewski, 0:53 
Cons. Round of 8 #1: (11) Matt Wroblewski dec. Nick Willham (Indiana), 3-2 
Cons. Round of 8 #2: #6 (4) Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. (11) Matt Wroblewski, 7-2     

#- National Ranking ()- Seed/School   

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