Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Ten Fighting Illini wrestlers earned top-six place finishes at the MSU Open in East Lansing on Saturday. The Illini had seven wrestlers place in the open division, and three in the freshman/sophomore division. 

"We had a great pre-season and the wrestlers and coaches were excited to finally start competing again", said first-year head coach Mike Poeta. "I think my expectations for the team overall were higher than the way we performed. There were some positive takeaways from the weekend but we made too many mistakes. We have a great team and need to go out there and show it every match. Lucas Byrd did a good job rebounding after an uncharacteristic loss and Matt Wroblewski picked up one of his best wins in college so far."
"The good thing is we now have a lot of film against other competition and can spend time on specific situations we need to get better at. We'll wrestle some tough teams next weekend at Appalachian State and the expectations will be just as high going in."

Justin Cardani (125), Lucas Byrd (133), Christian Kanzler (149), Danny Braunagel (165), DJ Shannon (174), Matt Wroblewski (197), and Luke Luffman (285) each earned top-six finishes in the open division. In the fresh/soph division, Illini placewinners included Caden Ernd (174), Dylan Connell (184), and Joey Braunagel (197). Connell and J. Braunagel both finished in second place in their respective weight classes.

Illinois Place-winners at MSU Open

Open Division

125 – Justin Cardani (3^rd place)

133 – Lucas Byrd (3^rd place)

149 – Christian Kanzler (3^rd place)

165 – Danny Braunagel (4^th place)

174 – DJ Shannon (6^th place)

197 – Matt Wroblewski (4^th place)

285 – Luke Luffman (3^rd place)

Freshman/Sophomore Division

174 – Caden Ernd (6^th place)

184 – Dylan Connell (2^nd place)

197 – Joey Braunagel (2^nd place)

Up Next

The Illini travel to Boone, N.C. for the Mountaineer Invitiational hosted by Appalachian State next Sunday, November 14.

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