HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – The Fighting Illini wrestling squad wrapped up day one of competition at the 58th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Thursday, Dec. 29 from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. Day two of competition begins Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. CT. Four Illini advanced to the semifinals: Redshirt juniors Danny Braunagel, Zac Braunagel, redshirt sophomores Lucas Byrd and Edmond Ruth.
SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
Lucas Byrd, the top seed in the 133 lbs. bracket, started out in dominating fashion. He won his first three matches by major decisions (11-1, 14-5, 9-1). He didn't sacrifice a single point in his quarterfinal match against Julian Chlebove (Arizona State) where he won by decision 4-0. Byrd takes on the four seed Michael Colaiocco (Penn) in the semifinals tomorrow.
Danny Braunagel is the six seed in the 165 lbs. bracket, he was awarded a first-round bye. He defeated two Big Ten opponents enroute to the quarterfinals. In round two he major decisioned Connor O'Neill (Rutgers) 14-4, then in round three he defeated Max Mayfield (Northwestern) 8-1. Braunagel pulled off the upset victory in his quarterfinal match over West Virginia's Peyton Hall 7-6. Danny takes on the two seed Quincy Monday (Princeton) in the semifinals tomorrow.
Edmond Ruth is the other top seeded Illini, as he is for the 174 lbs. bracket. He extended his win streak to 13 with three wins today. First round he defeated Harvard's Alex Whitworth 5-2. Next, he knocked off Brody Conley (Unattached West Virginia) in overtime, SV-1 3-1. He faced a familiar foe in round three as he had a rematch with Pittsburgh's Luca Augustine whom he faced Dec. 3 at the State Farm Center. The result was the same as Ruth topped Augustine 5-3. Ruth takes on the five seed Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) in the semifinals tomorrow.
Zac Braunagel is the second seed in the 197 lbs. bracket, like his brother he was awarded a first-round bye. In round two he major decisioned Jonathon Fagen (Arizona State) 11-3. Next, he defeated Virginia's Michael Battista via decision 4-1. Zac takes on the three seed Luke Stout (Princeton) in the semifinals tomorrow.
QUARTERFINALISTS NOTES
Two other Illini made it to the quarterfinals in sophomore Danny Pucino and redshirt freshman Dylan Connell.
Pucino (141 lbs.) advanced on a first-round bye and then defeated Trey Crawford (Unattached Missouri) 10-5 in round two. In round three he took down Big Ten opponent Michael Leveille (Purdue) by a decision of 8-3. He fell to the number two seed Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) by a major decision 12-2.
Connell (184 lbs.) major decisioned Luke Rada (Harvard) 10-2 in the opening round. Next, he defeated Big Ten opponent Jon Halvorsen (Northwestern) 3-2 in round two. In the third round he upset the seven seed Rylan Rogers (Michigan) 3-1 with a literal last second takedown that was confirmed after video review. He fell to the number two seed, Pittsburgh's Reece Heller in the overtime period, SV-1 2-0.
OTHER NOTES
- Redshirt freshman Jake Harrier compiled a couple of wins today. First, he defeated Ryan Moore (Thomas More) 5-4, then he won 9-4 over Northern Illinois' Dillon Nichols.
- Junior Trey Sizemore defeated Justin Phillips (Virginia) via 9-2 decision in round one.
- Sizemore has advanced to round four of the consolation bracket: Major decision over Jr Reed (Cleveland State) 14-0 and a 6-2 decision over Hayden Pummel (Northern Illinois).
- Sophomore Caden Ernd won a consolation bout over Chase Diehl (SIU Edwardsville) 6-1.
- Sophomore Joey Braunagel earned a few consolation wins today. First, he pinned Aaron Wolk (Brown) in 2:21. Next, he defeated Sam Mitchell (Buffalo) via decision 6-4.
- Redshirt senior Matt Wroblewski in his consolation win pinned Alex Semenenko (Brown) in 2:52.
UP NEXT
Tune in tomorrow, Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. CT to watch your Illini wrestlers fight for top places.
