University of Illinois
Midlands Championships
Ruth and Luffman Advance to Semifinals at Midlands Championships
December 29, 2023 | Wrestling
Recap
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – The Fighting Illini wrestling squad wrapped up day one of competition at the 59th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Friday, Dec. 29 from the NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates. Day two of competition begins tomorrow, Dec. 30 at 11 a.m. CT.
SEMIFINALISTS NOTES
Redshirt junior Edmond Ruth became the first Illini advance to the semifinals at the Midlands Championships. The No. 1 seed in the 174-pound bracket began the day with a 16-5 major decision over Michigan State's Marty Larkin. He followed that up with a Big Ten battle against Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers) that he won via 5-2 decision. In round three Ruth major decisioned Justin Phillips (California Baptist), 17-5, and then dominated Wisconsin's Max Maylor in the quarterfinals, 12-3. Ruth will face the No. 4 seed, Nick Incontrera (Penn), in tomorrow's semifinals.
Redshirt junior Luke Luffman joined Ruth as the second Illini to advance to the Midlands Championships semifinal round. He's the No. 1 seed at 285 pounds and has shown he's very deserving of that spot; he's defeated all three of his opponents by no less than 12 points. In match one he defeated Zach Delsanter (Penn) via tech. fall, 21-5, and in round two he pinned NIU's Jacob Christensen in 6:07. The Urbana, Ill., native, matched up against Chase Horne (NC State) where he did not surrender a single point to him. Luffman emerged victorious with a 12-0 major decision and is set to face the No. 5 seed, Trevor Tinker (Cal Poly), in the semifinals.
QUARTERFINALISTS NOTES
Redshirt sophomore Danny Pucino battled his way to the quarterfinals at 141 pounds. He received a first round bye and then won in a close 4-2 decision over Jake Mann (Princeton). In round three he made sure it was not as close, he lit up the scoreboard putting up 25 points for his tech. fall win over Kyren Butler (Virginia), 25-10. He fell in the quarterfinal round by an 8-1 decision to Tom Crook (Virginia Tech) and now begins his quest for third place.
True freshman Kannon Webster was the youngest Illini to make it to the quarterfinal round. He too received a bye in round one and then went on to major decision Erik Roggie (Virginia), 12-2, in round two. Next, he faced Cross Wasilewski (Penn RTC) where he won via 7-3 decision. Webster suffered his first defeat of his college career in the quarterfinal to Ty Watters (West Virginia). In a close fought match, it was ruled that he secured the last second takedown to force overtime with Watters. However, after a review the call was reversed, and he lost 4-2.
WRESTLING BACK
Three additional Illini are still alive in their respective weight classes consolation brackets: freshman Chris Moore (165 lbs.), junior Isiah Pettigrew (197 lbs.) and freshman Sungyup Ryu (197 lbs.) Moore has won three straight including a Big Ten win over Anthony White (Rutgers), 4-2. Pettigrew has also won three-straight matches to stay alive and Ryu has won four straight with all of them being close decisions.
UP NEXT
The Illinois wrestling squad is back in action tomorrow, Dec. 30, at 11 a.m. CT for the second and final day of the 59th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
FINISHED ILLINOIS RESULTS
125 – Caelan Riley
- Champ. Round 1 - Caelan Riley (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Dom Mendez (Cal Poly) won by tech fall over Caelan Riley (Illinois) (TF 15-0).
- Cons. Round 2 - Davian Guanajuato (SIU Edwardsville) won by major decision over Caelan Riley (Illinois) (Maj 16-5).
133 – Kole Brower
- Champ. Round 1 - Sean Pierson (Princeton) won by tech fall over Kole Brower (Illinois) (TF 19-4).
- Cons. Round 1 - Kole Brower (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 2 - Kole Brower (Illinois) won by decision over Tyler Fleetwood (UW-Eau Claire) (Dec 4-2).
- Cons. Round 3 - Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) won by major decision over Kole Brower (Illinois) (Maj 12-0).
141 – Will Baysingar
- Champ. Round 1 - Will Baysingar (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Will Baysingar (Illinois) won by decision over Cole Solomey (Purdue) (Dec 6-1).
- Champ. Round 3 - Cj Composto (Penn) won by decision over Will Baysingar (Illinois) (Dec 8-6).
- Cons. Round 4 - Brandon Cannon (Ohio State) won by decision over Will Baysingar (Illinois) (Dec 5-1).
149 – Jake Reicin
- Champ. Round 1 - Caleb Tyus (SIU Edwardsville) won by tech fall over Jake Reicin (Illinois) (TF 16-0).
- Cons. Round 1 - Jake Reicin (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 2 - Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) won by fall over Jake Reicin (Illinois) (Fall 4:44).
149 – Jake Harrier
- Champ. Round 1 - Jake Harrier (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Sam Cartella (Northwestern) won by decision over Jake Harrier (Illinois) (Dec 9-4).
- Cons. Round 2 - Jake Harrier (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 3 - Kelvin Griffin (Lehigh) won by decision over Jake Harrier (Illinois) (Dec 5-0).
157 – Logan Swaw
- Champ. Round 1 - Dj Mcgee (George Mason) won by fall over Logan Swaw (Illinois) (Fall 1:02).
- Cons. Round 1 - Logan Swaw (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 2 - Logan Swaw (Illinois) won by medical forfeit over Dylan Cedeno (Virginia) (MFF).
- Cons. Round 3 - Logan Swaw (Illinois) won by fall over Kade Law (Purdue) (Fall 6:00).
- Cons. Round 4 - Lucas Revano (Penn) won by fall over Logan Swaw (Illinois) (Fall 6:26).
157 – Braeden Scoles
- Champ. Round 1 - Andy Clark (Rutgers) won by major decision over Braeden Scoles (Illinois) (Maj 10-1).
- Cons. Round 1 - Braeden Scoles (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 2 - Zack Mattin (Michigan) won by fall over Braeden Scoles (Illinois) (Fall 1:13).
157 – Joe Roberts
- Champ. Round 1 - Joe Roberts (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Joe Roberts (Illinois) won by decision over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) (Dec 4-2).
- Champ. Round 3 - Jude Swisher (Penn) won in sudden victory - 1 over Joe Roberts (Illinois) (SV-1 4-1).
- Cons. Round 4 - Brock Woodcock (SIU Edwardsville) won in sudden victory - 1 over Joe Roberts (Illinois) (SV-1 9-4).
165 – Caden Ernd
- Champ. Round 1 - Caden Ernd (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Rafael Hipolito (Virginia Tech) won by major decision over Caden Ernd (Illinois) (Maj 17-5).
- Cons. Round 2 - Anthony White (Rutgers) won by decision over Caden Ernd (Illinois) (Dec 4-2).
184 – Dylan Connell
- Champ. Round 1 - Dylan Connell (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Dylan Connell (Illinois) won by major decision over Gavin Bell (Ohio State) (Maj 11-1).
- Champ. Round 3 - Cody Howard (Virginia Tech) won by fall over Dylan Connell (Illinois) (Fall 1:51).
- Cons. Round 4 - Adrien Cramer (Central Michigan) won by medical forfeit over Dylan Connell (Illinois) (MFF).
197 – Joey Braunagel
- Champ. Round 1 - Joey Braunagel (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - John Crawford (Franklin & Marshall) won by decision over Joey Braunagel (Illinois) (Dec 2-1).
- Cons. Round 2 - Joey Braunagel (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 3 - Jarad Priest (Cal Poly) won by decision over Joey Braunagel (Illinois) (Dec 10-3).
197 – Chase Waggoner
- Champ. Round 1 - Chase Waggoner (Illinois) received a bye.
- Champ. Round 2 - Sonny Sasso (Virginia Tech) won by fall over Chase Waggoner (Illinois) (Fall 2:09).
- Cons. Round 2 - Chase Waggoner (Illinois) received a bye.
- Cons. Round 3 - Luke Cochran (Central Michigan) won by decision over Chase Waggoner (Illinois) (Dec 6-4).
