Full Brackets
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Illinois wrestling team completed the first day of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 4. Redshirt junior No. 3 seed Zac Braunagel (197) was the lone Illini to advance to the semifinals with wins over the 14 seed; Purdue's Hayden Filipovich (major dec. 11-3) and the six seed; Maryland's Jaxon Smith (SV-1, 6-4). He lost to Nebraska's No. 2 seed Silas Allred by a 4-3 decision.

Redshirt sophomore No. 5 seed Edmond Ruth (174) started off his first Big Ten tournament with a 5-1 decision over Maryland's No. 12 seed Dominic Solis. He fell in the second round, but he's bounced back with two consolation wins. His first consolation win came against No. 11 seed Ceasar Garza (MSU) in a 6-2 decision. His next win was over No. 10 seed Jackson Turley (RUT) in the first tiebreaker round 4-3.

Redshirt sophomore No. 3 seed Lucas Byrd (133) opened his tournament with a pin of Maryland's No. 14 seed Jackson Cockrell (4:12). Similarly to Ruth, Byrd dropped his second round bout and bounced back with two consolation wins. First, over the No. 13 seed Dustin Norris (PUR) in a 7-3 decision. Next, he defeated No. 7 seed Joe Heilmann (PUR) in an 8-0 major decision while compiling 2:42 of riding time.

Redshirt junior and No. 8 seed Danny Braunagel (165) recorded a pin over No. 7 seed Caleb Fish (MSU) in the second consolation round (6:00). Redshirt freshman No. 12 seed Jake Harrier (149) is fighting for ninth place and the last NCAA qualifying spot. He won his first match in the ninth-place bracket over No. 14 seed Jaden Reynolds (PUR) in an 8-4 decision.

TEAM SCORES

1. Penn State – 120
2. Iowa – 105.5
3. Nebraska – 98.5
4. Ohio State – 77
5. Minnesota – 73
6. Michigan – 64
     Northwestern – 64
8. Wisconsin 46.5
9. Illinois – 36.5
    Purdue – 36.5
11. Rutgers – 30
12. Indiana – 27
13. Michigan State – 27.0
14. Maryland – 19.5

UP NEXT
The Illini grapplers return for the final day of action of the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, March 5. The consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches begin at noon CT on B1G+. The first, third and fifth-place matches begin at 3:30 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.

ILLINOIS RESULTS

125: Maximo Renteria – 13 seed.
Round 1: [4] Eric Barnett (WIS) pinned [13] Maximo Renteria (4:09).
Cons. Round 1: [12] Jacob Moran (IND) major dec. [13] Maximo Renteria, 18-7.
Extra Matches
[12] Jacob Moran (IND) dec. [13] Maximo Renteria, 10-4.

133: Lucas Byrd – 3 seed.
Round 1: [3] Lucas Byrd pinned [14] Jackson Cockrell (MD) (4:12).
Quarterfinals: [6] Aaron Nagao (MINN) dec. [3] Lucas Byrd, SV-1 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [3] Lucas Byrd dec. [13] Dustin Norris (PUR), 7-3.
Cons. Round 3: [3] Lucas Byrd major dec. [7] Joe Heilmann (RUT), 8-0.

141: Danny Pucino – 6 seed.
Round 1: [11] Joseph Zargo (WIS) dec. [6] Danny Pucino, 8-4.
141 Cons. Round 1: [14] Kal Miller (MD) dec. [6] Danny Pucino, 4-1.

149: Jake Harrier – 12 seed.
Round 1: [5] Shayne Van Ness (PSU) major dec. [12] Jake Harrier, 16-4.
Cons. Round 2: [3] Yahya Thomas (NU) dec. [12] Jake Harrier, 8-3
Extra Matches
[12] Jake Harrier dec. [14] Jaden Reynolds (PUR), 8-4.

157: Mike Carr – 7 seed.
Round 1: [10] Derek Gilcher (IND) major dec. [7] Mike Carr, 10-2.
Cons. Round 2: [8] Trevor Chumbley (NU) dec. [7] Mike Carr, 2-1.

165: Danny Braunagel – 8 seed.
Round 1: [9] Andrew Sparks (MINN) dec. [8] Danny Braunagel, 2-0.
Cons. Round 2: [8] Danny Braunagel pinned [7] Caleb Fish (MSU) in 6:00.
Cons. Round 3: [6] Maxx Mayfield dec. [8] Danny Braunagel, 3-2.

174: Edmond Ruth – 5 seed.
Round 1: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [12] Dominic Solis (MD), 5-1.
Quarterfinals: [4] Bailee O'Reilly dec. [5] Edmond Ruth, 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [11] Ceasar Garza (MSU), 6-2.
Cons. Round 3: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [10] Jackson Turley (RUT), TB-1 4-3.

184: Dylan Connell – 9 seed.
Round 1: [8] Brian Soldano (RUT) dec. [9] Dylan Connell, SV-1 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [7] Lenny Pinto (NEB) defeated [9] Dylan Connell (injury 0:57).

197: Zac Braunagel – 3 seed.
Round 1: [3] Zac Braunagel major dec. [14] Hayden Filipovich (PUR), 11-3.
197 Quarterfinals: [3] Zac Braunagel dec. [6] Jaxon Smith (MD), SV-1 6-4.
Semifinals: [2] Silas Allred (NEB) dec. [3] Zac Braunagel, 4-3.

285: Matt Wroblewski – 13 seed.
Round 1: [4] Lucas Davison dec. [13] Matt Wroblewski, 3-0.
Cons. Round 1: [12] Ray Vasbinder (MSU) dec. [13] Matt Wroblewski, 3-2.
Extra Matches
[12] Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) decisioned [13] Matt Wroblewski, 1-0.