Full Results
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Redshirt junior [3] Edmond Ruth completed his season on the final day of the NCAA Championships on Saturday (March 23) with a seventh-place finish at 174 pounds.
"I'm happy for Edmond Ruth," said head coach Mike Poeta. "He's happy and feels good right now and as a coach if you can help one of your guys feel like that, it's what this whole thing is about. He's been going in the right direction since he stepped foot on campus. First a national qualifier, now an All-American and I know next year he's going to do everything to be on top. Edmond wrestled great all season, but I think he wrestled his best match in the last one of the season for seventh place. He had beautiful takedown after takedown and our fan section was loving it. He documented all his extra workouts throughout the season and he got to 115. I can guarantee there's no other wrestler in the country that did that, I'm proud of him."
Ruth's opponent for the seventh-place match was Army's [18] Benjamin Pasiuk. Pasiuk got in on a single leg within the first minute and was able to take Ruth down to gain an early 3-0 lead. Ruth did not panic and escaped almost a minute later to cut into Pasiuk's lead, 3-1, heading into period two.
Ruth ate up all of Pasiuk's ride time he gained in the first period and forced him to take his second stall call while on bottom to give Ruth a point, 3-2. He dodged Pasiuk's first shot after he escaped and circled him to gain control, securing the takedown to take a 5-4 lead into the third period.
It was all Ruth in the third period as he poured his offense onto Pasiuk, scoring 11 points in two minutes, 10 of which were scored in the final minute. He won via major decision, 16-6, his ninth of the season. He finished the season with a 26-4 record, surpassing the 25-win threshold in back-to-back seasons. Ruth was a perfect 9-0 in matches that were decided via major decision, and he did not give up a bonus point all season. His record as an Illini currently stands at 56-12.
Ruth's career record of 64-12 makes him eligible for the career win percentage leaderboard in the Fighting Illini wrestling record book, in which a minimum of 75 matches are required. His 84.2% win rate ranks him seventh all-time in Illinois history.
"Danny Pucino and Chris Moore can be proud of their seasons. They're young and having the title of national qualifier is something to be proud of, something to build on. They wrestled hard throughout the tournament but had tough losses to good guys. Just like Edmond I know they've already started working towards next season. They're motivated and want to stand on the NCAA podium.'
'The entire 2023-2024 season I was proud of the 32 guys we have. Everyone contributed to great team wins and helping Edmond, Danny, and Chris wrestle here at the NCAA tournament in Kansas City. The focus is now on Cleveland for the 2025 NCAA Championships. I think our program is in one of the best positions it's been in. We have hungry leaders ready to get back after redshirting and young up-and-comers ready to make a name for themselves. I think the rocket ship is taking off."
ILLINI RESULTS
174: Edmond Ruth – 3 seed
Round 1: [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [30] Myles Takats (BUCK), dec. 4-1.
Round 2: [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [19] Alex Cramer (CMU), dec. 2-1.
Quarterfinal: [6] Rocco Welsh (OSU) over [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL), SV-1 4-1.
Cons. Round 4: [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [15] MJ Gaitan (ISU), dec. 8-6.
Cons. Round 5: [2] Cade DeVos (SDSU) over [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL), dec. 5-3.
7th-Place Match: [3] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [18] Benjamin Pasiuk (ARMY), MD 16-6.
Ruth placed seventh.
141: Danny Pucino – 24 seed
Round 1: [9] Brock Hardy (NEB) over [24] Danny Pucino (ILL), TF 20-4 (6:35).
Cons. Round 1: [25] Cleveland Belton (ORST) over [24] Danny Pucino (ILL), MD 20-8.
Pucino eliminated.
165: Chris Moore – 28 seed
Round 1: [5] Dean Hamiti (WIS) over [28] Chris Moore (ILL), fall (2:22).
Cons. Round 1: [21] Caleb Fish (MSU) over [28] Chris Moore (ILL), SV-1 8-1.
Moore eliminated.
