COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Illinois wrestling squad completed the first day of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (March 9) at the XFINITY Center.
Redshirt junior [4] Edmond Ruth advanced to the Big Ten title match at 174 pounds and qualified for his second straight NCAA Championships. He took care of business in round one against [13] DJ Shannon (MSU), defeating him via decision, 7-1. In the quarterfinal round, he dragged [5] Rocco Welsh (OSU) into overtime and took him down within the first 20 seconds of the period to advance to the semifinals, SV-1 4-1.
If it isn't broke, don't fix it, and that's exactly what Ruth did in his semifinal bout against [9] Andrew Sparks (MINN). If you played the matches side by side, they would look nearly identical, as he defeated Sparks in the overtime period with a lightning-fast takedown. It took him less than 15 seconds this time, and he won by the same score, SV-1 4-1.
Ruth will face [2] Shane Griffith of Michigan in Sunday night's finals. Fans can watch the action on BTN starting at 3:30 p.m. CT. He is the first Orange and Blue wrestler to advance to the Big Ten finals since now-assistant coach Isaiah Martinez did so in 2018.
Redshirt sophomore [6] Danny Pucino qualified to the NCAA Championships at 141 pounds for the first time in his career. His day began with an 8-3 decision win over [11] Kal Miller (MD), who knocked him out of last year's tournament. His next match was against [3] Real Woods (IOWA) in the quarterfinals, but he fell in a 13-9 decision and started his consolation bouts.
His first match in the consolation ladder was against Purdue's [12] Greyson Clark, which was an all-out battle. Pucino fought his way to get a takedown in the third to grant him the win, 7-5. Pucino will wrestle in the 141-pound seventh-place match Sunday morning against [10] Vance Vombaur (MINN).
True freshman [11] Chris Moore qualified to the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds. He dropped his first bout to [6] Cameron Amine (MICH) in sudden victory, 4-1. He then wrestled all the way back in the consolation bracket with wins over [14] AJ Rodrigues (MD), SV-1 4-1, and a big upset over [4] Caleb Fish (MSU) via decision, 11-10. In the third consolation round, he squared off with [7] Stoney Buell (PUR) and triumphed by a decision of 7-5. Moore wrestles in the consolation semifinals Sunday against [3] Mike Caliendo of Iowa.
TEAM SCORES
1. Penn State – 136.0
2. Michigan – 105.5
3. Nebraska – 89.0
4. Iowa – 88.5
5. Ohio State – 78.5
6. Rutgers – 71.5
7. Minnesota – 66.0
8. Wisconsin – 43.0
9. Purdue – 36.0
10. Maryland – 31.0
11. Indiana – 29.0
12. Illinois – 28.0
13. Michigan State – 19.5
14. Northwestern – 14.5
UP NEXT
The Illinois matmen return to action for the final day of the Big Ten Championships Sunday (March 10). Session three starts at 11 a.m. CT on B1G+, and session four starts at 3:30 p.m. CT on BTN.
ILLINOIS RESULTS
125: Justin Cardani – 11 seed
Round 1: [6] Braeden Davis (PSU) over [11] Justin Cardani (ILL), MD 11-1.
Cons. Round 1: [14] Blaine Frazier (IND) over [11] Justin Cardani (ILL), Dec. 6-0.
9th-Place Bracket: [14] Blaine Frazier (IND) over [11] Justin Cardani (ILL), Dec. 5-0.
Cardani eliminated.
133: Tony Madrigal – 6 seed
Round 1: [11] Dustin Norris (PUR) over [6] Tony Madrigal (ILL), Dec. 10-5.
Cons. Round 1: [3] Nic Bouzakis (OSU) over [6] Tony Madrigal (ILL), Dec. 8-6.
Madrigal eliminated.
141: Danny Pucino – 6 seed
Round 1: [6] Danny Pucino (ILL) over [11] Kal Miller (MD), Dec. 8-3.
Quarterfinal: [3] Real Woods (IOWA) over [6] Danny Pucino (ILL), Dec. 13-9.
Cons. Round 2: [6] Danny Pucino over [12] Greyson Clark (PUR), Dec. 7-5.
Cons. Round 3: [7] Mitch Moore (RUT) over [6] Danny Pucino (ILL), fall (0:33).
149: Jake Harrier – 14 seed
Round 1: [3] Caleb Rathjen (IOWA) over [14] Jake Harrier, Dec. 12-6.
Cons. Round 1: [11] Marcos Polanco (PUR) over [14] Jake Harrier (ILL), MD 11-3.
Harrier eliminated.
157: Logan Swaw – 14 seed
Round 1: [3] Brayton Lee (IND) over [14] Logan Swaw (ILL), TF 21-5 (4:21).
Cons. Round 1: [11] Al Desantis (RUT) over [14] Logan Swaw (ILL), MD 14-4.
9th-Place Bracket: [13] Luke Mechler (WIS) over [14] Logan Swaw (ILL), TF 15-0 (3:53).
Swaw eliminated.
165: Chris Moore – 11 seed
Round 1: [6] Cameron Amine (MICH) over [11] Chris Moore (ILL), SV-1 4-1.
Cons. Round 1: [11] Chris Moore (ILL) over [14] AJ Rodrigues (MD), SV-1 4-1.
Cons. Round 2: [11] Chris Moore (ILL) over [4] Caleb Fish (MSU), Dec. 11-10.
Cons. Round 3: [11] Chris Moore (ILL) over [7] Stoney Buell (PUR), Dec. 7-5.
174: Edmond Ruth – 4 seed
Round 1: [4] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [13] DJ Shannon (MSU), Dec. 7-1.
Quarterfinal: [4] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [5] Rocco Welsh (OSU), SV-1 4-1.
Semifinal: [4] Edmond Ruth (ILL) over [9] Andrew Sparks (MINN), SV-1 4-1.
184: Dylan Connell – 11 seed
Round 1: [6] Layne Malczewski (MSU) over [11] Dylan Connell (ILL), Dec. 4-0.
Cons. Round 1: [11] Dylan Connell (ILL) over [14] Chase Mielnik (MD), Dec. 8-2.
Cons. Round 2: [4] Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) over [11] Dylan Connell (ILL), Dec. 5-2.
9th-Place Bracket: [14] Chase Mielnik (MD) over [11] Dylan Connell (ILL), fall (6:43).
Connell eliminated.
197: Isiah Pettigrew – 12 seed
Round 1: [5] Garrett Joles (MINN) over [12] Isiah Pettigrew (ILL), MD 11-0.
Cons. Round 1: [12] Isiah Pettigrew (ILL) over [13] Bobby Striggow (MICH), Dec. 11-4.
Cons. Round 2: [6] Luke Geog (OSU) over [12] Isiah Pettigrew (ILL), TF 18-2 (5:31).
Pettigrew eliminated.
285: Peter Marinopoulos – 13 seed
Round 1: [4] Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT) over [13] Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), MD 13-1.
Cons. Round 1: [12] Gannon Rosenfeld (WIS) over [13] Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), Dec. 9-3.
Marinopoulos eliminated.
