Illini Wrestling: No. 7 Illinois Stays Unbeaten in Thrilling FridayNight

[TomM]

Illini Wrestling: No. 7 Illinois Stays Unbeaten in Thrilling Friday Night

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 7 Illinois edged out No. 13 Purdue in an exciting 19-17 win on Friday night, improving to 4-0 on the season. The Illini and Boilermakers each won five bouts, but the Illini picked up several key victories along the way to edge the Boilermakers. Lucas Byrd, Dylan Duncan, and Luke Luffman all secured wins to stay undefeated on the season.

Justin Cardani battled with Devin Schroder but ultimately fell short in a 2-0 decision as the junior 125-pounder was unable to score on Purdue's top wrestler.

Picking up three takedowns in the first period, Lucas Byrd took a 6-2 lead into the second. The Illini sophomore notched several more takedowns in a dominant second period and won by fall (6:40) to put the Illini up, 6-3 after the first two bouts. Byrd is now a perfect 4-0 on the season.

Dylan Duncan was in control during the entire 141-pound bout, securing multiple takedowns en route to a 11-3 major decision victory over Purdue's Parker Filius. The senior picked up his second win of the season and is now 2-0 after missing last weekend's tri-meet due to injury.

Mike Carr finished a big takedown as time expired in period one, taking a 4-1 lead into the second period. The senior 149-pounder earned an 8-2 decision to extend the Illini lead to 13-3 over Purdue.

Redshirt junior Johnny Mologousis trailed 6-2 after the first period and found himself fighting his way back the rest of the way. The junior would earn an escape in the third period but ended up losing by major decision, 14-4. After the 157-pound bout, Illinois led the Boilermakers, 13-7 with five matches to go. 

True freshman Luke Odom trailed 4-0 after the first period and was unable to score as Purdue's Gerrit Nijenhuis won by major decision, 8-0.

DJ Shannon and Emil Soehnlen were knotted at 0 following the first period, but Shannon would start the second on bottom and earn the quick escape to go up 1-0. Shannon secured riding time in the first minute of a thrilling third period in which the riding time was the deciding factor in a 2-1 decision for Shannon. Illinois went ahead 16-11 following the 174-pound bout.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the second period, Zac Braunagel started the second on bottom and came out with a quick escape. Purdue's Max Lyon would take a 2-1 lead into another exciting third period where Braunagel would earn a takedown to knot the score, but an escape late in the period from Lyon would give him the edge in a 4-3 decision.

Another low-scoring and exciting match, Matt Wroblewski lost by decision, 5-3. The match loss would give Purdue a 17-16 edge and their first lead of the night.

In the decisive 285-pound bout, Luke Luffman picked up a big takedown at the end of the first period to go up 2-0 heading into the second. Luffman would stay in control for the remainder of the match, ultimately picking up a 4-0 decision and giving the Illini their fourth win of the season.

FULL RESULTS
125: Devin Schroder (PUR) over Justin Cardani (ILL) (Dec 2-0)
133: Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Nathan Cummings (PUR) (Fall 6:40)
141: Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Parker Filius (PUR) (MD 11-3)
149: Michael Carr (ILL) over Alec White (PUR) (Dec 8-2)
157: Kendall Coleman (PUR) over Johnny Mologousis (ILL) (MD 14-4)
165: Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR) over Luke Odom (ILL) (MD 8-0)
174: DJ Shannon (ILL) over Emil Soehnlen (PUR) (Dec 2-1)
184: Max Lyon (PUR) over Zach Braunagel (ILL) (Dec 4-3)
197: Thomas Penola (PUR) over Matt Wroblewski (ILL) (Dec 5-3)
285: Luke Luffman (ILL) over Jamarcus Grant (PUR) (Dec 4-0)

EXTRA MATCHES
141: Daniel Pucino (ILL) def. Bjorn Schroeder (PUR), Fall 2:34
149: Christian Kanzler (ILL) def. Trey Kruze (PUR), D 8-5
157: Cooper Noehre (PUR) def. Jacob Reicin (ILL), MD 16-4
184: Macartney Parkinson (PUR) def. Chase Waggoner (ILL), Fall 0:47
197: Isiah Pettigrew (ILL) def. Trevor Blue (PUR),

UP NEXT FOR THE ILLINI
No. 7 Illinois travels to Iowa City to take on No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Michigan in a Big Ten tri-meet on Sunday, January 31. The Illini will face the Wolverines at 1 p.m. followed by the Hawkeyes at 3 p.m., and both matchups will be streamed on BTN+.