Illinois hopes to finish in the top four at the NCAA Championships this weekend in Oklahoma City for the first time under long-time head coach Mark Johnson.

The highest a Johnson-coached team has finished in the National Championships is fifth, which happened in 2001. It was the best finish for an Illinois team since 1948. Last year, the Illini were sixth at nationals.

But Johnson said he and his coaching staff have changed the things they stress in order to keep the team relaxed, something that he hopes will result in a team trophy and a top-four finish.

“We have a little different approach this year,” Johnson said. “We’ve been pretty vocal the past few years about finishing in the top four or five and earning a trophy. But we think we’ve put too much pressure on the guys by talking about that so much.

“This year we’ve concentrated on individual guys taking care of the next match in front of you. If everyone worries about the next match then the team will take care of itself.”

Illinois is the only team in the nation that was able to qualify all 10 of its starting wrestlers. Defending national champs No. 2 Oklahoma State will send nine wrestlers while No. 1 Minnesota sends eight.

“It’s a psychological advantage for us,” Johnson said. “There’s a comfort knowing our whole team is going and certainly there will be a couple of guys that will draw a couple of tough matchups, but it becomes a numbers game.”

Illinois was pleasantly surprised when redshirt freshman Troy Tirapelle (141 lbs) reached the finals of the Big Ten Tournament keeping Illinois’ starters perfect.

“We knew Troy Tirapelle had a lot of ability,” Johnson said. “He’s just been a little short in some places throughout the year and he’s finally putting it together. We knew he had that ability all along.”

Five of the 10 wrestlers the Illini will send to Oklahoma City include seniors – Tyrone Byrd (197 lbs), Matt Fletcher (Hwt), Pete Friedl (174 lbs), Kyle Ott (125 lbs) and Alex Tirapelle (157 lbs) – and Johnson said they have made Illinois the powerhouse wrestling school it is.

“I talked to the team before practice and mentioned what these guys have been able to accomplish,” Johnson said. “This is probably the best four year stretch as far as records go. These guys have been pretty important and they mean a lot. It’s going to be tough to replace them.”

For the seniors this will be their last meet – something senior All-American Alex Tirapelle said is bittersweet.

“This is it.” Tirapelle said. “This is my final run and it’s kind of the culmination of all my hard work from the past five years. It’s slightly sad to see my time here go, but you can’t start looking back on it until it’s finally over. I want to go out on the best note I can.”

With one win, Tirapelle will tie his brother, Adam, for the most career wins at 127, but Tirapelle said he is just focusing on the tournament.

“It’s neat but it’s not really something that’s prime in my mind,” Tirapelle said. “The record is just something to look back on. The NCAA Tournament is what’s important and is what ultimately matters.”