The sixteenth-ranked Illini wrestlers will look to build on their success at the Missouri Open this weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa for the University of Northern Iowa Open.

The Illini had four first-place winners and 11 other wrestlers place in the top six of their classes at the Missouri Open over Thanksgiving Break. Sophomore Mike Poeta (157) earned his third-straight Missouri Open individual place win. As the No. 1 seed in his weight class, Poeta won four straight matches, including a defeat of Missouri’s second-seeded Mike Chandler.

“Mike is wrestling really well, the sky is the limit,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “He is definitely one of our leaders.”

Freshmen Jimmy Kennedy (133) and John Dergo (184) both earned first-place finishes in the freshman division. The Open provided the freshmen their first experience wearing the Orange and Blue against competition. Johnson said after this weekend the coaching staff will examine the freshmen and make decisions on red shirts.

The UNI Open, the last open tournament of the year for the Illini, will showcase more than ten teams, including Big Ten rival Purdue. The Boilermakers (3-0) are just one of two unranked Big Ten teams in the USA Today/NWCA Top 25. The 24th-ranked host Panthers (0-1) entered the Top 25 this week after their near upset of fifth-ranked Iowa (1-0) last week. The Illini will bring 25 healthy wrestlers to compete, but there will not be an overall team finish.

“(The UNI Open) is a big for experience,” Johnson said. “When you see a wrestler four or five times, the mistakes become glaring.”

Like the Missouri Open, Illini wrestlers will have a chance to compete against and watch Big Ten opponents.

Junior Gabe Flores (125) and senior Cassio Pero (141) both agreed facing opponents early in the season and then again down the road can help study their opponents style and help prepare them for their future matches.

The Open will also help the coaching staff round out their starting lineup, which has only five definitive starters. The remaining starting spots (133, 165, 184, 197, heavyweight) remain open. But Johnson said sophomore Roger Smith-Bergsrud is the front runner in the 165 weight class.

Two Boilermakers and five Panthers are ranked in the top 20 in their individual weight classes, including UNI’s sixth-ranked senior Nick Baima (165).

Sophomore Ben Zulaf (heavyweight) and freshman Mark Lukaszewski (165) earned the Illini’s lone individual weight class place finishes in last year’s Open. They finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Senior Donny Reynolds will once again be held out of competition this weekend as he rehabilitates from off-season knee surgery. However, Johnson said he expects Reynolds to compete in the Illini’s upcoming dual meets.

The Illini will finish the semester with a triangular meet with Findlay and Central Missouri St. Dec. 9 at Huff Hall.