The Fighting Illini wrestling team couldn’t quite grapple its way to a Virginia Duals championship Saturday. The 17th-ranked Orange and Blue fell to the No. 3-ranked Cowboys of Oklahoma State 21-12 in the championship match in Hampton, Va.

Illinois defeated Lehigh and Kent State – 28-3 and 19-15, respectively – Friday in order to advance in the early stages of the bracket. The Illini later earned their way to the championship match after a 29-9 throttling of No. 23 Old Dominion.

However, this Oklahoma State squad, which defeated No. 1-ranked Iowa 19-14 earlier this year, proved to be too much for head coach Mark Johnson’s team.

“I thought we were happy having the chance to wrestle them and really didn’t try to beat them as much as we should have,” assistant coach Jim Heffernan said. “We really didn’t do anything to push the pace of a couple matches. Otherwise, we might have had a chance.”

Illinois’ No. 13-ranked Gabe Flores (125 pounds) posted an impressive 6-1 win in the championship dual, as did No. 1-ranked Mike Poeta (157) with his 8-2 victory.

No. 9-ranked Jimmy Kennedy (133) nearly upset No.1-ranked Coleman Scott, but fell 3-2.

“I went into the match a little passive and timid the first few periods.” Kennedy said, adding that it was good competition to see opponents like that before Nationals.

Illinois and Oklahoma State were tied 9-9 after the first five matches of the championship, but the Cowboys pulled away with three decisions in a row to create an 18-9 lead, which they would not relinquish.

No. 14-ranked Patrick Bond (197) gave the Illini their last three points with a 6-5 , but it wasn’t enough as Illinois lost the dual by nine.

“It was a close dual,” Poeta said. “There were a lot of close matches which we easily could have won that would have given us the victory.”

Victories are something Poeta knows a lot about. The junior is 19-0 this season and remains ranked No. 1 at the 157 weight class.

“The guy lives wrestling, and it’s important to him and he trains that way,” Heffernan said of Poeta.

Late last month at the 45th Midlands Wrestling Championships, Poeta won his second straight title at the annual event, and the team grabbed to a fourth-place finish with 100.0 points Dec. 30.

The Illini finished behind first-place Iowa, second-place Iowa State and third-place Central Michigan.

Poeta claimed the title by defeating third-seeded Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh with a 3-2 decision and boosted his record to 15-0.

Jimmy Kennedy (133) brought the Illini a fourth-place finish and Gabe Flores (125) earned fifth. John Dergo (174) finished in sixth place.

Both Roger Smith Bergsrud (165) and John Wise (HWT) finished in seventh place to round out the six Illini place winners at the Midlands Invitational.