Illinois wrestler Mike Poeta held the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Championships for one reason – he deserved it. Poeta (157 pounds) plowed through his bracket en route to his first Big Ten Championship, the only one secured by the Illini in Minneapolis this past weekend.

As a team, the Orange and Blue finished in fourth place with 94.0 points, three places higher than last year’s showing. In the effort, seven Illini grapplers garnered automatic qualifications to this year’s NCAA Championships in St. Louis.

“When you have six teams ranked in the top 10 in your conference, fourth is pretty good,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “Overall, good performance, and we have seven guys going to the national tournament, so that’s a good thing.”

Poeta’s journey to the conference title included a decision over Northwestern’s Andrew Nadhir, a major decision over eighth-seeded John Fulger of Michigan State and an injury default against fourth-seeded C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota. Poeta went on to win the title match with an 8-2 decision over Dan Vallimont, the No. 2 seed from Penn State. Despite the Big Ten title, the Illinois junior remains focused on his ultimate goal – an NCAA Championship.

“They call it the mini-NCAA Tournament because it’s so tough year in and year out,” Poeta said. “I was excited, but the main focus is in two weeks.”

Sophomore Jimmy Kennedy (133) fell just short of living up to his No. 1 seed, losing 3-1 in the title match against No. 3 Franklin Gomez of Michigan State. However, Poeta said his teammate’s physical stamina will make it difficult on Kennedy’s future opponents.

Gabe Flores (125) earned a third-place finish in his bracket as a No. 5 seed. Flores achieved the feat by defeating Iowa’s No. 2-seeded Charlie Falck.

“It always feels good to beat somebody from Iowa, and there’s a bunch of fans there,” Flores said. “You get to quiet them down, so that was a good feeling.”

Flores’ senior leadership may be one of the keys to how Illinois performs at the NCAA Championships.

“I’m trying to get these guys pumped up,” Flores said, “trying to get these guys going for Nationals and trying to tell them that we can be the surprising team at Nationals and do something great this year.”

Johnson believed this weekend was a good test for his men.

“That’s why the Big Ten’s a great conference,” Johnson said. “It prepares you well. In a lot of ways it’s tougher because the first-round matches are a lot tougher than they are at the national tournament.”

After acquiring his first Big Ten championship, Poeta maintains a somewhat humble approach to Nationals, which are in two weeks.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’m the man to beat,” Poeta said. “(The NCAA Championships) is the tournament that every single team in the bracket prepares for all year, and the pressure is on everyone.”

Yet, his confidence still shined through.

“It’s going to be tougher to beat me than anyone else in the bracket. In two weeks, I don’t plan on losing.”

2008 Big Ten Championships

Team Standings

Plc Score School

1 127.0 Iowa

2 112.5 Minnesota

3 97.5 Michigan

4 94.0 Illinois

5 92.5 Ohio State

6 85.5 Wisconsin

7 84.5 Penn State

8 80.0 Indiana

9 80.0 Northwestern

10 51.5 Purdue

11 34.0 Michigan State