At Saturday’s ACC/Big Ten Clash in Chapel Hill, N.C., the Big Ten flexed it’s muscles en route to claiming eight of the nine dual meets, solidifying its claim as the nation’s top wrestling conference.

At the forefront was the Illinois wrestling squad, which came away with a clean sweep of its three dual meets. No. 9 Illinois defeated North Carolina State 40-7, No. 21 Virginia 39-7 and North Carolina 26-9.

Junior Jimmy Kennedy led the charge for the Illini, who were without two-time All-American Mike Poeta and two-time national qualifier John Dergo. Kennedy, an All-American in his own right, made up for their absence by scoring major decisions in each of his three matches.