After starting the season with a landslide 41-3 win against SIUE, No. 13 Illinois wrestling took over last weekend. Saturday clashes with Binghamton and No. 21 Arizona State provided a challenge, but Illinois came out firing on all cylinders, securing 30-10 and 37-6 wins, respectively. Illinois’ weekend didn’t end there, as several athletes took on the Journeymen Collegiate Classic tournament at WrangleMania on Sunday in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They came out of it with five individual wins to wrap up a fine weekend.
“With the team that we have this year, we’re a lot better than we ever have been,” said redshirt junior Danny Pucino. “We’re debatably one of the best teams Illinois wrestling has had in a long time.”
Binghamton goes down first
Binghamton started with a win in the 125-pound category, with sophomore Carson Wagner defeating Illinois junior Caelan Riley by decision. This was one of only three wins the Bearcats secured in the entire dual. The Illini gathered two major decisions, two technical falls and one pin among their seven wins.
“For Binghamton and Arizona State, we could see just by the score that it was a blowout,” Pucino said. “We had however many first placers it was, and everyone fought really hard up and down the lineup.”
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After the 165-pound match, Illinois rushed to a 21-3 lead and never looked back. Pucino, redshirt freshmen Kannon Webster and Braeden Scoles and redshirt senior Zac Braunagel all posted big performances. Illinois dominated all categories from 133 to 165 pounds and won five straight.
The victory over Binghamton was a solid team performance, but the Illini had more work to do as the Sun Devils followed in a back-to-back format.
Ranked domination
Arizona State started with a win as well, as Riley got pinned in the 125 category. That loss probably didn’t sit well with Illinois, as they went on to win out the remainder of the dual, leaving Arizona State with only the opener victory. With three pins and one major decision win, this was a brutal onslaught by Illinois.
“Being able to get together and beat a team like Arizona State as bad as we did, as high scoring as we did, was incredible,” Pucino said. “It just goes to show you that up and down the lineup — from our lightweights to heavyweights — we’re super talented, and it’s going to be a really fun year.”
Scoles got another win by pin, his second victory of the day. One triumph after another, it was an Illinois procession against Arizona State. Beating a ranked team on neutral ground in such a gruesome way is no easy task, but Illinois wrestling seems to have found its mojo this season. The Illini won nearly everything and were flawless in the 133 to 165-pound categories.
“Going into the weekend, there’s a lot less anxiety,” Pucino said when asked about preparations before meets. “Obviously, we’re all there to go do our jobs, but sometimes you make a mistake. And it’s not the end of the world because you have ten guys scoring so many points. It takes a lot of the pressure off you.”
Capping off a difficult doubleheader with a decisive victory added fuel to the fire for Illinois and set up an incredible Journeyman Collegiate Classic.
Journeyman Collegiate Classic
After an impressive Saturday, Illinois took home five category wins and three podium finishes at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday. The following were the five winners for Illinois:
- Riley (125)
- Redshirt senior Lucas Byrd (133)
- Pucino (141)
- Webster (149)
- Scoles (165)
Illinois came out on top versus wrestlers from notable teams such as Army, Cornell, Penn, Harvard and Rutgers. Notably, Webster won all three matches and even pinned his opponent in just over a minute in his first match. It capped off a weekend full of wins across the board and displayed Illinois’ overall dominance.
“You can’t really pick out one person,” Pucino said. “Everyone is bringing the team up — from coach Hunter to Kanzler to Poeta to O’Connor and Martinez and Medlin. Everyone’s so talented. Everyone as a whole, everyone together, makes it such a good environment.”
What’s next?
The Illini left Bethlehem with lots to be proud of after a phenomenal weekend. Now they will return home, recover for a week and then face No. 9 Missouri in the home opener.
“We take it one step at a time,” Pucino said. “I’m really looking forward to it. Take it one match at a time, and it’s going to be fun and neat. We’re coming together, and we’re trying to take out a team that’s ranked really high.”
Missouri historically has had the upper hand over Illinois, carrying a 6-3 all-time record in clashes between the two schools. In its most recent matchup in December last year, Illinois lost 29-6, but Illinois is an improved team heading into a new season. Missouri will be a bigger test than the previous weekend was, and Illinois will need to bring out its best to go head-to-head with one of the nation’s top squads.
