A gut-wrenching loss to No. 12 Rutgers (11-5, 3-3) marked No. 18 Illinois’ (9-3, 4-3) third defeat in January after an undefeated start. The Illini’s once-promising wrestling season seemed to be in jeopardy.
However, February started much like the beginning of the season. Illinois bounced back in dominant fashion and cruised to a 35-8 win over Purdue (8-4, 1-3) in Champaign on Saturday.
Highlights
Junior Caelan Riley faced an expectedly tough challenge against redshirt senior and No. 1 125-pounder Matt Ramos, and he came up short. However, the Illini bounced back quickly and never trailed again.
Redshirt senior and No. 4 133-pound Lucas Byrd did what he always does — deliver results. He secured his first tech fall of the season, moving to 14-1. His performance set the tone for three consecutive tech falls by the Illini.
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Redshirt junior and No. 15 141-pound Danny Pucino followed behind that. Redshirt freshman and No. 13 149-pound Kannon Webster repeated the performance in the next match as well.
Purdue got on the board again as its star sophomore, No. 7 157-pound Joey Blaze, turned in an 8-1 victory over graduate student No. 31 Jason Kraisser. Illini freshman and No. 13 Braden Scoles provided the highlight of the day, however. He secured a pin in 3:44 in the 165-pound round over redshirt junior Stoney Buell, increasing Illinois’ lead to 21-8.
It was all Illinois the rest of the day as redshirt seniors Danny Braunagel and Edmond Ruth put in back-to-back decision wins in the 174 and 184-pound duals, respectively. The match may already have been over, but two redshirt seniors, No. 16 197-pound Zac Braunagel and No. 10 285-pound Luke Luffman, delivered back-to-back major decision wins. This officially closed out a forceful thrashing of the Boilermakers by the Illini.
Lockport native up to big things
With a nation-leading 12th tech fall and an undefeated 20-0 record, Purdue’s Ramos cannot be stopped. Hailing from Lockport, Illinois, Ramos has stood out since his high school days.
In 2019, he captured the Illinois 3A state title at 120 pounds and was named Lockport High School’s Athlete of the Year. Ramos initially committed to Minnesota as the No. 55 high school recruit in 2019. After spending two seasons with Minnesota, he transferred to Purdue, where he has been lights out ever since.
Now seeking redemption after last year’s runner-up finish at the national championships, Ramos looks every bit as good as advertised.
All eyes on Penn State
Feb. 16 poses Illinois’ toughest test to date. The undefeated No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions (10-0, 4-0) will travel to Champaign to face a 9-3 Illinois team. They will be led by coach Cael Sanderson, whom many consider the greatest wrestler of all time. Sanderson has been just as legendary as a coach, winning 11 national championships since taking the helm in 2009.
The Nittany Lions return an experienced and exceptionally talented group, with all 10 starters ranked in the top seven. They boast two No. 1 wrestlers in senior 184-pound Carter Starocci and sophomore 165-pound Mitchell Mesenbrink. The Nittany Lions also returned junior 174-pound Levi Haines and senior 285-pound Greg Kerkvliet, who were both individual national champions last spring.
After the dominant win over Purdue, Illinois looks to build on this momentum versus top-ranked Penn State. The Illini and Nittany Lions will face off in Champaign on Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. EST.
