The Illinois wrestling team just came out with their schedule for the 2024-25 season. To kick off the year, Illinois will head to Edwardsville to compete against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. Led by head coach Mike Poeta and a skilled coaching staff including assistants Jeremy Hunter, Isaiah Martinez and Austin O’Connor, Illinois is gearing up for a competitive season in one of the most challenging conferences.
Ranked at No. 12 in the preseason, Illinois is looking to improve upon its record from the 2023-2024 season where it went 5-9 overall with a 2-6 record in Big Ten conference play. Illinois will compete in eight overall Big Ten matches this season: four conference home matches and four conference away matches. It will face Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue and Penn State at Huff Hall in Champaign, and head on the road to compete against Indiana, Iowa, Maryland and Rutgers. These matchups will be a testimony of where Illinois wrestling stands within the Big Ten competing against top ranked wrestling programs.
Illinois’ lineup from last season included standup wrestler Edmond Ruth, who had an impressive season last year finishing 26-4 overall in the 174 pound weight class. Ruth’s consistent performance made him a huge asset to Illinois wrestling. Tony Madrigal posted a 7-5 record, showing promise with nearly a .500 win rate. Additionally, Danny Pucino achieved a 15-12 record in the 141-pound class, displaying steady progress and competitive skill.
Other returning starters include Justin Cardani (4-12), Jake Harrier (3-13), Logan Swaw (10-11), Chris Moore (11-16), Dylan Connell (6-12), Isaiah Pettigrew (7-11) and Peter Marinopoulos. With promising talent on the team and the leadership of Poeta, Illinois has the tools to build on last season’s results. The opening match against SIUE will be a small insight of what to expect from Illinois wrestling. This match will set the stage and show the foundation of what Illinois wrestling has been working on during the offseason.
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Lexie Breymeyer
