After Illinois wrestler Jesse Delgado defeated No. 2 Nico Megaludis of Penn State and No. 3 Matt McDonough of Iowa to capture the Big Ten title at 125-pounds, the hopes of a potential individual national champion increased among the Illini faithful at Assembly Hall.

Delgado began this weekend’s Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated Nebraska’s Eric Coufal by fall in 4 minutes, 10 seconds in his first match. He then defeated Purdue’s Camden Eppert by a 10-2 decision before capturing the semifinal match against Megaludis 4-2. Iowa’s McDonough awaited Delgado in the final and was looking for revenge after Delgado broke McDonough’s 42-match winning streak earlier in the season.

Delgado was able to get on the board right away with an early takedown, giving him the 2-0 lead in the final match. He then recorded an escape and a takedown before McDonough escaped. After establishing the 5-1 lead after the first period, Delgado never looked back as he recorded two more takedowns and an escape to capture the 10-4 victory and the Big Ten 125-pound title.

“It feels good but I just have to keep my eye on the prize and focus in on the one that matters,” Delgado said. “I have a great style for the way (McDonough) wrestles. I’m just a lot faster than he is and I get to his legs fairly easy.”

The Illini finished fifth in the overall standings in the tournament with a total of 85.5 points, behind Ohio State (109.5), Iowa (133.5), Minnesota (139) and tournament champion Penn State (151).

After winning his first three matches, senior Conrad Polz found himself in the championship match against top-seeded David Taylor of Penn State. Taylor was able to record a late takedown in the first period, giving him the 2-0 lead heading into the second. After Taylor controlled the pace in the second period and collected over two minutes of riding time, he recorded three more takedowns in the third period and defeated Polz 9-1 to win the 165-pound title.

Mario Gonzalez finished third for the Illini at 197 pounds, while Daryl Thomas and Jordan Blanton both finished fourth at 133 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively. Tony Dallago and Caleb Ervin also contributed to the Illini’s fifth-place finish with Dallago placing sixth at 184 pounds and Ervin finishing eighth at 149 pounds. 

“We competed pretty hard,” head coach Jim Heffernan said. “We let a few matches get away, which we can’t do in a couple weeks, but I was pretty pleased with our effort.”

Heffernan was particularly pleased with Delgado’s effort.

“He’s a special kid,” Heffernan said. “He will keep getting better, too. He’s been wrestling full matches and that’s why he’s the champ.”

With the automatic bids earned this weekend, the Illini will send seven wrestlers to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the NCAA Championships. Delgado will compete at 125 pounds, Thomas at 133 pounds, Ervin at 149 pounds, Polz at 165 pounds, Blanton at 174 pounds, Dallago at 184 pounds and Mario Gonzalez at 197 pounds.

Dan can be reached at [email protected].