RENO, Nev. – In the team's first tournament-style competition of the season, five Illini won an individual title, while three others placed second at the Reno Tournament of Champions. As a result of the dominating individual performances, Coach Heffernan's squad won the team competition as well, finishing with 152 points despite having no wrestlers compete at 125 pounds or 149 pounds.
"Our team looked very solid and we are getting better each week," said Heffernan. "Still have time to figure things out as we move on. The Big Ten season will force our guys to raise their level even more, which we will have to. "[I thought] both Emory [Parker] and Andre [Lee] had good days and had solid wins, both are making progress and getting better."
No. 3 Zane Richards continued his dominating start to 2015-16 with five victories on the afternoon, four of which were by major decision or greater. The junior began the day with back-to-back pins over Pt Garica and Michal McDaniel before using a decision over Jaydin Clayton (Missouri) and Corey Keener (Central Michigan) to reach the title bout. Once there, Richards wasted no time as he jumped out to an early 12-2 lead and never relinquished it, claiming a 20-8 final tally against Corey Keener of Central Michigan.
At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Isaac Reinemann finished the day with two tough losses, falling in the first round and the consolation round, his day ending after Tyler Cowger (Southern Oregon) edged him 4-0.
No. 1 Isaiah Martinez notched consecutive wins 51-56 on Sunday afternoon in Reno on his way to a convincing first-place finish in Reno. Martinez reached the 157-pounnd title match with four technical falls accompanied by his third pin of the season. In the title bout, Joe Smith of Oklahoma State gave him his best test of the day, but eventually succumbed to the defending national champion by a count of 11-5.
No. 9 Steven Rodrigues impressed again with five victories to push his record to a perfect 13-0 on the season. The senior used three major decisions and a technical fall to advance to the 165-pound championship bout. Rodrigues was tested by Jim Wilson of Stanford in a hard-fought, low scoring affair through most of three periods, but Rodrigues battled his way to a 3-2 decision to earn the individual title.
The most dominating start to the tournament came from No. 4 Zac Brunson as he piled on three pins in his first three matches, giving him eight on the season and more than doubling his career total entering the season. After a decision and technical fall in the 174-pound quarterfinal and semifinal, Brunson notched his own individual crown with an 8-4 victory over Big Ten foe Nate Jackson of Indiana.
184 pounds proved to be the most compelling weight class for the Illini in Reno, as both No. 16 Jeff Koepke and Emory Parker worked their way through the bracket. Koepke recorded a team-high four falls on the afternoon on his route to the title bout, while Emory Parker used grit to fight his way through four decisions, before grabbing a semifinal clinching pin. With both teammates undefeated on the day, the 184-pound title bout would be the decider. Although Parker stayed within in striking distance of Koepke into the third period, the veteran Koepke proved too much for the younger Parker, taking the bout by a score of 8-4.
Much like Parker, Andre Lee showed grit and toughness as he grinded out decisions on his way to the semifinal round this afternoon. After earning a late pin against Garrett Demers (MSU-Northern), Lee gave Marshall Haas (Citadel) everything he could handle in the title match. However, Haas moved ahead of Lee in the third period, and held on for a 4-2 victory.
After receiving an opening bye to start the heavyweight bracket, No. 13 Brooks Black edged Eskam Chace (Arizona State) 2-1, and then tacked on three more decisions to reach the championship match. However, Tanner Harms (Wyoming) got the best of Black, edging him 4-1 to place first.
Next up for the Orange and Blue will be Midlands a week from Tuesday where they will look to improve upon their second place finish last year. Coverage will begin at 9 a.m. on BTN Plus on December 29 and concludes with the championship matches live on Big Ten Network Wednesday, December 30 at 8 p.m.
Team Scores:
1. ILLINOIS – 152
2. Central Michigan – 119
3. Stanford – 91
4. Wyoming – 90.5
5. Indiana – 84.5
133: No. 3 Zane Richards
Round of 64: Richards received a bye
Round of 32: won by fall (2:55) over Pt Garcia (Wyoming)
Round of 16: won by fall (3:54) over Michael McDanial (Colorado Mesa)
Quarterfinal: won by tech. fall 24-7 over Carlos Herrera (CSU Bakersfield)
Semifinal: won by dec. 12-5 over Jaydin Clayton (Missouri)
Final: won by maj dec 20-8 over Corey Keener (Central Michigan)
Richards – 1st Place
149: Isaac Reinemann
Round of 64: Jay Tovey (Oregon State) won by MD over Reinemann 15-3
Cons. Round 1: Reinemann received a bye
Cons. Round 2: Tyler Cowger (Southern Oregon) won by dec. over Reinemann 4-0
Isaac Reinemann Eliminated
157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez
Round of 64: won by tech fall 16-1 over Isaiah Hokit (Drexel)
Round of 32: won by fall (2:41) over Dalton Moran (Oklahoma State)
Round of 16: won by tech fall 20-5 over Jacobi Jones (CSU-Pueblo)
Quarterfinal: 24-7 tech. fall against Carlos Herrera (CSU Bakersfield)
Semifinal: won by tech fall 16-1 over Joey Levallee (Missouri)
Final: won by dec 11-5 over Joe Smith (Oklahoma State)
165: No. 9 Steven Rodrigues
Round of 64: Rodrigues received a bye
Round of 32: won by maj dec 20-6 over Taylor West (Boise State)
Round of 16: won by tech fall 23-8 over Connor Small (Arizona State)
Quarterfinal: won by maj. dec 14-5 over Jordan Wohlfert (Central Michigan)
Semifinal: won by maj dec. (inj.) over Alex Gregory (Indiana)
Final: won by dec 3-2 over Jim Wilson (Stanford)
Rodrigues – 1st
174: No. 4 Zac Brunson
Round of 64: won by fall (4:23) over Tyler Chay (Oregon State)
Round of 32: won by fall (1:32) over Wyatt Wilson (Indiana)
Round of 16: won by fall (2:51) over Sohrab Movahedi (Cal Poly)
Quarterfinal: won by dec 8-3 over CJ Brucki (Central Michigan)
Semifinal: won by tech fall 15-0 over Ben Stroh (Wyoming)
Final: won by dec 8-4 over Nate Jackson (Indiana)
Brunson – 1st Place
184: Emory Parker
Round of 64: Parker received a bye
Round of 32: won by TB-2 2-1 over Jesus Ambriz (CSU-Bakersfield)
Round of 16: won by dec 3-1 over Zach Nevills (Stanford)
Quarterfinal: won by dec 4-2 over Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan)
Semifinal: won by fall (2:17) over Austin Severn (Central Michigan)
Final: Jeff Koepke (Illinois) won by dec over Parker 7-4
Parker – 2nd Place
184: Danny Hicks
Round of 64: won by dec 8-3 over Matt Penyacsek (CSU Bakersfield)
Round of 32: Steven Ullman (CSU Pueblo) won by dec over Hicks 8-5
Cons. Round of 32: Hicks received a bye
Cons. Round of 16 #1: won by maj dec 11-3 over Ryan Davies (Stanford)
Cons. Round of 16 #2: won by dec 8-6 over Will Sumner (Utah Valley)
Cons. Round of 8: Morgan Smith (Simon Fraser) won by fall (2:25) over Hicks
184: No. 16 Jeff Koepke
Round of 64: Koepke received a bye
Round of 32: won by fall (3:42) over Taylor Johnson (Highline)
Round of 16: won by fall (7:00) over Brady Beamon (Simpson)
Quarterfinal: won by fall (7:00) over Ryan McWatters (Southern Oregon)
Semifinal: won by fall (7:00) over Ville Heino (Campbell)
Final: won by dec 7-4 over Emory Parker (Illinois)
Koepke – 1st Place
197: Andre Lee
Round of 64: Lee received a bye
Round of 32: won by dec 5-3 over Logan Paxton (North Dakota State)
Round of 16: won by dec 6-2 over Adrian Salas (Boise State)
Quarterfinal: won by dec 4-2 over Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State)
Semifinal: won by fall (7:00) over Garrett Demers (MSU-Northern)
Final: Marshall Haas (Citadel) won by a decision over Lee 4-2
Lee – 2nd Place
HWT: No. 13 Brooks Black
Round of 64: Black received a bye
Round of 32: won by dec 2-1 over Eskam Chace (Arizona State)
Round of 16: won by maj dec 10-1 over Brandon Johnson (Clackamas CC)
Quarterfinal: won by dec 7-1 over Adam Robinson (Central Michigan)
Semifinal: won by dec 5-2 over Toby Cheff (MSU-Northern)
Final: Tanner Harms (Wyoming) won by a dec over Black 4-1
Black – 2nd Place
