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#23 Illini Wrestling Ready for Big Ten Championships
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Top-seeded John Dergo will go after his first Big Ten title this weekend at the 2010 Big Ten Championships.
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March 2, 2010
#23 Illinois at Big Ten Championships
March 6-7 // Crisler Arena // Ann Arbor, Mich.
Television
The finals of the 2010 Big Ten Championships will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. on March 7. Tim Johnson will provide play-by-play with expert analysis from Jim Gibbons and Dan Gable.
Live Blog
A live blog will be available throughout the Big Ten Championships, run by Illini wrestling sports information director Ben Taylor. The blog can be found here.
Live Stats
Live bracket updates will be available at the official website of the Big Ten Championships here. Live match scoring will be provided via the NWCA College Scorebook, with a link available on the official site of the championships.
Championship Format
Session 1 (Saturday, 10 a.m. CT) - Competition through quarterfinals and consolation first round
Session 2 (Saturday, 5 p.m.) - Competition through semifinals and up to, but not including, consolation semifinals
Session 3 (Sunday, 11 a.m.) - Consolation semifinals followed by seventh-place matches
Session 4 (Sunday, 1 p.m.) - Championship, third- and fifth-place matches
Illinois Pre-Seeds
125: 7th John Deneen (9-11, 3-5), Jr., Marengo, Ill.
141: 5th Ryan Prater (13-7, 4-3), Jr., Plainfield, Ill.
157: 8th Clint Arlis (11-5, 2-3), Sr., Batavia, Ill.
165: 8th Conrad Polz (14-14, 2-5), r-Fr., Orland Park, Ill.
174: 5th Jordan Blanton (17-6, 5-3), So., Richmond, Ill.
184: 1st John Dergo (28-2, 8-0), Sr., Morris, Ill.
197: 4th Patrick Bond (18-10, 4-2), Jr., Chesapeake, Va.
Unseeded Illinois Wrestlers
133: Daryl Thomas (13-16, 1-7), r-Fr., Edwardsville, Ill.
149: Eric Terrazas (12-7, 1-7), So., Wheaton, Ill.
HWT: Marty Smith (11-13, 1-4), So., Quincy, Ill.
Quick Hits
• No. 2 John Dergo is having a banner senior season after moving up to 184 this year, holding a 28-2 record, with both losses coming to top-7 opponents. Dergo won the Midlands title by beating three consecutive two-time All-Americans in Missouri's No. 1 Max Askren, American's No. 2 Mike Cannon and Harvard's Louis Caputo. His two losses on the season have come to Askren and No. 7 Kirk Smith (Boise State). The 28-2 start is a career-best season record for the Morris, Ill., native and he ranks seventh in single-season winning percentage (.933) in school history. He also is tied for 19th with teammate Jimmy Kennedy on the all-time wins list at Illinois with 97. Dergo has won 17 straight matches and currently ranks ninth in the Big Ten in wins and eighth in pins.
• After a strong freshman year, sophomore No. 12 Jordan Blanton is enjoying his move down to 174 pounds this season with a 17-6 record and six pins. His six falls are more than halfway to his total of eight from a year ago and all six of his losses have come to ranked opponents.
• Junior No. 15 Ryan Prater (141) wrestled only four matches prior to Midlands because of injuries, but he returned to the lineup at the tournament as the No. 7 seed and out-performed his seed by finishing fifth with two wins over ranked opponents, including Iowa's No. 7 and second-seeded Dan LeClere in the quarterfinals. Prater is 13-7 on the season with two wins over ranked foes.
• Injuries have been a big story this season for the Fighting Illini, as four starters have missed significant time. B.J. Futrell (125 pounds) missed six weeks between the Lindenwood Open and the Findlay/McKendree duals, and has been ruled out for the rest of the season after re-aggravating the shoulder injury that has plagued him all season. No. 12 Jordan Blanton (174) missed the Las Vegas Invitational but returned for the duals against Findlay and McKendree, and No. 15 Ryan Prater (141) missed a month after Sprawl & Brawl but returned to the lineup at Midlands and placed fifth. Also, Eric Terrazas (149) was in the lineup against SIUE on Jan. 8 after missing the month following Thanksgiving because of a broken foot.
• Terrazas, a sophomore who jumped into the Intermat rankings at No. 20 on Jan. 12, battled through a tough freshman year but burst out to an 11-0 start this season despite breaking his foot over Thanksgiving break. He now holds a 12-7 record with all seven losses coming to Big Ten opponents. Terrazas didn't get his first dual win against a Division I opponent until Feb. 20 last season.
#23 Illini Head to Big Ten Championships
No. 23 Illinois (8-8 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten) begins the championship portion of the schedule when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the 2010 Big Ten Championships at Crisler Arena. The Fighting Illini had a tough dual season, never being able to get much momentum going from one dual to the next. Illinois finished second at last year's championships and qualified nine individuals for the NCAA Championships, its best showing since winning the 2005 Big Ten Championships.
Seven Illini Earn Pre-Seeds
Seven Fighting Illini grapplers earned pre-seeds for the Big Ten Championships, with No. 2 John Dergo grabbing the top seed at 184 pounds. No. 9 Patrick Bond took the fourth seed at 197, while No. 12 Jordan Blanton (174) and No. 15 Ryan Prater (141) earned No. 5 seeds in their respective classes. John Deneen (125) took the No. 7 seed, while Clint Arlis and Conrad Polz were the No. 8 seeds at 157 and 165, respectively.
NCAA Qualifier Spots Allocated
The NCAA announced the number of qualifiers for each weight class at each qualifying event on Feb. 25, using a standard of top 28 in both the coaches' rankings and RPI, plus a season winning percentage of .725. Wrestlers meeting or exceeding all three thresholds were labeled "Gold" standard, while those meeting or exceeding in two of those criteria were "Silver" standard competitors. Conferences were awarded qualifying spots based on the number of gold and silver wrestlers in each weight class in that league or qualifying tournament.
However, there will be 46 at-large selections made on March 10 after all the qualifying events are completed, spread among the weight classes in order to fill each class to include 33 wrestlers. Below is the list of qualifiers the Big Ten received at each weight class as well as the number of national at-large selections in each class:
Weight BT Qualifiers National At-Large
125 6 4
133 5 5
141 5 5
149 8 3
157 4 6
165 5 5
174 6 5
184 5 6
197 7 4
HWT 5 3
Illini History at Big Tens
Five Illini currently in the starting lineup placed at the 2009 Big Ten Championships, with Patrick Bond finishing a career-best third at 197, John Dergo and Jordan Blanton taking fourth at 174 and 184, respectively, Ryan Prater placing seventh at 141 and Eric Terrazas taking eighth at 149.
Dergo and Bond both are three-time placewinners at Big Tens, while Blanton, Prater and Terrazas each have placed once at the event.
Weight Classes to Watch
While every weight class in the Big Ten is extremely tough, there are a few classes where Illinois wrestlers could make a deep run in the Big Ten Championships. Here's a look at those weights:
141 Pounds
Although he has been somewhat inconsistent throughout his career, Ryan Prater usually has some of the most entertaining matches at any tournament. Prater beat Iowa's Montel Marion, the No. 3 seed, in the fifth-place match at Midlands this year, and is 1-1 against Minnesota's second-seeded Mike Thorn, the No. 3 seed, in his career. He fell to top-seeded Reece Humphrey (Ohio State) and Penn State's fourth-seeded Adam Lynch this year, though.
174 Pounds
Fifth-seeded Jordan Blanton will have his work cut out for him, as he dropped bouts to the three wrestlers seeded directly above him and has never faced top-seeded Jay Borschel (Iowa). But when Blanton gets hot he can take hold of any tournament. Blanton can't stray too far from his seed if he wants to qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships, as only the top six in the Big Ten at 174 will earn automatic spots.
184 pounds
Top-seeded John Dergo has had a season for the Illinois record books and is looking to finish it with Big Ten and NCAA titles. He's shown he can take down former NCAA champion Mike Pucillo, having defeated the Buckeye twice this season, and also downed Penn State's David Erwin at the dual earlier this year. The only unknown quantity is Iowa's Phil Keddy, who Dergo defeated, 9-8, at the 2007 Big Ten Championships, but hasn't wrestled since then.
197 Pounds
Patrick Bond is seeded fourth but showed last year that he can turn it on in championship settings, taking third place at the 2009 Big Ten Championships and stealing an automatic qualifier spot despite not earning one for the conference. Bond posted a 4-2 Big Ten record with losses to No. 2 seed Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) and sixth-seeded Matt Powless (Indiana). A three-time NCAA qualifier, Bond will have tough competition on his road to a fourth-straight berth to the NCAA Championships.
Illini Strong in Coaches' Rankings, RPI
The final NCAA coaches' rankings and the first Ratings Percentage Index were released on Feb. 25 and a number of Fighting Illini wrestlers appeared in one or both. A wrestler's RPI requires him to have a minimum of 15 matches against Division I opponents and is measured by the following formula: win % X opponents' win % X opponents' opponents' win %. The top 33 wrestlers are listed in both the RPI and coaches' rankings.
Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for all three measures were designated "Gold Standard," while those meeting/exceeding two of the three measures were "Silver Standard." All Gold and Silver Standard wrestlers earned an NCAA qualifier position for their weight class at that qualifying event. Below are Illinois' wrestlers in the final RPI standings and coaches' rankings, which included the top 33 at each weight class:
Wt Name RPI Coaches Rk
141 Ryan Prater 24 16 149 Eric Terrazas 28 28 174 Jordan Blanton 20 12 184 John Dergo 2 2 197 Patrick Bond 18 10
Big Ten Championships Pre-Seeds
125 lbs.
1. Angel Escobedo, IND
2. Matt McDonough, IOWA
3. Zach Sanders, MINN
4. Brad Pataky, PSU
5. Cashé Quiroga, PUR
6. Nikko Triggas, OSU
7. John Deneen, ILL
8. Drew Hammen, WIS
133 lbs.
1. Jayson Ness, MINN
2. Daniel Dennis, IOWA
3. Franklin Gomez, MSU
4. Tyler Graff, WIS
5. Eric Metzler, NU
6. Zac Stevens, MICH
7. Ian Paddock, OSU
8. Akif Eren, PUR
141 lbs.
1. Reece Humphrey, OSU
2. Mike Thorn, MINN
3. Montell Marion, IOWA
4. Adam Lynch, PSU
5. Ryan Prater, ILL
6. Juan Archuleta, PUR
7. Dan Osterman, MSU
8. Cole Schmitt, WIS
149 lbs.
1. Brent Metcalf, IOWA
2. Lance Palmer, OSU
3. Kyle Ruschell, WIS
4. Frank Molinaro, PSU
5. David Cheza, MSU
6. Andrew Nadhir, NU
7. Mario Mason, MINN
8. Nick Bertucci, PUR
157 lbs.
1. Dustin Schlatter, MINN
2. Cyler Sanderson, PSU
3. Colton Salazar, PUR
4. Kurt Kinser, IND
5. Jake Kerr, IOWA
6. Dave Johnson, MICH
7. Sean Nemec, OSU
8. Clint Arlis, ILL
165 lbs.
1. Andrew Howe, WIS
2. Ryan Morningstar, IOWA
3. Colt Sponseller, OSU
4. Dan Vallimont, PSU
5. Paul Young, IND
6. Kyle Bounds, MSU
7. Cody Yohn, MINN
8. Conrad Polz, ILL
174 lbs.
1. Jay Borschel, IOWA
2. Luke Manuel, PUR
3. Scott Glasser, MINN
4. Dave Rella, OSU
5. Jordan Blanton, ILL
6. Brian Roddy, NU
7. Ian Hinton, MSU
8. Justin Zeerip, MICH
184 lbs.
1. John Dergo, ILL
2. David Erwin, PSU
3. Phillip Keddy, IOWA
4. Mike Pucillo, OSU
5. Travis Rutt, WIS
6. Eric Cameron, IND
7. Hunter Collins, MICH
8. Nick Corpe, PUR
197 lbs.
1. Chad Beatty, IOWA
2. Trevor Brandvold, WIS
3. Anthony Biondo, MICH
4. Patrick Bond, ILL
5. Sonny Yohn, MINN
6. Matt Powless, IND
7. Logan Brown, PUR
8. Cody Magrum, OSU
HWT
1. Nate Everhart, IND
2. Dan Erekson, IOWA
3. Cameron Wade, PSU
4. Ben Berhow, MINN
5. Eric Bugenhagen, WIS
6. Corey Morrison, OSU
7. Ben Apland, MICH
8. Alan O'Donnell, MSU
*Complete Big Ten notes available in the above PDF
