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Junior All-American Jimmy Kennedy was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Tuesday after defeating Minnesota's Jayson Ness at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 24.
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Dec. 2, 2008
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Illinois junior All-American Jimmy Kennedy (Ingleside, Ill. / Grant Community HS) was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday, after the fourth-ranked Kennedy upset No. 2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota), 7-5, at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 24. It is the first weekly honor of Kennedy's career.
Kennedy scored a pair of first-period takedowns on Ness, who moved up to 133 pounds this season after finishing second in the nation at 125 in 2008. The Illini notched a takedown seven seconds into the match and added another less than one minute later. Ness recorded a pair of escapes to make the score 4-2 after one period. The Gopher started down in the second period and escaped to make the score 4-3, but not before Kennedy racked up nearly two minutes of riding time.
Kennedy started down in the third and escaped, but Ness caught him in a takedown to even the score at 5. But the Illini escaped and fended off numerous late attacks by Ness to earn the 7-5 win after the point for riding time advantage was added.
Kennedy's win marked the fifth-straight by an Illini wrestler at the All-Star Classic and improves his record to 4-0 ahead of this weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The Orange and Blue will begin action in Las Vegas at 11 a.m. (CT) on Friday.
