University of Illinois
NCAA Championships Medal Round
Kennedy Takes 5th at NCAAs, Wise Finishes 7th
March 21, 2009 | Wrestling
March 21, 2009
Team Scores Through Medal Round 
Brackets Through Medal Round
Third-seeded Jimmy Kennedy placed fifth after wrestling the most matches possible in the NCAA Championships and going 7-2, earning a 16-0 technical fall over Maryland's Steve Bell in 5:13 in the medal round, and Ninth-seeded John Wise took seventh place at heavyweight with a medical forfeit win over Pittsburgh's 15th-ranked Zach Sheaffer. The Illini currently stand in eighth place after Kennedy proved to be the tournament's iron man, losing his pigtail match before winning seven of his next eight bouts to take fifth place.
Top-ranked and second-seeded Mike Poeta will wrestle for the 157-pound title tonight, with the championship matches starting at 5:30 p.m. ESPN will be broadcasting the finals live.
Illinois currently has 55 points in eighth place, two points ahead of Wisconsin's total of 53. It is the fifth-most points the Illini have ever scored in an NCAA Championships and the race for eighth will go down to the championships as Mike Poeta will vie for the title at 157 while the Badgers' Andrew Howe will go for the 165-pound championship.
Third-seeded and third-ranked Jimmy Kennedy's improbable trek through the wrestlebacks took a detour in the consolation semifinals when he dropped an 8-2 decision to Minnesota's sixth-seeded and sixth-ranked Jayson Ness. Ness got a takedown with 2:07 left in the first and Kennedy escaped with 1:17 remaining. Ness started down in the second and got a reversal with 34 seconds left then added three near-fall points. Kennedy escaped to make the score 7-2 after five minutes. Kennedy started down in the third and Ness rode him out to add the riding-time point for the 8-2 win.
Kennedy fought back in his fifth-place match, though, earning the 16-0 technical fall over Maryland's 12th-seeded and 11th-ranked Steve Bell in 5:13. Kennedy started with a takedown at 2:25 and added three near-fall points with 2:05 left. He was able to turn Bell one more time in the first period for three more back points and an 8-0 lead after three minutes. Kennedy started down in the second and escaped quickly then got a takedown with 1:05 left. He added three more back points with 25 seconds left but couldn't finish the fall, leading 14-0 with 3:50 of riding time after five minutes. The pair started neutral in the third and Kennedy sealed the technical fall just 13 seconds into the period to take fifth place. Kennedy went 7-2 in the NCAA Championships, wrestling the most matches possible in a single tournament under the current format. It is his second All-America honor after placing fourth and his 36 wins are the seventh-most in school history.
Ninth-seeded and eighth-ranked John Wise finished seventh after earning a medical forfeit over Pittsburgh's 15th-ranked Zach Sheaffer when the Panther couldn't continue in the tournament after he suffered a concussion on Friday. In a touching moment, Wise stepped on the mat to accept the medical forfeit and the referee faced him toward the Illini fan section - where his parents, Joe and Toni, were seated in the front row - while raising his hand. It is Wise's first All-America honor and the first by an Illini heavyweight since John Lockhart finished third in 2002. He finishes his senior campaign 25-9 and 88-46 for his career, which ties him for 23rd all-time in wins.
TEAM STANDINGS 1. Iowa 97.5 2. Ohio State 88.0 3. Iowa State 80.5 4. Nebraska 74.5 6. Cornell 69.5 5. Edinboro 68.0 7. Missouri 66.0 8. Illinois 55.0 9. Wisconsin 53.0 10. Maryland 47.5
WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT RESULTS
133: No. 3 seed, #3 Jimmy Kennedy (Jr., 36-6)
Pigtail: Dec. by David Marble (BUCK), 7-5 (SV1)
Consolation round 1: Dec. Chris Notte (OKST), 11-6
Consolation round 2: Dec. Darius Little (NCST), 8-3
Consolation round 3: Dec. No. 7 seed, #7 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU), 6-0
Consolation round 4: Maj. dec. Kyle Hutter (ODU), 10-1
Consolation round of 12: Dec. No. 9 seed, #8 Lou Ruggirello (HOF), 5-3
Consolation quaterfinals: Dec. No. 4 seed, #5 Daniel Dennis (IOWA), 6-3
Consolation semifinals: Dec. by No. 6 seed, #6 Jayson Ness (MINN), 8-2
5th place: Tech. fall No. 12 seed, #11 Steve Bell (MARY), 16-0 (5:13)
Kennedy - 5th place
157: No. 2 seed, #1 Mike Poeta (Sr., 17-0)
1st round: Maj. dec. Ryan Goodman (WVU), 14-5
2nd round: Maj. dec Joseph Knox (CHAT), 16-8
Quarterfinals: Dec. #16 Tyler Safratowich (MINN), 10-5
Semifinals: No. 3 seed, #4 Jordan Leen (CORN), 6-4
Championship: vs. No. 1 seed, #2 Jordan Burroughs (NEB)
HWT: No. 9 seed, #8 John Wise (Sr., 25-9)
1st round: Dec. Ricardo Alcala (UCD), 9-5
2nd round: Dec. No. 8 seed, #19 Kyle Massey (WIS), 6-5
Quaterfinals: Dec. by No. 1 seed, #1 David Zabriskie (ISU), 3-2
Consolation Round of 12: Dec. David Marone (VT), 5-2
Consolation quaterfinals: Dec. by No. 4 seed, #3 Jared Rosholt (OKST), 7-5
7th place: Med. for. over #15 Zach Sheaffer (PITT)
Wise - 7th place
