University of Illinois
51st NWCA All-Star Classic
Richards, Brunson Win at All-Star Classic
November 5, 2016 | Wrestling
Illini improve to 12-8 all-time in Classic
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fighting Illini wrestlers earned a sweep of their two matches at the 51st annual All-Star Classic in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday night, as seniors Zane Richards (133) and Zac Brunson (174) each earned decisions. The two victories improve the all-time mark by Illinois wrestlers at the Classic to 12-8.
In a rematch of a 5-1 Richards victory at Big Ten Championships last March; Nebraska's Montoya grabbed a takedown to jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period. The Illini All-American quickly responded with two takedowns of his own to lead the dual 5-4 after the first three minutes. After Montoya knotted the match back up, 5-5, in the second period, Richards earned an escape to retake the lead after starting the final period on bottom. The back-and-forth dual continued with Montoya's final takedown of the evening with 1:23 left. After escaping the grasp of Montoya to square the match at 7-7, the duo remained deadlocked into the final seconds of regulation. However, Richards' final push proved victorious, as he took the Husker senior to the mat with less than 10 seconds to win the dual, 9-7.
At 174 pounds, Brunson went to his offense quickly, notching a takedown in the early going. Continuing to ride Ramos in the first period, the Illini senior extended his lead with two back points, leading 4-1 after the first period with over a minute of riding time. After riding Ramos for another 40 seconds to start the second period, Ramos was able to escape and nab a takedown of his own to tie the match going into the final period. With Brunson starting on bottom, Ramos rode the Illini grappler for the first 1:30 of the final frame, negating Brunson's riding point advantage. However, with just under 30 seconds remaining, Brunson cut loose of the Tar Heel grappler and held on for the 5-4 decision.
The two wins tonight were the first by an Illini wrestler at the All-Star Classic since 2008 when Jimmy Kennedy pinned Wisconsin's Craig Henning in 2:22. The Illini are 12-8 all-time in the event.
The Fighting Illini officially begin the 2016-17 season next Saturday, November 12 when they compete at the Kaufman Brand Open in St. Louis, Missouri, beginning at 9 a.m. central time.
For complete coverage of Illinois wrestling, visit fightingillini.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter.
