COLUMBIA, Mo. – The No. 16 Illinois wrestling team dropped its season-opening dual at No. 5 Missouri by a score of 20-17 as the two teams wrestled on the Missouri softball field. Four Illini picked up victories for head coach Jim Heffernan in the defeat, as redshirt senior Isaiah Martinez (tech fall), redshirt junior Deuce Rachal (fall) redshirt junior Emery Parker (decision) and sophomore Travis Piotrowski (decision) and each picked up victories.
"I think our youth showed in a couple spots, but the young guys will learn and contribute as the season progresses," said coach Heffernan. "Isaiah looked great, Deuce was great and Travis did his job starting us off with a win. Emery [Parker] was workmanlike. We need to get back to work and fix some things going forward."
No. 2 Isaiah Martinez and Deuce Rachal scored 11 of Illinois' 17 points on Saturday, each notching big bonus point victories for coach Heffernan. At 165 pounds, Martinez won his classic fashion, tallying nine takedowns and six near-fall points to finish off Connor Flynn in the second period (4:35). Rachal's victory came even quicker, needing just 2:13 of the first period to get the fall of Austin Myers.
Martinez's victory marked the 99th of his career and giving him sole possession of 25th place on Illinois' all-time list. Former Illini Jesse Delgado holds claim to 24th on the list with 101 wins.
The first Illini to notch a win came in the first bout of the dual as No. 17 Travis Piotrowski put Illinois on the board with a 3-1 victory in overtime against Missouri's Barlow McGhee. With both grapplers trading shots throughout regulation, Piotrowski broke through as he reversed McGhee's momentum to get him on his back for the two points 23 seconds into sudden victory.
No. 8 Emery Parker added in a second Illinois decision by way of a 6-2 victory against Canten Marriott at 184 pounds. After Marriott kept the first six minutes to a defensive struggle, a 2-0 Illinois lead, Parker finished off the Tiger's 184-pounder with a pair of takedowns in the final period.
Although the Illini kept most of the other six bouts close, the fifth-ranked Tigers proved too much for the Illini as they used a 13-0 run following Piotrowski's opening salvo to take their biggest lead of the day, 13-3.
Within the four-match drought by the Orange and Blue, redshirt freshmen No. 18 Dylan Duncan (133 pounds) and Mike Carr (141 pounds) showed well against top-10 opponents in their Illini debut.
Redshirt freshman No. 18 Dylan Duncan fell behind No. 9 John Erneste 5-1 in the second period, but battled back to within one point after his first career takedown to end the second period followed by an escape to start the third. With Duncan looking for the winning takedown, the Illini 133-pounder delivered multiple shots to Erneste in the closing minute but was unable to get in on both legs to pull the upset.
Similar to Duncan, fellow redshirt freshman Mike Carr pushed No. 4 Jaydin Eierman in a high-energy 141-pound bout, dropping the dual 20-11. Falling behind 7-0, Carr came back with two takedowns to pull within three, 8-5. After an Eierman pin was overturned in the second period, Carr again showed resolve by adding another takedown and two back points before falling by major decision, 20-11.
The third Illini to drop a close match against a top-10 wrestler, redshirt junior Andre Lee pushed third-ranked Willie MIklus for seven minutes, only surrendering one takedown to the 197-pounder. However, Lee came was unable to overcome the second period takedown as he dropped the match by a score of 3-1 despite nearly scoring on a late shot attempt by in the closing seconds.
Missouri's other victories came from Grant Leeth (149), Joey Lavallee (157) and Daniel Lewis (174).
The Illini will return to the mat in two weeks for their second dual of the season at Fresno State on Friday, November 17 at 9 p.m. central time. Two days later, November 19, the Orange and Blue will compete in the Roadrunner Open, held in Bakersfield, California.
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Illini Notes:
- Isaiah Martinez moves into sole possession of 25th place on Illinois' all-time list with his 99th career victory. Martinez sits two wins behind former Illini, and two-time NCAA champion, Jesse Delgado (101) for 24th place.
- A native of Lemoore, California, Martinez will seek his 100th career win as an Illini less than 40 miles from as the Illini wrestle at Fresno State on Nov. 17.
- Three Illini made their first starts for the Illini on Saturday: Dylan Duncan (133), Mike Carr (141) and Xavier Montalvo (174).
- Redshirt junior Deuce Rachal (HWT) notched the first pin of the season for the Illini, his first as an Illinois starter. Rachal had 10 pins while wrestling in tournaments over the last two seasons.
#5 Missouri 20, #16 Illinois 17 (Full Results)
125: #17 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Barlow McGhee (MIZ), 3-1 (SV-1) | ILL 3, MIZ 0
133: #9 John Erneste (MIZ) dec. #18 Dylan Duncan (ILL), 5-4 | ILL 3, MIZ 3
141: #4 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) major dec. Mike Carr (ILL), 20-11 | ILL 3, MIZ 7
149: Grant Leeth (MIZ) dec. #19 Eric Barone (ILL), 6-2 | ILL 3, MIZ 10
157: #2 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) dec. #17 Kyle Langenderfer (ILL), 9-3 | ILL 3, MIZ 13
165: #2 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall Connor Flynn (MIZ), 24-8 | ILL 8, MIZ 13
174: #5 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) major dec. Xavier Montalvo (ILL), 12-2 | ILL 8, MIZ 17
184: #8 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Canten Marriott (MIZ), 6-2 | ILL 11, MIZ 17
197: #3 Willie Miklus (MIZ) dec. Andre Lee (ILL), 3-1 | ILL 11, MIZ 20
HWT: Deuce Rachal (ILL) fall Austin Myers (MIZ), 2:13 | ILL 17, MIZ 20
