CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois wrestling travels to St. Louis for a dual against No. 13 Missouri on Thursday, November 14. The dual will be held at Francis Howell High School and is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CT.
Probable Wrestlers
| Illinois |
|
No. 13 Missouri |
| Wrestler |
Record |
Weight Class |
Wrestler |
Record |
| Justin Cardani |
3-3 |
125 lbs. |
Dack Punke -OR- Cameron Valdiviez |
2-3; 4-1 |
| #11 Travis Piotrowski |
6-1 |
133 lbs. |
#25 Allan Hart |
3-1 |
| Dylan Duncan |
4-2 |
141 lbs. |
#5 Grant Leeth -OR- Alex Butler |
5-0; 2-3 |
| Mousa Jodeh |
2-4 |
149 lbs. |
#2 Brock Mauller |
5-0 |
| #16 Eric Barone |
4-3 |
157 lbs. |
#14 Jarrett Jacques -OR- Phyllip DeLoach |
4-1; 3-1 |
| #23 Danny Braunagel |
7-1 |
165 lbs. |
Peyton Mocco -OR- Luke Fortuna |
2-2; 0-0 |
| #18 Joey Gunther |
3-1 |
174 lbs. |
#8 Connor Flynn |
5-0 |
| #18 Zac Braunagel |
6-2 |
184 lbs. |
Canten Marriott -OR- Cordel Duhart |
2-2; 8-1 |
| Matt Wroblewski |
3-3 |
197 lbs. |
#20 Wyatt Koelling |
1-0 |
| Luke Luffman |
6-0 |
HWT |
Rodrigo Diaz |
3-2 |
Individual Rankings from FloWrestling
Quick Hits
*This year's Illinois/Missouri showdown will be hosted by the Tigers at Francis Howell High School in St. Louis.
*The Illini are 20-12 all-time against the Tigers. Their last meeting was on November 3, 2018, when Missouri defeated Illinois, 30-8.
*Last time out, the Illini earned their first win of the season at the Chattanooga Duals on Nov. 10, defeating UT Chattanooga, 22-10.
*The Illini, split, 1-1, at the Chattanooga Duals, defeating Chattanooga and losing to No. 24 Army earlier in the day, 19-15.
*Senior Travis Piotrowski (133), Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (165) and freshman Luke Luffman (285) each won both of their bouts at the Chattanooga Duals.
* Six Illini earned their first-career dual wins either against Army or UT Chattanooga at the Chattanooga Duals: Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125), redshirt freshman We Rachal (141), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165), redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (184), redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski (197) and freshman Luke Luffman (285).
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
Fighting Illini wrestling picked up its first win of the season at the Chattanooga Duals on Sunday, Nov. 10, defeating UT-Chattanooga, 22-10. Seven Illinois wrestlers won matches in their weight classes to power the Illini to victory. The Illini saw wins in the dual against Chattanooga by Justin Cardani (125), No. 11 Travis Piotrowski (133), We Rachal (141), No. 10 Eric Barone (157), No. 25 Danny Braunagel (165), No. 15 Joey Gunther (174) and Luke Luffman (285). Illinois split, 1-1, at the Chattanooga Duals. The Illini dropped their matchup with Army West Point, 19-15, to start the day.
Senior Travis Piotrowski (133), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165) and freshman Luke Luffman (285) each won matches in both duals.
Six Illinois wrestlers picked up their first-career dual wins on Sunday. Braunagel and Luffman each captured theirs in the Army dual. Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125) got the Illini out in front against UT-Chattanooga with his 5-2 decision over Fabian Gutierrez. Redshirt freshman We Rachal (141) extended the Illini lead to 9-0 with his 5-3 decision against Chattanooga's Aidan Murphy. In the dual versus Army, redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (184) won his first collegiate dual matchup, taking down Luke Hodsden in a 6-2 decision. Redshirt sophomore Matt Wroblewski (197) notched his first-career dual win against Army, recording a takedown in overtime to defeat Alex Hopkins in Sudden Victory-1, 3-1.
Redshirt seniors Eric Barone and Joey Gunther picked up their first dual wins of the season in the Illinois win over Chattanooga. Barone won by decision, 8-5 over George Carpenter, and Gunther shutout Hunter Fortner, 4-0.
A Look At The Tigers
No. 13 Missouri enters Thursday night's dual with an 0-1 record. The Tigers dropped their lone dual of the season to then-No. 18 Virginia Tech, 29-10, at Virginia Tech. Six Flo-Wrestling nationally-ranked wrestlers highlight tomorrow night's Missouri probable lineup. The Tigers are led by redshirt sophomore No. 2 Brock Mauller (149) and redshirt senior No. 8 Connor Flynn (174), who each have 5-0 records between the Virginia Tech Dual and the Nov. 3 Southeast Open.
Illini Wrestlers In The National Rankings
10 Illinois wrestlers are ranked across Week 3 national rankings. Their highest rankings are the following: No. 9 Travis Piotrowski(133, FloWrestling InterMat, OpenMat), No. 10 Mike Carr (149, Trackwrestling), No. 14 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat, OpenMat) No. 16 Eric Barone (157, FloWrestling), No. 16 Zac Braunagel (184, WIN Magazine, Trackwrestling), No. 20 Dylan Duncan (141, Open Mat), No. 23 Danny Braunagel (165, FloWrestling), No. 26 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 28 Matt Wroblewski (197, Trackwrestling) and No. 32 Luke Luffman (285, Trackwrestling).
Illini To Watch
133: Travis Piotrowski
Senior Travis Piotrowski is off to a strong start at 133-pounds this season. The three-time NCAA qualifer at 125, competed for the first time at 133 at the MSU Open on Nov. 2. Wrestling unattached, Piotrowski went 4-1 and placed third. He earned a 6-3 decision over No. 11 Derek Spann of Buffalo at the meet. Piotrowski won both of his bouts at the Chattanooga Duals as well, defeating both Army's Lane Peters in a 5-1 decision, and then Chattanooga's Franco Valdes by decision, 6-2. He ranks No. 9 in the latest FloWrestling, InterMat and OpenMat national rankings. He is set for a ranked bout this week against the Tigers, going against No. 25 Allan Hart.
285: Luke Luffman
True freshman Luke Luffman is undefeated at 6-0 to start his collegiate career. The Urbana, Ill. native was strong at the Chattanooga Duals, winning both his matches in his first appearances in the Illini lineup. He first defeated Army's Bobby Heald by decision, 8-5. He then was dominant against Chattanooga's Grayson Walthall. After getting out to a 2-0 lead in the first, Luffman took over in the second behind two four-point nearfalls. He would tack on two takedowns and the riding time point in the final period, securing a 17-3 major decision. The four-point major decision secured by Luffman were the final points in the 22-10 Illini victory over the Mocs. Luffman looks to stay perfect this week, going against Missouri's Rodrigo Diaz.
Up Next
The Illini will spend the next few weeks in the room preparing for their first home dual of the season, which will be on Friday, December 6 against Northern Illinois. The dual against NIU is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT at Huff Hall. The promotion is Showdown, and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive free popcorn.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Wrestling, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@illiniwrestling) and Instagram (illiniwrestling) and like Fighting Illini Wrestling on Facebook.
