University of Illinois
57th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
No. 18 Illinois Set For 57th Annual Midlands Championships
December 28, 2019 | Wrestling
Sessions I and II on Sunday, Dec. 29; Sessions III and IV on Monday, Dec. 30.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Fighting Illini wrestling heads upstate to compete at the 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Sunday, December 29 and Monday, December 30. The two-day tournament is hosted by Northwestern at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Midlands Schedule (CT)
Sun., Dec. 29: Session I- 9:30 a.m. Session II- 7 p.m. Mon., Dec. 30 Session III 12 p.m Session IV- 7 p.m.
| #18 Illinois at Midlands Championships | |
|---|---|
| When | Sunday, December 29-Monday, December 30 |
| Where | Sears Centre // Hoffman Estates, Ill. |
| Watch & Tickets | FloWrestling | Tickets |
| Live Results | FloArena |
| Social Media | @IlliniWrestling  | #Illini | @Illinwrestling  | Facebook  | |
| Weight #18 Illinois Probables | Season Record | |
| 125 | Justin Cardani | 5-3 |
| 133 | #9 Travis Piotrowski | 8-1 |
| 133 | Lucas Byrd* | 6-2 |
| 141 | Dylan Duncan | 5-2 |
| 157 | #22 Eric Barone | 4-4 |
| 157 | Johnny Mologousis | 2-4 |
| 165 | Danny Braunagel | 8-2 |
| 174 | #22 Joey Gunther | 5-1 |
| 174 | David Riojas | 1-2 |
| 174 | DJ Shannon* | 4-2 |
| 174 | Trey Sizemore* | 6-2 |
| 184 | #21 Zac Braunagel | 8-2 |
| 184 | Nikita Nepomnyashchiy | 2-4 |
| 197 | Matt Wroblewski | 3-5 |
| 285 | Luke Luffman | 7-1 |
*- Wrestling Unattached; Individual Rankings from FloWrestling
Quick Hits
*This is the 44th appearance for Illinois at the Midlands Championships. The Illini have competed at 44 of the 57 Midlands tournaments.
*Illinois has won the team title at Midlands four times, most recently in 2012. The Illini have had 13 individual champions at the tournament.
*26 teams will contest the 2019 Midlands Championships. Including No. 18 Illinois, there will be nine teams competing that are nationally-ranked in the latest InterMat Dual Meet Rankings.
*Last time out, No. 18 Illinois won its home opener over Northern Illinois, 22-15, on December 6 at Huff Hall.
*The Illini have won their last three dual matchups, defeating NIU, No. 13 Missouri (19-14, Nov. 14) and UT Chattanooga (22-10, Nov. 10).
* Illinois has four wrestlers with seven wins and no more than two losses to start the season: Travis Piotrowski (133, 8-1), Danny Braunagel (165, 8-2), Zac Braunagel (184, 2-2) and Luke Luffman (285, 7-1).
*After Midlands, the Illini will begin their Big Ten Schedule. The Illini open B1G action at No. 5 Penn State on Friday, January 10, and then host Indiana at Huff Hall on Sunday, January 12.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
No. 18 Illinois wrestling won its home opener, 22-15, over Northern Illinois on Friday, December 6 at Huff Hall. Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125), redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141), redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174) and redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (184) led the way with victories in their weight-class bouts.
Cardani got the night started with a 5-2 decision over No. 23 Bryce West. After an MFF by NIU at 133-pounds, Duncan would go on to pin Nathan Swartz 2:20 into the match to extend the Illinois lead. Gunther shutout Kenny Moore, 2-0, at 174-pounds. Braunagel dominated his matchup with Caden McWhirter at 184-pounds, achieving a major decision, 18-7.
A Look At The Midlands Field
26 teams are set to compete at the 57th Midlands Championships. Nine of those programs, including No. 18 Illinois, are nationally-ranked in the latest InterMat Dual Meet Rankings released on December 24. The ranked teams competing include No. 1 Iowa, No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 12 Princeton, No. 15 Northwestern, No. 16 Army West Point, No. 17 Northern Iowa, No. 18 Illinois, No. 23 North Carolina and No. 25 Central Michigan.
Illinois History At Midlands
Since the inaugural Midlands in 1963, the Fighting Illini have participated in 43 of the 56 Midlands tournaments. Entering their 44th appearance on Sunday, the Illini have won the title four times, most recently in 2012. Individually, Illini wrestlers have placed 132 times at the annual holiday tournament, while 13 Illini have been crowned champions. Illinois placed ninth out of 35 competing teams at the 2018 Midlands Championships.
Illini Wrestlers In The National Rankings
An Illini wrestler is ranked nationally in each weight class this week. Their highest rankings are the following: No. 8 Travis Piotrowski(133, Trackwrestling), No. 10 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat, OpenMat), No. 12 Zac Braunagel (184, WIN Magazine) No. 13 Mike Carr (149, InterMat), No. 17 Dylan Duncan (141, Open Mat), No. 22 Eric Barone (157, FloWrestling) No. 22 Luke Luffman (285, WrestleStat). No. 24 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 28 Matt Wroblewski (197, Trackwrestling) and No. 31 Danny Braunagel (165, Trackwrestling).
Illini To Watch
133: Travis Piotrowski
Senior Travis Piotrowski has gotten off to a strong start in his first season competing at 133-pounds. Piotrowski's record stands at 8-1, with his eight wins tying for the most on the team. He ranks eighth in the latest Trackwrestling national rankings at 133-pounds. Last season at Midlands, Piotrowski went 5-2 to place fifth at 125-pounds.
184: Zac Braunagel
Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel heads into Midlands with a record of 8-2, tying with Piotrowski and Danny Braunagel for the team lead in wins. He was dominant in his last bout against Caden McWhirter in the dual vs. NIU, tallying eight takedowns en route to an 18-7 major decision. Braunagel is ranked No. 12 in the latest WIN Magazine national rankings.
Up Next
The Illini begin their B1G schedule at No. 5 Penn State on Friday, January 10. The dual is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT. Illinois will then return home to host Indiana at Huff Hall on Sunday, January 12, at 1 p.m. CT. The promotion for the dual vs. Indiana is The Great Escape, featuring a pre-dual youth wrestling clinic, free foam fingers to the first 100 fans, and a post-dual autograph session.
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.
