No 24 Illinois Grapplers Fall to No. 5 Missouri, 29-6

All rankings according to InterMat
ST. LOUIS – The No. 24 Illinois wrestling team was defeated by No. 5 Missouri by a score of 29-6. This defeat moves the Illini to 3-3 on the year heading into Big Ten Conference duals.

True freshman Kannon Webster improved to a perfect 4-0 in his first campaign at 149 pounds. He gave the Illini their first win on the night when he defeated Logan Gioffre (MIZ). The match was tied 1-1 for nearly five minutes and required overtime to decide it. After roughly a minute in overtime Webster's pressure finally granted him access to a single leg and he secured the takedown to win 4-1.

Two matches later another true freshman, Chris Moore, improved to 2-1 in his first season at 165 pounds. Moore went back and forth with James Conway (MIZ) trading escapes and takedowns. Ultimately in the end it was Moore who emerged victorious with the 5-4 decision win, which ended up being the final one of the night for the Orange and Blue.

No. 3 redshirt junior Edmond Ruth squared off with the No. 1 ranked 165 pounder Keegan O'Toole (MIZ) who bumped up to 174 pounds. Ruth fought hard and never trailed by more than five to the two-time National Champion O'Toole but suffered his first loss of the season in a 11-7 decision.

Junior Isiah Pettigrew was one takedown away from forcing overtime with the No. 3 ranked 197 pounder Rocky Elam (MIZ). His final takedown attempts in the final 30 seconds were stuffed and he lost by a 5-2 decision. No. 14 redshirt junior Luke Luffman closed out the night with a low scoring battle against No. 6 Zach Elam (MIZ) at 285 pounds. Luffman suffered his second defeat of the year by a 1-0 score.

UP NEXT

The Illini grapplers return to action on Dec. 29-30 for the 59th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Action starts at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 29 and 11 a.m. CT on Dec. 30, fans can watch all the action on B1G+.

FULL RESULTS