EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 10 Illini wrestling team completed the first day of the 61st Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Monday (Dec. 29) from Ryan Fieldhouse. Michael Gioffre and Chris Moore each advanced to the semifinals from today's action.
The No. 2 seed at 184 pounds Moore advanced to the semifinals where he will wrestle No. 19 seed Joseph Walker of Michigan. He started his day off with a dominant tech. fall win, 19-4 (5:39), over [31] Matt Kubas (NU) and a major decision, 11-2, over [18] Amare Overton (SIUE) in the following round. Moore handled his quarterfinal bout as well with ease in a 9-2 win over [23] Cody Brenner (CMU) to punch his ticket to the semifinals.
The No. 6 seed at 149 pounds Gioffre is set to wrestle in the semifinals tomorrow against No. 2 seed Ethen Miller of Virginia Tech. Gioffre started off his tournament with a 24-8 (6:20) tech. fall win over [27) Evan Gosz (MSU). He followed that up with a 4-2 decision win over [11] Sam Cartella (NU) and posted quite the comeback in the quarterfinals. Gioffre trailed 6-1 early against Noah Nininger (VT) before getting a nearfall as time expired in the first period and that changed the entire match. He went on to control the dictate the rest of the bout and won 10-9 to move on to the semifinals. Â
Illinois is currently in ninth place out of 30 teams with 31.5 points.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue grapplers return to action tomorrow (Dec. 30) for the final day of the tournament. The day begins at 9:30 a.m. with place matches to begin at 4 p.m. CT. Fans can watch on B1G+.
ILLINI RESULTS
[12] CJ Campbell (125 pounds)
Champ. Round 1 bye
Champ. Round 2: #21 Dedrick Navarro (NU) tech. fall CJ Campbell (ILL), 16-1 (5:21)
Cons. Round 2: CJ Campbell (ILL) dec. Hunter Taylor (ORST), 7-5
Cons. Round 3: Davian Guanajuato (SIUE) dec. CJ Campbell (ILL), 4-1
Campbell eliminated.
[22] Joey Ruzic (133 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Aaron Seidel (VT) over Joey Ruzic (ILL), fall (2:24)
Cons. Round 2: Cameron Chinavare (CMU) over Joey Ruzic (ILL), fall (5:16)
Ruzic eliminated.
[11] Kole Brower (141 pounds)
Champ. Round 1 bye
Champ. Round 2: Elijah Cortez (SCRTC) over Kole Brower (ILL), fall (4:02)
Cons. Round 2: Kole Brower (ILL) over Giosue Hickman (NU), fall (5:52)
[6] Michael Gioffre (149 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Michael Gioffre (ILL) tech. fall Evan Gosz (MSU), 24-8 (6:20)
Champ. Round 2: Michael Gioffre (ILL) dec. Sam Cartella (NU), 4-2
Quarterfinals: Michael Gioffre (ILL) dec. Noah Nininger (VT), 10-9
[7] Will Baysingar (149 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Will Baysingar (ILL) dec. Noah Tapia (HOF), SV-1 8-1
Champ. Round 2: Owen Reinsel (LEH) dec. Will Baysingar (ILL), 16-9
Cons. Round 2: Will Baysingar (ILL) dec. Anthony Evanitsky (UNATT.), 7-5
Cons. Round 3: Cooper Hilton (MICH) dec. Will Baysingar (ILL), 2-1
Baysingar eliminated.
[24] Charlie Fifield (149 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Joey Buttler (IND) over Charlie Fifield (ILL), fall (1:47)
Cons. Round 1: Anthony Evanitsky (UNATT.) dec. Charlie Fifield (ILL), 14-7
Fifield eliminated.
[29] Danny Nini (149 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: #19 Collin Gaj (VT) tech. fall Danny Nini (ILL), 17-2 (2:47)
Cons. Round 1: Aidan Torres (IND) over Danny Nini (ILL), medical forfeit
Nini eliminated.
[30] Antonio Alvarado (149 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Noah Nininger (VT) dec. Antonio Alvarado (ILL), 5-1
Cons. Round 1: Antonio Alvarado (ILL) dec. Hunter Sturgill (IND), 5-1
Cons. Round 2: Antonio Alvarado (ILL) dec. Jackson Young (MD), SV-1 5-2
Cons. Round 3: Andre Gonzales (CALPOLY) dec. Antonio Alvarado (ILL), SV-1 4-1
Alvarado eliminated.
[11] Ryan Bennett (157 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Ryan Bennett (ILL) dec. Josh Hillard (F&M), 9-8
Champ. Round 2: CJ Hamblin (ORST) over Ryan Bennett (ILL), fall (2:53)
Cons. Round 3: Ryan Bennett (ILL) dec. Ryan Garvick (IND), 4-1
[24] Logan Swaw (165 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Chris Crawford (IND) dec. Logan Swaw (ILL), 12-5
Cons. Round 1: Landen Johnson (SIUE) over Logan Swaw (ILL), fall (6:30)
Swaw eliminated.
[2] Chris Moore (184 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: 32 Chris Moore (ILL) tech. fall Matt Kubas (NU), 19-4 (5:39)
Champ. Round 2: #32 Chris Moore (ILL) major dec. Amare Overton (SIUE), 11-2
Quarterfinals: #32 Chris Moore (ILL) dec. Cody Brenner (CMU), 9-2
[20] Joey Braunagel (184 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Robert Kucharczk (HARV) dec. Joey Braunagel (ILL), 8-5
Cons. Round 1: Roman Rogotzke (IND) over Joey Braunagel (ILL), fall (1:29)
Braunagel eliminated.
[5] Dylan Connell (197 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Levi Bussey (CALPOLY) dec. Dylan Connell (ILL), 7-4
Cons. Round 2: Dylan Connell (ILL) over Demond Harrison (MSU), fall (2:00)
Cons. Round 3: Dylan Connell (ILL) tech. fall Wesley Wilson (CALPOLY), 16-1 (2:57)
[7] Cade Lautt (197 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Cade Lautt (ILL) major dec. Myron Mendez (SIUE), 11-1
Champ. Round 2: Cade Lautt (ILL) major dec. Luke Duthie (STAN), 14-6
Quarterfinals: #18 Remy Cotton (RUT) over Cade Lautt (ILL), fall (2:48)
[9] Charlie Heydorn (197 pounds)
Champ. Round 1 bye
Champ. Round 2: Brokton Borelli (STAN) tech. fall Charlie Heydorn (ILL), 20-3 (6:03)
Cons. Round 2: Myron Mendez (SIUE) dec. Charlie Heydorn (ILL), 8-3
Heydorn eliminated.
[26] Peter Marinopoulos (285 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: Josh Harkless (RIT) dec. Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), 11-4
Cons. Round 1: Logan Shephard (BUCK) over Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), injury default (4:22)
Marinopoulos eliminated.
[32] Ryan Boersma (285 pounds)
Champ. Round 1: #21 Devon Dawson (NIU) dec. Ryan Boersma (ILL), 2-1
Cons. Round 2: Bryson Buhk (SIUE) dec. Ryan Boersma (ILL), SV-1 10-7
Boersma eliminated.
