PHILADELPHIA, PA • Illinois will see 10 of its own wrestling in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals Friday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. With a win, a semifinal berth will be born, as well as the automatic designation of All-American. With a loss, it is into the infamous “Blood Round” where dreams of being an All-American are made, and nightmares of having a season come to an end happen all at the same time.
For Illinois, ten representatives are alive on the championship side of the bracket with hopes of a national title. But first, the quarterfinals.
Here is a list of those still alive and looking to wrestle themselves into the semifinals.
Championship Quarterfinals:
125, Matt Ramos (2) Purdue to wrestle Troy Sprately (7), Oklahoma State
125, Vincent Robinson (4) NC State to wrestle Dean Peterson (12), Rutgers
133, Lucas Byrd (1) Illinois to wrestle Braeden Davis (8), Penn State
149, Kannon Webster (7) Illinois to wrestle Ridge Lovett (2), Nebraska
149, Ethan Stiles (12) Oregon State to wrestle Dylan D’Emilio (13), Ohio State
157, Vinny Zerban (7) Northern Colorado to wrestle Meyer Shapiro (2), Cornell
157, Trevor Chumbley (20) Northwestern to wrestle Caleb Fish (12), Oklahoma State
165, Michael Caliendo (3) Iowa to wrestle Beau Mantanona (6), Michigan
174, Dean Hamiti (3) Oklahoma State to wrestle Patrick Kennedy (11), Iowa
184, Edmund Ruth (10) Illinois to wrestle Parker Keckeisen (2), Northern Iowa
Out of these ten wrestlers, there are three double digit seeds that have impressed early on.
Ethan Stiles (149) has pushed himself one match closer to being an All-American with wins over Willie McDougald (21) in the opening round with a 6-4 decision, and then an 8-0 major decision over Iowa’s Kyle Parco (5). His win over the five seed, his more than convincing win over the five seed, has now given him a matchup with Dylan D’Emilio. With a 12 seeded Stiles and a 13 seeded D’Emilio, a middle seed will not only be in the semifinals, but he will have also earned AA honors.
For Stiles, his confidence and his defense have to give him a step up in this matchup. Look for the redshirt freshman, who was a Pac-12 runner-up to end this one with his hand raised.
At 157 pounds, Northwestern’s Trevor Chumbley, the number 20 seed, had a remarkable first day at the championships. With an opening win over the 13 seeded Jared Hill of Wyoming via a 2-0 decision, and then a major upset over the fourth seed, Rafael Hipolito of Virginia Tech. with a TB-1, 2-1 decision, Chumbley is making the most of his last tournament.
Like Chumbley, his opponent, Caleb Fish of Oklahoma State, comes in as a low seed, number 12, and each will be looking to steal one and find his way to the podium with one win. Fish, also like Chumbley, won his first match, 2-0, and then one his second in overtime. This should be a good one with a great deal on the line.
As for Edmund Ruth (184), even though he is labeled a 10 seed, he is much more dangerous than that. Last year’s B1G champion and returning All-American has the makeup to be a national finalist, certainly the know-how to be an All-American, but it will first come down to a showdown with Northern Iowa’s returning national champion Parker Keckeisen. If Ruth can slow the Panther Train conductor down, and then outmaneuver the undefeated Keckeisen with a tight match ensuing as time is running, Ruth just may have enough to put himself in position for what could be one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
Below is a list of Illinoisans in the consolation bracket, and those who have been eliminated.
Consolation Round of 16-2:
125, Charlie Farmer (25) Army West Point to wrestle Stevo Poulin (10), Northern Colorado
125, Blake West (16) Northern Illinois to wrestle Maximo Renteria (15), Oregon State
133, Nasir Bailey (3) Little Rock to wrestle Tyler Ferrara (29), Cornell
141, Sergio Lemley (14) Michigan to wrestle Jayden Scott (29), North Carolina
141, Danny Pucino (28) Illinois to wrestle Dylan Cedeno (11), Virginia
165, Braeden Scoles (11) Illinois to wrestle Mac Church (28), Virginia Tech.
165, Maxx Mayfield (18) Northwestern to wrestle Chandler Amaker (33), Central Michigan
174, Josh Ogunsanya (21) North Carolina to wrestle Nick Incontrera (22), Penn
174, Danny Braunagel (20) Illinois to wrestle Matthew Singleton (14), NC State
184, Reece Heller (9) Pittsburgh to wrestle Aidan Brenot (23), North Dakota State
184, DJ Parker (14) Oklahoma to wrestle Kole Mulhauser (29), Princeton
197, Zac Braunagel (9) Illinois to wrestle Brock Zurawski (26), Rider
197, Nick Stemmet (17) Stanford to wrestle Joseph Novak (15), Wyoming
285, Luke Luffman (8) Illinois to wrestle Peter Ming (26), Stanford
285, Jacob Bullock (21) Indiana to wrestle Brady Colbert (22), Army West Point
Eliminated
125, Gylon Sims (30) The Citadel
157, Landen Johnson (32) Northern Illinois
174, Alex Cramer (10) Central Michigan
Here is a look at the Top 10 TEAM SCORES, as well as Illinois schools, at the end of day one:
01 • 39.5 • Penn State
02 • 28.0 • Nebraska
03 • 27.0 • Oklahoma State
04 • 18.0 • Iowa
— • 18.0 • Minnesota
— • 18.0 • Ohio State
07 • 17.5 • Northern Iowa
08 • 17.0 • Cornell
09 • 16.5 • Illinois
— • 16.5 • Michigan
36 • 04.0 • Northwestern
54 • 02.0 • Northern Illinois
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• TC LIFONTI / LEAD WRITER FOR ILLINOIS MATMEN / tclifonti.com
