Illini Wrestling

[kfritz]

Big fan here looking for team info.

Is Sean Reynolds on the team? Don't see him on the roster.

What is wrong with Cassio Pero?

Did Behnke just hang up his shoes or is he somewhere else?

What is the outlook for the heavyweight spot (Wise, Weight etc.)

what recruits are we looking at in addition to Kennedy and Dergo next year?

[Conquistadors]

Mr. Fritz,

I can try to answer some of your questions.**

Big fan here looking for team info. **When you say "big" do you mean "enthusiastic" or that you would have trouble making wrestling weight? (For me its, both!)

Is Sean Reynolds on the team? Don't see him on the roster. **Sean is (or did last fall) attending the CC in northwest Champaign (Parkview? Parkside? Parkland?) and will attend the University of Illinois beginning in the fall 2006. According to Mr. Reynolds, he may go to the Olympic Training Center this spring.

What is wrong with Cassio Pero?** I'm just an amateur observer, but to me I don't really see anything that different with Cassio compared with last year. Aside from having trouble getting out from the bottom, his wrestling looked the same to me at Midlands (a few weeks ago) as it did last year. Last year, as the season moved along, he got better and better at doing the same things right. Other's might feel differently. 141 is very competitive in the Big Tens, so he'll have to wrestle very well to succeed this season (not exactly a profound comment).


Did Behnke just hang up his shoes or is he somewhere else?**I've heard several say that he simply quit school (and hence the wrestling team). Apparently it came as a surprise to the coaches.


What is the outlook for the heavyweight spot (Wise, Weight etc.) **The outlook may not be as dire as Illinois fans once thought. Matt Weight is a small heavy, but wrestles smart. He beat Dustin Fox at Midlands (admittedly Fox is performing poorly this season-- but Fox did get to within one match of All-American last March). Matt probably will get beaten up in many Big Ten matches, but has an excellent chance to qualify for Nationals (see ranking at http://www.bigelevenwrestling.net/ and keep in mind that Wisconsin's Kyle Massey is likely out for the season), where, with a good draw, he could win one or two matches. (Illinois hasn't won a match at heavyweight at the NCAAs since John Lockhart's last year).


Now that Matt is wrestling heavy, we get say one of the corniest things imaginable: Matt doesn't have to watch his Weight!!!


I got the opportunity to watch John Wise at Midlands and thought he showed lots of potential. He's big and athletic, moves well, and is fairly aggressive. His fundamental wrestling technique is probably quite raw (relative to Div I opponents), which is something he can work on. I'm guessing that with another year of practice and matches, he'll begin to be competitive with better and better Div I competition. So there is hope for Illinois and the heavyweight slot.


what recruits are we looking at in addition to Kennedy and Dergo next year?**Obviously, you can't (legally) get official info on this, so all you can hope for is general information.

I'm thinking of making the drive to Champaign this Friday to watch the match with Purdue. With Withstandley, Wissel, Richardson-- and now Fleeger, Purdue has a fair amount of talent. Their heavyweight, Herman, also has lots of potential.

[kfritz]

thanks for that info

Hey thank you very much for that insight. i too am planning on going to the Purdue match. it looks like they finally had their A lineup together this past weekend. really a pretty solid group. We have some good youngsters but are really going to miss these seniors next year.

[Achilles]

Mr. Fritz,

I can try to answer some of your questions.**

Big fan here looking for team info. **When you say "big" do you mean "enthusiastic" or that you would have trouble making wrestling weight? (For me its, both!)

Is Sean Reynolds on the team? Don't see him on the roster. **Sean is (or did last fall) attending the CC in northwest Champaign (Parkview? Parkside? Parkland?) and will attend the University of Illinois beginning in the fall 2006. According to Mr. Reynolds, he may go to the Olympic Training Center this spring.

What is wrong with Cassio Pero?** I'm just an amateur observer, but to me I don't really see anything that different with Cassio compared with last year. Aside from having trouble getting out from the bottom, his wrestling looked the same to me at Midlands (a few weeks ago) as it did last year. Last year, as the season moved along, he got better and better at doing the same things right. Other's might feel differently. 141 is very competitive in the Big Tens, so he'll have to wrestle very well to succeed this season (not exactly a profound comment).


Did Behnke just hang up his shoes or is he somewhere else?**I've heard several say that he simply quit school (and hence the wrestling team). Apparently it came as a surprise to the coaches.


What is the outlook for the heavyweight spot (Wise, Weight etc.) **The outlook may not be as dire as Illinois fans once thought. Matt Weight is a small heavy, but wrestles smart. He beat Dustin Fox at Midlands (admittedly Fox is performing poorly this season-- but Fox did get to within one match of All-American last March). Matt probably will get beaten up in many Big Ten matches, but has an excellent chance to qualify for Nationals (see ranking at http://www.bigelevenwrestling.net/ and keep in mind that Wisconsin's Kyle Massey is likely out for the season), where, with a good draw, he could win one or two matches. (Illinois hasn't won a match at heavyweight at the NCAAs since John Lockhart's last year).


Now that Matt is wrestling heavy, we get say one of the corniest things imaginable: Matt doesn't have to watch his Weight!!!


I got the opportunity to watch John Wise at Midlands and thought he showed lots of potential. He's big and athletic, moves well, and is fairly aggressive. His fundamental wrestling technique is probably quite raw (relative to Div I opponents), which is something he can work on. I'm guessing that with another year of practice and matches, he'll begin to be competitive with better and better Div I competition. So there is hope for Illinois and the heavyweight slot.


what recruits are we looking at in addition to Kennedy and Dergo next year?**Obviously, you can't (legally) get official info on this, so all you can hope for is general information.

I'm thinking of making the drive to Champaign this Friday to watch the match with Purdue. With Withstandley, Wissel, Richardson-- and now Fleeger, Purdue has a fair amount of talent. Their heavyweight, Herman, also has lots of potential.

Kyle Massey is probably not out for the season considering he is tough as hell. Yes he tore his ACL but he doesn't care about that, he wants to wrestle, he was in action this past weekend at the Dan Gable open. He got caught in a head lock by some fat kid who head locked everybody else in the tournament inlcuding the illinois HWT.