Mike Bare
By University of Illinois Athletics
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Boosted by bonus points from redshirt freshman Dylan Duncan and redshirt senior No. 2 Isaiah Martinez, the No. 14 Fighting Illini wrestling team defeated No. 24 Purdue, 21-12, on Sunday afternoon at Holloway Gym. The victory improves Illinois’ record to 4-3 overall, 3-2 in the Big Ten, while Purdue falls to 5-5, 0-4 in conference action.
“I thought we showed some more fight this week,” said head coach Jim Heffernan following the victory. “Michael Carr had a good win, [Nate Limmex] has had a really good year. That was one of the bigger matches going into today. Duncan got us off to a good start. Emery [Parker] started a little slow, but Isaiah [Martinez] and Andre [Lee] looked good, and Kyle [Langenderfer found a way to win.”
Illinois won six of the 10 matches against the Boilermakers on Sunday, including six of the first eight to clinch the victory heading into the final two bouts at heavyweight and 125 pounds.
Winning four of the first five matches of the day to lead 15-3 at the dual’s intermission, the Illini received seven points from its redshirt freshmen Dylan Duncan and Mike Carr who combined for a total of six minutes, 27 seconds of riding time.
Duncan put Illinois on the board first with one of Illinois’ two bonus-point victories. Wrestling Devin Schroder, Duncan started fast with two takedowns in the match’s opening period to go along with 1:57 of riding time. After a reversal to start the second period, the Lombard, Illinois native tacked on two more takedowns in the third period, building his riding time to 4:30, for a 12-2 major decision.
At 141 pounds, Mike Carr continued Illinois’ ability to be tough on top, racking up 46 seconds of riding time in the first period after his opening takedown of Purdue’s Nate Limmex. After a Limmex takedown and Carr escape created a 3-3 tie, Carr regained the lead with a two-legged takedown in the second period, and then finished off the 141-pound Boilermaker in the third with his fourth takedown of the afternoon to go with 1:57 of total ride time.
After Austin Nash scored Purdue’s first team points of the dual at 149 pounds, the Illini tallied an 8-0 run by their two redshirt senior starters, Kyle Langenderfer (157) and Isaiah Martinez (165) heading into intermission.
A back-and-forth battle for Langenderfer against Cole Wysocki, the two 157-pounders traded the lead seven different times during the match. Using a pair of reversals to negate Wysocki takedowns in both the first and third periods, Langenderfer trailed by just one with under 20 seconds left in the final period. In on the right leg of Wysocki with 13 seconds remaining, Langenderfer worked his way to the match-clinching takedown with seven seconds on the clock, holding on for a 9-8 decision.
With the Illini holding a seven point advantage through four bouts, Isaiah Martinez gave the Orange and Blue a commanding 12-point lead heading into the 10-minute break with an 18-3 technical fall of Purdue’s Jacob Morrissey. Needing just four minutes, 13 seconds to rack up the 15-point advantage, Martinez used five takedowns and eight back points to earn his fifth tech fall of the season.
Now 7-0 on the season, only one wrestler has gone the full seven minutes with the Illinois 165-pounder and are being outscored by a combined 125-41 against the two-time NCAA champion.
With the win today, Martinez moved into a four-way tie for 20th place on Illinois’ all-time wins list, joining current Illini assistant Mike Poeta and former Illini John Dergo and Kevin Puebla with 105 career wins. Next on the list is Jackson Morse (2010-15) and Jon Llewellyn (1988-91) with 106 wins.
Purdue earned its second of four decisions of the dual at 174 pounds coming out of intermission, as No. 12 Dylan Lydy won by a score of 10-3 over Illini true freshman David Riojas.
With the lead trimmed back to nine points, 15-6, No. 6 Emery Parker (184) and Andre Lee (197) clinched the dual for the Orange and Blue with a pair of decisions. Parker used three takedowns, plus Illinois’ third riding time point, en route to an 8-4 decision over Max Lyon. Andre Lee finished Purdue off with two takedowns against Kobe Woods, one in the first period and another with one minute remaining in the match following a Woods’ shot on Lee’s leg.
Purdue finished off the match with back-to-back decisions from ranked wrestlers at heavyweight and 125 pounds. No. 15 Shawn Streck defeated the Illini’s Deuce Rachal, 5-3, in the ninth match of the day, and then No. 12 Luke Welch earned a 7-5 win against No. 19 Travis Piotrowski despite a takedown and reversal for the Illini sophomore.
Illinois is now 24-4 against Purdue since Coach Heffernan joined the Illinois coaching staff prior to the 1992-93 season, including a current seven-match winning streak.
Up next, the Fighting Illini will return home where they will wrestle the first of three home duals in the season’s final four meets. The Orange and Blue are home each of the next three Sundays, beginning with Maryland on January 28 at 1 p.m.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini wrestling, go to FIGHTINILLINI.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter and Instagram.
Illini Notes:
The Illini extend their winning streak against Purdue to seven straight duals, dating back to 2010
Coach Heffernan improves to 24-4 against the Boilermakers since joining Illinois’ coaching staff prior to the 1992-93 season.
Picking up his seventh win of the season, Isaiah Martinez has now earned either a tech fall or pin in six of his seven victories. Martinez is outscoring his opponents 125-41 this season to go along with 34 dual team points.
With the win, Isaiah Martinez recorded the 105th win of his career, tying current Illini assistant coach Mike Poeta and former Illini John Dergo and Kevin Puebla for 20th on Illinois’ all-time list. Next on the list is Jackson Morse (2010-15) and Jon Llewellyn (1988-91) with 106 wins.
With the win over Max Lyon, 184-pounder Emery Parker extends his winning streak to 10 straight matches dating back to December 1 at Iowa.
Both Martinez and Parker continue to stay unbeaten in duals this season, carrying a 7-0 record.
Dylan Duncan’s 12-2 victory over Devin Schroder is his team-leading fourth major decision of the season
No. 14 Illinois 21, No. 24 Purdue 12
133: Dylan Duncan (ILL) major dec. Devin Schroder (PUR), 12-2 ILL 4, PUR 0
141: Mike Carr (ILL) dec. Nate Limmex (PUR), 9-5 ILL 7, PUR 0
149: Austin Nash (PUR) dec. Eric Barone (ILL), 3-2 ILL 7, PUR 3
157: Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) dec. Cole Wysocki (PUR), 9-8 ILL 10, PUR 3
165: No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall Jacob Morrissey (PUR), 18-3 ILL 15, PUR 3
174: No. 12 Dylan Lydy (PUR) dec. David Riojas (ILL), 10-3 ILL 15 , PUR 6
184: No. 6 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Max Lyon (PUR), 8-4 ILL 18 , PUR 6
197: Andre Lee (ILL) dec. Kobe Woods (PUR) ILL 21 , PUR 6
HWT: Shawn Streck (PUR) dec. Deuce Rachal (ILL), 5-3 ILL 21 , PUR 9
125: No. 12 Luke Welch (PUR) dec. Travis Piotrowski (ILL), 7-5 ILL 21 , PUR 12
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