Illinois takes third straight Junior National Duals Greco-Roman title, beating Florida, 33-27
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by Roger Moore
OKLAHOMA CITY - Jimmy Chase and Ellis Coleman called it the best part of their summer. For much of the country's Greco-Roman high school-aged wrestlers it's been more of a nightmare when they've stepped on the mat against Illinois.
Florida, who knocked off Minnesota 1 in the semifinals, earlier Friday morning, put up a good fight but in the end it was Illinois claiming a 33-27 victory for a third consecutive Junior Greco-Roman Duals title at Oklahoma City University.
Chase picked up a technical fall against Tyler Liberatore at 130 pounds and Coleman followed suit with a technical fall over Matthew Nerein at 140 that put Illinois up 24-7.
"I think the reason we've won it the last three years is because we are a team. We've all been together the last three years, we're all friends, we support each other," said Chase, a member of the Junior World squad a year ago. "And we've got Cadet kids coming up that are going to keep this going. Greco is here to stay in Illinois.
"This is always the best part of my summer, coming to this tournament."
Coach Bryan Medlin has been a part of the development of Greco in Illinois. Three straight Junior titles and two straight Cadet titles equal a small dynasty.
"It started a couple of years ago, the trend in Illinois," Medlin said. "We have a really good system. Iron sharpens iron and it's just getting better. I don't think this is the culmination, it's just the beginning.
"But I really am going to miss this group. It started with Jimmy (Chase) and the Colemans and some of the guys on this team."
In the championship bout, Illinois won the first four matches and led 16-1 after Kent Williams' tough two-period decision at 119. Williams was third at the 2008 Junior Greco nationals in Fargo, N.D.
A match prior, at 112, Prentice Thomas, who was 8-1 for the tournament, gutted out a 0-6, 3-0, 3-1, win over Earl Hall.
Florida's only victory in the first six matches came from Rossi Bruno at 125.
Joe Locksmith edged Matt Holmes at 135 but Illinois responded with Coleman's quick tech fall of Nerein, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Cadets, and Josh Costellano's two-period decision at 145 for a 27-8 lead.
Florida then mounted a charge started by Junior All-American Joey Cozart, who beat Joe Forman, 4-3, 2-1, at 152.
Junior national champion Shakendrick Sanders followed with a pin thanks to a massive throw at 1:41 of the second period and suddenly the Illinois lead was down to 12 at 28-16.
Junior All-American Mark Stenberg settled things down with a 2-0, 1-0, victory over 2008 Cadet National champion Willy Figaro at 171 for a 31-16 margin.
In need of three pins to forge a tie, Florida got one from Luis Alba, seventh in Cadets last summer. Alba lost the first period 6-0 to Cadet All-American Ben Brooks, but caught Brooks while trailing in the second for a pin at 1:37. Illinois was deducted a team point when an upset Brooks lost his composure while leaving the mat area and the margin was nine with two bouts to wrestle.
"That was a big swing," Medlin said. "We're going to lose a decision (at 160) and got pinned late and then we give up that touch fall (at 189). We felt like we had things under control but that stuff happens sometimes.
"What stands out is the way we responded when the chips were down. (Sterling Hecox) was part of a Cadet national champion team. He's been around and he'll be one of those guys we look to next year. He stepped up big for us."
Hecox fell behind Jay Taylor 4-0 but mounted a powerful rally that saw him take the first period 8-4. In the second period Hecox rolled 7-2 and the dual was decided.
Illinois forfeited the final bout to fashion the final score of 34-27.
"It makes it that much better, when you are challenged and find a way to win," said Coleman, a silver medalist in Fargo in 2008. "Unfortunately we had someone get pinned when they were ahead but the team didn't let that bother us.
"I'm going to miss this a lot. This is my favorite part of the summer, too."
"I wouldn't give this up for anything," added a banged up Chase, who will attend Binghamton University in New York this fall.
Coleman will continue a full-time Greco career, attending the USOEC at Northern Michigan.
For the week, Illinois went 9-0 and had 12 wrestlers go unbeaten. Costellano led the way with an 8-0 mark. In nine duals, Illinois lost just 23 individual bouts.
Wisconsin, after falling to Illinois in the semifinals beat Minnesota, 41-21, for third. The eighth place finisher in 2008 took control on back-to-back pins by Nazar Kulchytsky of All-American Bobby Fisher at 152 and 2008 national champion Kalvin York's flattening of All-American Pat Smith at 160. Roland Dunlap's pin of Craig Kelliher at 189 clinched it.
At 285, Wisconsin's Nikko Bogojevic's win over Jake Kettler in a battle of All-Americans finished a perfect week for Bogojevic.
Arizona beat California, 38-28, for fifth and Iowa beat Kansas, 46-19, in the seventh place match.
Freestyle hits the mats Friday night at 6 p.m. Illinois seeks its fourth consecutive championship. The challengers include solid squads from New Jersey, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma and Ohio.
Ohio, led by 2009 Dave Schultz Excellence Award winner David Taylor, won freestyle titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Iowa was the champion in 2005 before Illinois went on its current three-year run.
Pool competition starts at 6 p.m. (CST) tonight with the finals set for Sunday at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Noteworthy
Joey Cozart and Washington's Jacob Trotter each had five pins in 3:55 to lead the pinning pack … Wisconsin had the most falls with 28 in 29:17 … Illinois recorded a tournament-best 34 technical falls. Minnesota and Colorado were a distant second with 23 … Arizona 215-pounder Diego Bravo and Bogojevic each went 9-0 for the week to top the wins list.
Championship Results
1st Place - Illinois
2nd Place - Florida
3rd Place - Wisconsin
4th Place - Minnesota 1
5th Place - Arizona
6th Place - California
7th Place - Iowa
8th Place - Kansas
1st Place Match - Illinois defeated Florida 34-27.
3rd Place Match - Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 1 41-21.
5th Place Match - Arizona defeated California 38-28.
7th Place Match - Iowa defeated Kansas 46-19.
Championship Dual Meet
Illinois 34, Florida 27
98 Devon Graville (Illinois) pin Drew Hunt (Florida), 6-0, 0:21
105 Nick Fontenneta (Illinois) by forfeit
112 Prentice Thomas (Illinois) dec. Earl Hall (Florida), 0-6, 3-0, 3-1
119 Kent Williams (Illinois) dec. Isaiah Varona (Florida), 1-0, 3-0
125 Rossi Bruno (Florida) dec. Allen Tate (Illinois), 6-0, 3-0
130 Jimmy Chase (Illinois) tech. fall Tyler Liberatore (Florida), 6-0, 7-0
135 Joseph Locksmith (Florida) dec. Matt Holmes (Illinois), 1-0, 3-0
140 Ellis Coleman (Illinois) tech. fall Matthew Nereim (Florida), 6-0, 6-0
145 Josh Costellano (Illinois) dec. Kyle Gordon (Florida), 4-1, 3-0
152 Joseph Cozart (Florida) dec. Joe Forman (Illinois), 4-3, 2-1
160 Shakendrick Sanders (Florida) pin Dan Martin (Illinois), 3-0, 1:41
171 Mark Stenberg (Illinois) dec. Wally Figaro (Florida), 2-0, 1-0
189 Luis Alba (Florida) pin Ben Brooks (Illinois), 0-6, 1:37
215 Sterling Hecox (Illinois) dec. Jay Taylor (Florida) Dec 8-4, 7-2
285 Donavan Green (Florida) by forfeit
2009 Junior National Duals All Dual Team - Greco-Roman
105 pounds - Jake Bellis of Illinois went 7-0
105 pounds - Tyler Fraley of New Jersey went 6-0
119 pounds - Tony Pena of Colorado went 8-0
119 pounds - Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin went 7-0
125 pounds - Jerry Huff of Colorado went 6-0
130 pounds - Travis Himmelnan of Colorado went 8-0
135 pounds - Joseph Locksmith of Florida went 6-0
140 pounds - Dylan Ness of Minnesota 1 went 7-0
140 pounds - Blake Roulo of Virginia went 6-0
145 pounds - Josh Costellano of Illinois went 8-0
152 pounds - Kalvin York of Wisconsin went 7-0
152 pounds - Joseph Cozart of Florida went 7-0
160 pounds - Shakendrick Sanders of Florida went 8-0
160 pounds - Cameron Vlahos of Indiana went 7-0
171 pounds - Mike Curby of Michigan Red went 8-0
171 pounds - Ben Provisor of Wisconsin went 8-0
215 pounds - Diego Bravo of Arizona went 9-0
215 pounds - Alex Polizzi of Wisconsin went 7-0
285 pounds - Nikko Bogojevic of Wisconsin went 9-0
Florida, who knocked off Minnesota 1 in the semifinals, earlier Friday morning, put up a good fight but in the end it was Illinois claiming a 33-27 victory for a third consecutive Junior Greco-Roman Duals title at Oklahoma City University.
Chase picked up a technical fall against Tyler Liberatore at 130 pounds and Coleman followed suit with a technical fall over Matthew Nerein at 140 that put Illinois up 24-7.
"I think the reason we've won it the last three years is because we are a team. We've all been together the last three years, we're all friends, we support each other," said Chase, a member of the Junior World squad a year ago. "And we've got Cadet kids coming up that are going to keep this going. Greco is here to stay in Illinois.
"This is always the best part of my summer, coming to this tournament."
Coach Bryan Medlin has been a part of the development of Greco in Illinois. Three straight Junior titles and two straight Cadet titles equal a small dynasty.
"It started a couple of years ago, the trend in Illinois," Medlin said. "We have a really good system. Iron sharpens iron and it's just getting better. I don't think this is the culmination, it's just the beginning.
"But I really am going to miss this group. It started with Jimmy (Chase) and the Colemans and some of the guys on this team."
In the championship bout, Illinois won the first four matches and led 16-1 after Kent Williams' tough two-period decision at 119. Williams was third at the 2008 Junior Greco nationals in Fargo, N.D.
A match prior, at 112, Prentice Thomas, who was 8-1 for the tournament, gutted out a 0-6, 3-0, 3-1, win over Earl Hall.
Florida's only victory in the first six matches came from Rossi Bruno at 125.
Joe Locksmith edged Matt Holmes at 135 but Illinois responded with Coleman's quick tech fall of Nerein, a bronze medalist at the 2008 Cadets, and Josh Costellano's two-period decision at 145 for a 27-8 lead.
Florida then mounted a charge started by Junior All-American Joey Cozart, who beat Joe Forman, 4-3, 2-1, at 152.
Junior national champion Shakendrick Sanders followed with a pin thanks to a massive throw at 1:41 of the second period and suddenly the Illinois lead was down to 12 at 28-16.
Junior All-American Mark Stenberg settled things down with a 2-0, 1-0, victory over 2008 Cadet National champion Willy Figaro at 171 for a 31-16 margin.
In need of three pins to forge a tie, Florida got one from Luis Alba, seventh in Cadets last summer. Alba lost the first period 6-0 to Cadet All-American Ben Brooks, but caught Brooks while trailing in the second for a pin at 1:37. Illinois was deducted a team point when an upset Brooks lost his composure while leaving the mat area and the margin was nine with two bouts to wrestle.
"That was a big swing," Medlin said. "We're going to lose a decision (at 160) and got pinned late and then we give up that touch fall (at 189). We felt like we had things under control but that stuff happens sometimes.
"What stands out is the way we responded when the chips were down. (Sterling Hecox) was part of a Cadet national champion team. He's been around and he'll be one of those guys we look to next year. He stepped up big for us."
Hecox fell behind Jay Taylor 4-0 but mounted a powerful rally that saw him take the first period 8-4. In the second period Hecox rolled 7-2 and the dual was decided.
Illinois forfeited the final bout to fashion the final score of 34-27.
"It makes it that much better, when you are challenged and find a way to win," said Coleman, a silver medalist in Fargo in 2008. "Unfortunately we had someone get pinned when they were ahead but the team didn't let that bother us.
"I'm going to miss this a lot. This is my favorite part of the summer, too."
"I wouldn't give this up for anything," added a banged up Chase, who will attend Binghamton University in New York this fall.
Coleman will continue a full-time Greco career, attending the USOEC at Northern Michigan.
For the week, Illinois went 9-0 and had 12 wrestlers go unbeaten. Costellano led the way with an 8-0 mark. In nine duals, Illinois lost just 23 individual bouts.
Wisconsin, after falling to Illinois in the semifinals beat Minnesota, 41-21, for third. The eighth place finisher in 2008 took control on back-to-back pins by Nazar Kulchytsky of All-American Bobby Fisher at 152 and 2008 national champion Kalvin York's flattening of All-American Pat Smith at 160. Roland Dunlap's pin of Craig Kelliher at 189 clinched it.
At 285, Wisconsin's Nikko Bogojevic's win over Jake Kettler in a battle of All-Americans finished a perfect week for Bogojevic.
Arizona beat California, 38-28, for fifth and Iowa beat Kansas, 46-19, in the seventh place match.
Freestyle hits the mats Friday night at 6 p.m. Illinois seeks its fourth consecutive championship. The challengers include solid squads from New Jersey, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, Oklahoma and Ohio.
Ohio, led by 2009 Dave Schultz Excellence Award winner David Taylor, won freestyle titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Iowa was the champion in 2005 before Illinois went on its current three-year run.
Pool competition starts at 6 p.m. (CST) tonight with the finals set for Sunday at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Noteworthy
Joey Cozart and Washington's Jacob Trotter each had five pins in 3:55 to lead the pinning pack … Wisconsin had the most falls with 28 in 29:17 … Illinois recorded a tournament-best 34 technical falls. Minnesota and Colorado were a distant second with 23 … Arizona 215-pounder Diego Bravo and Bogojevic each went 9-0 for the week to top the wins list.
Championship Results
1st Place - Illinois
2nd Place - Florida
3rd Place - Wisconsin
4th Place - Minnesota 1
5th Place - Arizona
6th Place - California
7th Place - Iowa
8th Place - Kansas
1st Place Match - Illinois defeated Florida 34-27.
3rd Place Match - Wisconsin defeated Minnesota 1 41-21.
5th Place Match - Arizona defeated California 38-28.
7th Place Match - Iowa defeated Kansas 46-19.
Championship Dual Meet
Illinois 34, Florida 27
98 Devon Graville (Illinois) pin Drew Hunt (Florida), 6-0, 0:21
105 Nick Fontenneta (Illinois) by forfeit
112 Prentice Thomas (Illinois) dec. Earl Hall (Florida), 0-6, 3-0, 3-1
119 Kent Williams (Illinois) dec. Isaiah Varona (Florida), 1-0, 3-0
125 Rossi Bruno (Florida) dec. Allen Tate (Illinois), 6-0, 3-0
130 Jimmy Chase (Illinois) tech. fall Tyler Liberatore (Florida), 6-0, 7-0
135 Joseph Locksmith (Florida) dec. Matt Holmes (Illinois), 1-0, 3-0
140 Ellis Coleman (Illinois) tech. fall Matthew Nereim (Florida), 6-0, 6-0
145 Josh Costellano (Illinois) dec. Kyle Gordon (Florida), 4-1, 3-0
152 Joseph Cozart (Florida) dec. Joe Forman (Illinois), 4-3, 2-1
160 Shakendrick Sanders (Florida) pin Dan Martin (Illinois), 3-0, 1:41
171 Mark Stenberg (Illinois) dec. Wally Figaro (Florida), 2-0, 1-0
189 Luis Alba (Florida) pin Ben Brooks (Illinois), 0-6, 1:37
215 Sterling Hecox (Illinois) dec. Jay Taylor (Florida) Dec 8-4, 7-2
285 Donavan Green (Florida) by forfeit
2009 Junior National Duals All Dual Team - Greco-Roman
105 pounds - Jake Bellis of Illinois went 7-0
105 pounds - Tyler Fraley of New Jersey went 6-0
119 pounds - Tony Pena of Colorado went 8-0
119 pounds - Jesse Thielke of Wisconsin went 7-0
125 pounds - Jerry Huff of Colorado went 6-0
130 pounds - Travis Himmelnan of Colorado went 8-0
135 pounds - Joseph Locksmith of Florida went 6-0
140 pounds - Dylan Ness of Minnesota 1 went 7-0
140 pounds - Blake Roulo of Virginia went 6-0
145 pounds - Josh Costellano of Illinois went 8-0
152 pounds - Kalvin York of Wisconsin went 7-0
152 pounds - Joseph Cozart of Florida went 7-0
160 pounds - Shakendrick Sanders of Florida went 8-0
160 pounds - Cameron Vlahos of Indiana went 7-0
171 pounds - Mike Curby of Michigan Red went 8-0
171 pounds - Ben Provisor of Wisconsin went 8-0
215 pounds - Diego Bravo of Arizona went 9-0
215 pounds - Alex Polizzi of Wisconsin went 7-0
285 pounds - Nikko Bogojevic of Wisconsin went 9-0
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