For Illinois Prep Wrestling Stars, There Is No Place Like Home
Andrew Tanker/Northwestern Sports Information
EVANSTON, Ill.– From Oklahoma to Minnesota to North Carolina, Illinois natives are dominating the college-wrestling scene.
With more than 200 wrestlers from the state of Illinois now populating the country’s wrestling teams, Illinois has become a state to reckon with as far as high school wrestling goes. A total of 30 wrestlers from University of Illinois’ roster are homegrown, while at Northwestern, 12 student-athletes decided to stay in state for college.
Among those wrestlers are former state champions, NCAA All-Americans and 2008 NCAA Championship contenders.
At Illinois, there are none better than Mike Poeta and Jimmy Kennedy.
Poeta brought home two state championships in high school and did not slow down once he became an Illini wrestler. As a redshirt freshman, he won the Missouri Open and finished the year 9-1 in open competition. From there, he qualified for the NCAA Championships, finished 7-1 in the Big Ten and placed second at the Midlands. His sophomore season, Poeta wrestled to an 18-0 start to the season, holding the No. 1 spot in the nation for nine-straight weeks before sustaining his first loss of the season to C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota) in the semifinals at Big Tens. A title at the 44th annual Midlands Championships also highlighted his season. This season, Poeta has gotten off to an unbeaten start in the first month of the season and holds the No. 1 ranking yet again. On Dec. 5, he was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.
As a true freshman in 2006-07, Kennedy qualified for the NCAA Championships with a season record of 29-7 and a No. 9 ranking at 133 lbs. At his first Midlands Championships, he placed second with his only loss coming to top-ranked Nick Simmons of Michigan State. In his four years of high school, he averaged less than one defeat a year. With his 187-3 career record, he won the state title as a sophomore and senior, finished second as a freshman and third as a junior while breaking the state takedown record in 2006. This year, Kennedy is ranked eighth in the nation and has been a force among the 133-lb. weight class.
Illinois high school legend Mike Benefiel had his choice of schools to pick from, ranging from Minnesota, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and Michigan. Benefiel chose to stay in his home state and picked Northwestern. The freshman now holds multiple high school records with a 200-4 career mark, which he ended on a 123-match win streak. He became just the ninth person in Illinois state history to win the state wrestling title all four years of high school with titles at 119 lbs., 140 lbs., 152 lbs. and 171 lbs. and holds the record for wins in a high school career. Last season, the Aurora native beat out Sean Bormet, his wrestling club coach, by going undefeated in his senior year and breaking Bormet’s record for most wins in a season.
Teammate Brandon Precin, in his sophomore season, is quickly elevating himself to new heights as well. With a 16-0 record to begin the 2007-08 campaign, he is on a fast track to qualify for the NCAA Championships for a second-straight season and can add to his renowned status in state as well. In high school, Precin was a two-time Illinois state champion with a career record of 186-6.
With the continued influx of Illinois talent like Poeta, Kennedy, Precin, Benefiel and others such as Northwestern’s Mike Tamillow, schools around the Big Ten and throughout the country stand to benefit from the state’s continued success in the coming years.
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