John Fuller/TheMat.com
Iowa City, Iowa – Illinois head coach Mark Johnson couldn’t have planned it any sweeter than this.
Coming back to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, where Johnson was an assistant coach in the 1980’s, the Fighting Illini captured its first Big Ten team title in wrestling since 1952.
“This is a great accomplishment for our program, “Johnson said. “I have said all along that this is a step for our program. If you can win this tournament, then it means you can win a national title – they are almost one in the same. It was very special to win it here (Iowa City). I spent 10 years of my life here. If it wasn’t Champaign, I’m glad it was Iowa City.”
Illinois scored 130 team points and held off a second-day attack from Minnesota, the defending Big Ten champion but a surprise to be competing for the title this year, which finished with 123.5 team points.
Michigan, Johnson’s alma mater, came in third with 118 team points followed by host Iowa (94.5).
The Fighting Illini two conference champions “Alex Tirapelle (157 lbs.) and Pete Friedl (174) on Sunday afternoon.
Tirapelle defeated Ryan Bertin of Michigan 4-3 in a rematch of the 2003 NCAA finals.
Bertin seemed to control the match early, scoring on a reversal in the second period, but two escapes by Tirapelle tied the match at 2-2 late in the third, and with just under 20 seconds left, Tirapelle finished a single-leg to win the match.
“Ryan and I have wrestled eight times and we’re four and four. Nothing really changes with us. We both go out and wrestle our own match, “Tirapelle said after his win.
Friedl clearly did not want to be shown up by his teammate in the dramatics department.
Trailing 3-2 to freshman Jake Herbert of Northwestern, who was attempting to celebrate his 20th birthday with a Big Ten title, Friedl scored off a deep double-leg with only two seconds remaining in the match to win 4-3.
Illinois also saw three of its wrestlers go down in the finals, one of which was to Minnesota freshman Mack Reiter at 133 lbs., which kept the Illini’s team trophy on ice for just a little while longer.
Reiter, attempting to show that his pin of Illinois’ Mark Jayne earlier this year was no fluke, tossed Jayne to his back again midway through the second period of their finals match. Nearly 30 seconds later, Reiter was able to flatten Jayne out and come away with the win.
With two major decisions and a pin, Reiter was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler as well as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Illinois also saw 2004 NCAA runner-up Kyle Ott lose to Nick Simmons of Michigan State in the finals at 125 lbs., 4-2, and top seed Brian Glynn lose to defending Big Ten champion Eric Bradley of Penn State at 184 lbs., 3-2.
Ott took Simmons down early in the match for a 2-0 lead, but Simmons scored two escapes and a second-period takedown to come away with the decision. Ott has never defeated Simmons at any level.
Michigan crowned three champions at the tournament, including brothers Josh and Ryan Churella.
Josh Churella defeated Michigan State’s Andy Simmons 2-1 at 141 lbs. Churella scored a takedown midway through the first period for a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Simmons gained momentum by riding out Churella for the entire period. Two stalling calls against Churella narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the third, but Simmons was unable to finish any shots.
Ryan Churella held off a late rally from Iowa freshman Mark Perry to come away with a 6-5 victory at 165 lbs.
Churella was in control of the match through two periods, holding a 4-1 lead that included over one minute of riding time. But late in the bout, Perry fired back, scoring two takedowns, the last of which came with 18 seconds left, which was nine seconds short of eliminating the riding time.
The Wolverines’ other champion was freshman Eric Tannenbaum, who defeated true freshman Craig Henning of Wisconsin 3-2 at 149 lbs.
The biggest upset of the finals came at 197 lbs., as Matt Delguyd of Northwestern, a former Ohio high school standout, defeated All-American J.D. Bergman of Ohio State, also an Ohio high school star that graduated in the same year as Delguyd.
Delguyd was able to hold a 3-2 advantage in the third period, but Bergman had over one minute of riding time, sending the match to overtime. 15 seconds into the extra period, Delguyd shot in on a double-leg and tossed Bergman to his back for a 5-3 win.
The individual title was Northwestern’s first since 2000 when Mark Bybee captured the crown at 174 lbs.
Minnesota heavyweight Cole Konrad locked up a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 tiebreaker victory over Pat DeGain of Indiana.
Up next for these teams is the NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 17-19.
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