Team Illinois Dominates Greco-Roman Nationals, Takes Down Utah in Gold Medal Final

Illinois goes undefeated at the Wisconsin Center, fueled by six All-Tournament selections and a statement win over a tough Utah squad in the championship round
Team Illinois showcased their wrestling prowess with a decisive victory at the Greco-Roman wrestling tournament, defeating Utah 39-24 in the Gold/Silver Pool finals at Wisconsin Center District, Milwaukee.
Team Illinois showcased their wrestling prowess with a decisive victory at the Greco-Roman wrestling tournament, defeating Utah 39-24 in the Gold/Silver Pool finals at Wisconsin Center District, Milwaukee. / Team Illinois

Illinois Sweeps to Title in Gold/Silver Pool Final

On Thursday evening at Wisconsin Center District in Milwaukee, Team Illinois rolled to the Greco Roman wrestling team title with a 39-24 win over Utah in the finals of the Gold/Silver Pool. Other Gold/Silver Pool victims were Washington (39-24), Michigan (52-13), and Oklahoma (48-15).

Path to the Finals: Illinois Cruises Through Pool B

To reach that Gold/Silver Pool, Illinois disposed of three foes in the Pool B Bracket to kick things off on Wednesday. California Blue fell, 38-28, Minnesota Red was handled by a 49-16 margin, and Maryland was discarded with a 56-12 count.

A Star-Studded Clash: Illinois vs. Utah Loaded with Ranked Wrestlers

The dual with Illinois and Utah was high on firepower as Illinois put forth eight nationally ranked guys and Utah served up six. As a refresher, team scoring is different in the Olympic styles as a disqualification, forfeit, or pin is worth five points instead of six. A technical fall earns four instead of five. The last quirk is if a wrestler scores a point and loses in anyway other then a fall or disqualification, his team earns a point.

Hence the reason that despite losing three of the first four matches, Utah accumulated seven team points. They picked up two of those points in losses, the first one coming at 113 pounds where Illinois’ Honorable Mention Kaleb Pratt won with a 12-4 tech of Kacen Jones.

U.S. Open and World Team Trials Greco Roman Champion, Caleb Noble (No. 6 at 113), was up at 120 pounds where he blanked Kaleb Blackner, 11-0 in 4:06, to keep Utah off the board. No. 18 Deven Casey’s 9-1 tech at 132 over Grady Roybal came at the 4:02 mark after building a 6-0 lead.

Utah’s Tanner Telford decked Noah Woods at 126 pounds for his squad’s big points in that four-match stretch. The pin came in 50 seconds after securing a headlock. Utah would win the 138-pound bout with Geronimo Rivera (No. 24 at 132) shutting out Chance Woods, 8-0 in 1:15. The Rivera win brought Utah within one of Illinois, 12-11.

Middle Weights Shift Momentum to Illinois

Illinois surged in the middle weights with three consecutive wins to go up by ten points, 23-13. At 144 pounds, No. 28 Evan Gosz handled Honorable Mention Austin Ellis rather easily with an 8-0 tech fall in 1:44. No. 16 Carson Weber edged No. 24 Jason Worthley, 2-1, at 150. They each scored a point with Weber’s coming last, so he held criteria but won 2-1 when he received a point for a failed challenge. Bruno Cassioppi hit a growth spurt this year that saw him shoot up from the lightweights to 157 where he finally seems to be getting comfortable as the 10-0 upset of No. 24 Austin Paris indicates.

Utah Rallies but Illinois Slams the Door Shut

Utah got two back at 165 and 175 pounds when No. 17 Tucker Roybal used an 8-0 tech in 1:26 of Pierre Walton (165) and Ladd Holman came back from an early deficit and took over the match at the beginning of the second frame for an 11-7 win over Ilia Dvoryannikov to bring his squad back into it at 24-20.

Illinois answered that with two wins of their own to go back up by ten again, 31-21. Jaxon Penovich won a 5-1 battle with Elijah Hawes at 190 pounds. Jimmy Mastny (No. 9 at 190), who bounced between 190 and 215, won at 215 versus Utah over Isaac McGee, 8-0 (3:21).

Heavyweight No. 26 Trayvn Boger put Utah’s final win in the book with a 3-0 decision of Josh Hoffer. With the score at 31-24 and two matches left, there was still Hope for Utah.

Two unranked guys hit the mat at 100 pounds and Illinois’ Symon Woods slammed the door shut with a quick 8-0 tech fall in 30 seconds on the strength of two gut wrenches. No. 6 Michael Rundell put the finishing touches on the win with a 9-0 tech of Kaden Oldroyd, 9-0 (1:48), at 106 pounds to make the final tally, 39-24.

All-Tournament Standouts Power Illinois' Dominance

Cracking the All-Tournament team (going undefeated over a minimum of five matches) were Cassioppi at 7-0. Three guys posted 6-0 records, Symon Woods (100/106), Noble, and Gosz. Going 5-0 were Rundell and Mastny. Other unscathed grapplers were Michael Bird (100/106), 3-0, Brayden Teunissen (126), 2-0, and Penovich, 4-0.

Dvoryannikov was 6-1. Casey was 5-1. Josh Hoffer went 5-2 between 215 and 285. Pratt was 3-2 win a win over No. 9 Jarrett Smith of Michigan, 8-0 (2:26). Also going 3-2 was Jeremy Marshall (285). Chance and Noah Woods were both 3-3. Weber was 2-2. Vince DeMarco split his two matches at 113 pounds.

Other Team Notes: Minnesota Blue Secures Third

Minnesota Blue took out Oklahoma, 55-13, in the third-place match.

Greco-Roman Results

Gold/Silver Bracket

1st Place – Illinois

2nd Place – Utah

3rd Place – Minnesota Blue

4th Place – Oklahoma

5th Place – Washington

6th Place – California Blue

7th Place – Iowa

8th Place – Michigan

1st Place Match – Illinois defeated Utah, 39-24 #

100 lbs. – Symon Woods, IL tech. fall Jantz Greenhalgh, UT, 8-0

106 lbs. – Michael Rundell, IL tech. fall Kaden Oldroyd, UT, 9-0

113 lbs. – Kaleb Pratt, IL tech. fall Kacen Jones, UT, 12-4

120 lbs. – Caleb Noble, IL tech. fall Kaleb Blackner, UT, 11-0

126 lbs. – Tanner Telford, UT fall Noah Woods, IL, 0:50

132 lbs. – Deven Casey, IL tech. fall Grady Roybal, UT, 9-1

138 lbs. – Geronimo Rivera, UT tech. fall Chance Woods, IL, 8-0

144 lbs. – Evan Gosz, IL tech. fall Austin Ellis, UT, 8-0

150 lbs. – Carson Weber, IL dec. Jason Worthley, UT, 2-1

157 lbs. – Bruno Cassioppi, IL tech. fall Austin Paris, UT, 10-2

165 lbs. – Tucker Roybal, UT tech. fall Pierre Walton, IL, 8-0

175 lbs. – Ladd Holman, UT dec. Ilia Dvoryannikov, IL, 11-7

190 lbs. – Jaxon Penovich, IL dec. Elijah Hawes, UT, 5-1

215 lbs. – Jimmy Mastny, IL tech. fall Isaac McGee, UT, 8-0

285 lbs. – Trayvn Boger, UT dec. Josh Hoffer, IL, 3-0

3rd Place Match – Minnesota Blue defeated Oklahoma, 55-13 #

100 lbs. – Jackson Thorn, MN B forfeit

106 lbs. – Heydan Danielson, MN B forfeit

113 lbs. – Ethan Phanmanivong, MN B tech. fall Garrett Short, OK, 13-4

120 lbs. – Joel Friederichs, MN B fall Rodolfo Rojas, OK, 5:14

126 lbs. – Eli Schultz, MN B dec. Madden Edgar, OK, 6-2

132 lbs. – Lawson Eller, MN B dec. David Ritchey, OK, 10-6

138 lbs. – Hudson Beckley, OK fall Bennett Kujawa, MN B, 2:57

144 lbs. – Garrison Sartain, OK tech. fall Trey Gunderson, MN B, 8-0

150 lbs. – Cavin Carlson, MN B forfeit

157 lbs. – Conlan Carlson, MN B tech. fall Kaden Wallace, OK, 11-2

165 lbs. – Luke Hoag, MN B tech. fall Wesley Madden, OK, 8-0

175 lbs. – Bryce Burkett, MN B tech. fall Zylan Johnson, OK, 8-0

190 lbs. – Jarrett Wadsen, MN B tech. fall Peyton Callis, OK, 10-0

215 lbs. – Ethan Swenson, MN B tech. fall Trey Tunnell, OK, 8-0

285 lbs. – Cole Will, MN B forfeit

5th Place Match – Washington defeated California Blue, 37-27 #

100 lbs. – Alex Salas, CA B tech. fall Hunter Shirley, WA, 8-0

106 lbs. – Nery Rivas, WA tech. fall Niko Selianitis, CA B, 15-4

113 lbs. – Lazarus McEwen, WA tech. fall Jax Vang, CA B, 9-0

120 lbs. – Arcadius Cruz, WA tech. fall Gabriel Dela Rosa, CA B, 10-0

126 lbs. – Czar Quintanilla, WA dec. Siraj Sidhu, CA B, 10-8

132 lbs. – Justyce Zuniga, WA dec. Tas Storer, CA B, 5-0

138 lbs. – Mason DesRochers, WA tech. fall Moses Mendoza, CA B, 9-0

144 lbs. – Zackery Motzkus, WA tech. fall Matthew Orbeta, CA B, 9-0

150 lbs. – Israel Acosta, WA tech. fall Ames-Michael Hoevker, CA B, 12-4

157 lbs. – Bailey Holman, CA B dec. Tre Haines, WA, 3-1

165 lbs. – Dylan Pile, CA B tech. fall Colby Ducatt, WA, 8-0

175 lbs. – Mario Carini, CA B tech. fall Noah Holman, WA, 17-8

190 lbs. – David Calkins Jr, CA B tech. fall Simon Jarrell, WA, 8-0

215 lbs. – Levi Bussey, CA B tech. fall Odin Schwabenbauer, WA, 11-2

285 lbs. – Kade West, WA tech. fall Abraham Datte, CA B, 13-2

7th Place Match – Iowa defeated Michigan, 42-26 #

100 lbs. – Dakota Harmer, MI fall Jaxsen Vestal, IA, 0:45

106 lbs. – Ethan Humphrey, IA forfeit

113 lbs. – Jarrett Smith, MI tech. fall Trace Rial, IA, 8-0

120 lbs. – Max Millage, IA fall Layne Martin, MI, 2:47

126 lbs. – Benjamin Walsh, IA tech. fall Keagen Elliott, MI, 9-0

132 lbs. – Brady Baker, MI tech. fall Mitchell Murphy, IA, 9-0

138 lbs. – Cody Trevino, IA tech. fall Meyer Murray, MI, 12-4

144 lbs. – Jase Jaspers, IA tech. fall Austin Gyorkos, MI, 8-0

150 lbs. – Brady Patterson, IA tech. fall Ryan Woods, MI, 14-3

157 lbs. – Dokken Biladeau, IA dec. Lane Blanchard, MI, 8-3

165 lbs. – Eli Roe, MI tech. fall Bode Stanley, IA, 8-0

175 lbs. – Jaxon Miller, IA tech. fall James Moore, MI, 10-2

190 lbs. – Brenden Heying, IA tech. fall Waylon Lamkin, MI, 8-0

215 lbs. – Ashton Honnold, IA fall Liam O'Neil, MI, 0:25

285 lbs. – Layne O'Neil, MI dq. Andrew Hine, IA, 1:28

Bronze/Copper Bracket

1st Place – Ohio Scarlet

2nd Place – Pennsylvania

3rd Place – Colorado

4th Place – Wisconsin

5th Place – Idaho

6th Place – Georgia

7th Place – Missouri

8th Place – Minnesota Red

1st Place Match – Ohio Scarlet defeated Pennsylvania, 36-27

3rd Place Match – Colorado defeated Wisconsin, 38-26

5th Place Match – Idaho defeated Georgia, 40-30

7th Place Match – Missouri defeated Minnesota Red, 33-26

Blue/Red Bracket

1st Place – Virginia

2nd Place – Ohio Gray

3rd Place – North Dakota

4th Place – Indiana

5th Place – Alabama

6th Place – Kansas Blue

7th Place – Oregon

8th Place – Maryland

1st Place Match – Virginia defeated Ohio Gray, 38-29

3rd Place Match – North Dakota defeated Indiana, 43-27

5th Place Match – Alabama defeated Kansas Blue, 53-17

7th Place Match – Oregon defeated Maryland, 44-26

Green Bracket

1st Place – Kansas Red

2nd Place – California Red

3rd Place – South Carolina

4th Place – Texas

5th Place – Arizona

Round-robin records: Kansas Red (4-0), California Red (3-1), South Carolina (2-2), Texas (1-3), Arizona (0-4)

Yellow Bracket

1st Place – Florida

2nd Place – Tennessee

3rd Place – Nebraska

4th Place – Louisiana

5th Place – Arkansas

Round-robin records: Florida (4-0), Tennessee (3-1), Nebraska (2-2), Louisiana (1-3), Arkansas (0-4)

feed


Published |Modified
Billy Buckheit
BILLY BUCKHEIT

Billy Buckheit is a long-time high school wrestling expert and journalist who has been doing the individual national high school wrestling rankings for SBLive Sports since 2022. He also provides coverage a major high school wrestling tournaments throughout the year. Billy previously served as the senior wrestling writer for Varsity Sports Network and the Baltimore Banner. He has also served on the seeding committees for many prestigious regional and national tournaments. In addition, he is the editor of Billy B's Wrestling World, a popular Facebook page dedicated to high school wrestling, and is an editorial contributor for the Maryland State Wrestling Association (MSWA).