Wrestling

Seniors Patrick Bond, John Dergo, and sophomore Jordan Blanton are all heading to this year's NCAA wrestling tournament in Omaha, Neb.

On his first day of middle school, Matt McHugh got a ride to school from his mother. Driving her son to his first day of sixth grade, Christine Moses could tell her son was nervous. As she drove away from the school after saying goodbye and wishing him luck, she saw her son approach the principal of the school. It was his first day, too.

Jim Heffernan's squad is looking for a shot at redemption before nationals.

Former Illinois wrestler and current assistant coach Mike Poeta was named to the U.S. World Cup team for freestyle wrestling on Tuesday. There was a wrestle-off scheduled between Poeta and Travis Paulson, but it was canceled and Poeta was named to the team.

The orange and blue could not send their four seniors out with a victory Thursday night.

The Illini wrestlers are going streaking.

No. 21 Illinois (8-7, 3-4 Big Ten) will finish off its regular-season schedule Thursday when No. 23 Purdue (10-10, 1-6) visits Huff Hall. The Illini have won 11 straight matches against the Boilermakers, dating back to 1998, but that’s not the only streak on the lin

The No. 21 Illinois wrestling team came into Friday night's dual against No. 3 Ohio State looking for its second straight upset over a Big Ten opponent.

By the end of the dual, the squad was just trying to maintain some pride.

The Buckeyes dominated the Illini, 38-3, dropping the Illini to 8-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten. Illinois dropped the first 8 matches in a row, including three pins and a major decision, and were mathematically eliminated after just six of the 10 matches.

Before last year, the Illinois wrestling team held a 10-match win streak on the Buckeyes that dated all the way back to 1995. That streak was snapped last season, when then-No. 6 Ohio State defeated the Illini, 26-13.

Despite the Sunday upset, the Illini grapplers still feel they have a lot of work to do.