No. 24 Indiana wrestling traveled to Champaign, Illinois, on Friday night for a dual meet with No. 12 Illinois. The Hoosiers could not build on last Sunday’s 32-13 win over Michigan State and fell to the Illini 27-7, losing eight of 10 bouts.
No. 13 graduate student Jacob Moran threw the first jab of the night for Indiana, earning a takedown in the first minute of the 125-pound bout against Illinois No. 18 graduate student Spencer Moore. Moran took a 3-1 lead into the second period but allowed Moore to even the scoreboard in the third period. Moore secured the comeback victory with a takedown in the overtime period, locking up a 6-3 sudden victory and a 3-0 Illinois lead.
Illinois grew its lead in the 133-pound bout as the reigning national champion, No. 1 graduate student Lucas Byrd, defeated Indiana freshman Jackson Blum 8-1. Byrd earned a takedown in the first period, followed by an escape and a takedown in the second period. However, Byrd was unable to score in the final period, settling for a victory by decision.
With Illinois’ No. 23 redshirt senior Danny Pucino injured, the Hoosiers notched their first points of the night in the 141-poud bout by way of No. 24 redshirt junior Henry Porter’s 13-3 victory over redshirt junior Kole Brower. Porter added a fourth and final takedown in the final seconds of the match to exchange the win from decision to major decision and give Indiana four points.
However, the Hoosiers could not maintain momentum for long. Only a single takedown came from the 149-pound bout, which occurred in the first 30 seconds of the match between Indiana redshirt sophomore Joey Buttler and Illinois’ No. 25 redshirt sophomore Michael Gioffre. Gioffre took the early lead with the takedown and did not look back, warding off Buttler with a final score of 4-3.
No. 7 redshirt sophomore Kannon Webster rattled off seven takedowns to extend the Illini lead before the halfway mark. This dominance in the 157-pound bout overwhelmed Indiana redshirt sophomore Bryce Lowery 21-5, lifting the Illinois advantage to 14-4 at the break. Four of Webster’s seven takedowns took place in the final period en route to the technical fall victory and added five more points for Illinois.
With the Hoosiers in need of points, No. 17 redshirt junior Tyler Lillard took a 3-1 lead over No. 8 redshirt sophomore Braeden Scoles after the first period and maintained the advantage through the second. Scoles evened the match at seven points with 90 seconds left in the 165-pound bout before a finishing takedown delivered Illinois an 11-9 Scoles win by decision.
One point was scored in the first two periods of the 174-pound bout between Indiana’s No. 32 graduate student Derek Gilcher and Illinois’ No. 23 redshirt freshman Colin Kelly, which was an escape for Kelly eight seconds into the match. Gilcher knotted the bout with 90 seconds left in the third, before the two took their 1-1 score to an overtime period. Kelly took the win with a takedown less than a minute into extra time and walked away with a 4-1 victory.
After a scoreless first period, Illinois’ No. 14 redshirt sophomore Chris Moore took a 1-0 lead in the 184-pound bout with an escape. Indiana’s No. 12 redshirt freshman Sam Goin retaliated quickly with a takedown, but an additional Moore escape narrowed the score to 3-2 before the final two minutes. Moore took the final lead of the match with less than 30 seconds left, completing a takedown of Goin and finalizing a 5-3 win by decision.
The second Hoosier victory of the night came in the 197-pound bout with No. 21 redshirt junior Gabe Sollars’ 6-0 handling of No. 31 graduate student Dylan Connell. Sollars scored a lone takedown in the match and found points by way of riding time and two escapes. This victory by decision cut the lead to 23-7 with one match remaining.
The heavyweight bout between Indiana’s redshirt freshman Caleb Marzolino and Illinois’ graduate student Luke Luffman ended with a 16-4 major decision victory for Luffman, leaving Marzolino winless on the season. The major decision tallied the final five points for the Illini, solidifying the 27-7 final.
With the loss, Indiana wrestling falls to 2-3 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers will attempt to bounce back with a dual meet against No. 17 Wisconsin on Feb. 7 in Maddison, Wisconsin.
