HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The wrestling community is known for its resiliency and grit. Following the announcement of the cancelation last week of the Midlands Championships, a new tournament — the Illinois Matmen Open — quickly came together.
Following an action-packed first day of the tournament on Wednesday, the No. 15 Badgers hold first place in the team standings with 66 points. Pittsburgh (57.5), Rutgers (49.0), Penn (48.5) and Illinois (42.0) round out the top five.
Wisconsin entered 11 Badgers to compete in the tournament, featuring more than 20 NCAA Division I wrestling programs and 220-plus wrestlers at the NOW Arena near Chicago. Nine Badgers wrestled attached for Wisconsin — Kyle Burwick (133), Ethan Rotondo (133), Joseph Zargo (141), Austin Gomez (149), Garrett Model (157), Dean Hamiti (165), Chris Weiler (184), Braxton Amos (197) and Trent Hillger (285). Two Badgers — Graham Calhoun (184) and Peter Christensen (285) — competed unattached.
Wednesday, Dec. 29 - Sessions I & II
Following the tournament's first day of sessions one and two, five Badgers advanced to the tournament semifinals on Thursday.
True freshman Zargo (141) picked up a 18-8 major decision over Princeton's Jacob Mann in his first match of the day. He later advanced out of the quarterfinals with a 5-2 decision over Penn's Carmen Ferrante. Zargo will wrestle Rutger's Sebastian Rivera in the semis on Thursday.
Gomez (149) earned a 10-4 decision in prelims before pinning Princeton's Marshall Keller in 1:15 in the quarterfinals. Gomez will wrestle Penn's Anthony Artalona on Thursday in the semis.
True freshman Hamiti (165) wowed fans with a tech fall (5:16) over Lehigh's Connor Herceg in his opening match. Hamiti earned a 10-0 major decision over Big Ten foe Dan Braunagel of Illinois in the quarters. He'll wrestle Bucknell's Zach Hartman on Thursday in the semis.
True freshman Amos (197) joined his classmates in the victory column with a 11-3 major decision in the prelims. Amos defeated Campbell's Chris Kober 7-1 in quarterfinals to advance and will face Rutgers' Greg Bulsak in the semis.
In the Heavyweight bracket, Hillger (285) collected two 11-3 major decisions in his first two matches to now advance to the semis against vs. Pittsburgh's Jake Slinger on Thursday.
Several Badgers remain in competition in wrestlebacks on Thursday. Full results are below.
RESULTS
Kyle Burwick - 133 pounds
R32: Burwick def. Matthew Chi (UW-Parkside), Fall 1:31
R16: Bailey (Lehigh) over Burwick, D 4-3
WB2: Burwick def. Cabanillas (Brown), Fall 2:48
WB3: Burwick def. Rotondo (Wis.), D 4-2
WB4: Burwick vs. Joey Olivieri (Rutgers)
Ethan Rotondo - 133 pounds
R32: Michael Colaiocco (Penn) def. Rotondo, MD 15-8
WB1: Rotondo def. Norris (Purdue), MD 15-8
WB2: Rotondo def. Masters (Princeton), MD 10-2
WB3: Burwick (Wis.) def. Rotondo, D 4-2
Joseph Zargo - 141 pounds
R32: Bye
R16: Zargo def. over Mann (Princeton), MD 18-8
QTR: Zargo def. Ferrante (Penn), D 5-2
SEMI: Zargo vs. Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
Austin Gomez - 149 pounds
R32: Bye
R16: Gomez def. Mancini (Pitts.), D 10-4
QTR: Gomez def. Keller (Princeton), Fall 1:15
SEMI: Gomez vs. Anthony Artalona (Penn)
Garrett Model - 157 pounds
R32: Model def. Evan Yant (UNI WC), TF 6:15
R16: Model def. Zuunbayan (NIU), D 6-0
QTR: Zapf (Penn) def. Model, D 9-6
WB4: Model vs. Tyler Badgett (Pittsburgh)
Dean Hamiti - 165 pounds
R32: Bye
R16: Hamiti def. C. Herceg (Lehigh), TF 5:26
QTR: Hamiti def. Braunagel (Illinois), MD 10-0
SEMI: Hamiti vs. Zach Hartman (Bucknell)
Graham Calhoun - 174 pounds (Unattached)
P32: Calhoun def. Fox (F&M), MD 8-0
P16: Kaufmann (NIU) def. Calhoun, D 7-4
WB2: Oneill (Rutgers) def. Calhoun, D 4-2
Chris Weiler - 184 pounds
R32: Bye
R16: Antrassian (Penn) def. Weiler, D 8-6
WB2: Bye
WB3: Weiler def. Elstrum (Princeton), Fall 0:52
WB4: Weiler vs. Trey Munoz (Ore. St.)
Braxton Amos - 197 pounds
R32: bye
R16: Amos def. McCready (Bucknell), MD 11-3
QTR: Amos def. Kober (Campbell), D 7-1
SEMI: Amos vs. Greg Bulsak (Rutgers)
Peter Christensen - 285 pounds (Unattached)
R32: Bye
R16: Laird (Rider) def. Christensen, MD 14-4
WB2: Christensen def. Ruhlman (Purdue), D 4-2
WB3: Christensen def. Carroll (Unatt.), FFT
WB4: Christensen vs. Ben Goldin (Penn)
Trent Hillger - 285 pounds
R32: Bye
R16: Hillger def. Aaron (NIU), MD 11-3
QTR: Hillger def. Woulfe (Purdue), MD 11-3
SEMI: Hillger vs. Jake Slinger (Pittsburgh)
