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Illinois Wrestling: Illini hold top 10 ranking as Zane Richards falls in national polls

Richards drops in rankings after loss in Purdue dual

By Brandon M. Cain
Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez pins down Nebraska’s James Green and gestures for the crowd to cheer during the wrestling match vs. Nebraska at Huff Hall on Friday. The Illini lost 22-9.
Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez pins down Nebraska’s James Green and gestures for the crowd to cheer during the wrestling match vs. Nebraska at Huff Hall on Friday. The Illini lost 22-9.
Kevin Vongnaphone of Daily Illini

Illinois held its top 10 spot in the national rankings with two convincing Big Ten dual wins this past week, they outscored their opponents 53-12, including a 32-3 home win over Maryland.

The Illini are ranked No. 4 in WIN Magazine's and No. 7 in InterMat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). It's the fourth-straight week the Illini have take the fourth spot in WIN. Illinois was previously ranked fifth in InterMat but flipped with Penn State, who defeated Michigan (19-15) and Michigan State (35-0).

In dual rankings, the Illini held their positions in both polls: No. 9 in WIN and No. 11 in InterMat. The Illini fell one spot in each poll last week. There are 12 Big Ten schools ranked in the top 25, including Iowa and Minnesota ranked in the top two.

Illinois (11-4, 5-3 Big Ten) wrestle Wisconsin (8-2, 6-1) this Sunday. The Badgers are ranked No. 11 in WIN and No. 18 in InterMat dual meet rankings. Barry Davis' team has beat Maryland (28-12), Indiana (45-0), Nebraska (23-14), Northwestern (30-16), Purdue (22-13) and Michigan State (34-6) in Big Ten action. Their lone conference loss was a 24-12 decision to Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Badgers wrestle Rutgers on Friday before visiting the Illini.

Seven Illini wrestlers made the polls, including five in the top 10 of their weight class:

125: Jesse Delgado, No. 1 ahead of Alan Waters of Missouri, Nahshon Garrett of Cornell, Joey Dance of Virginia Tech and Thomas Gilman of Iowa. Delgado went 2-0 in his return to the lineup after missing two months with an injury. He will not wrestle a ranked opponent against Wisconsin this Sunday.

133: Zane Richards, dropped one spot in WIN rankings to No. 3 and two in InterMat to No. 6 after falling to No. 11 Danny Sabatello on Sunday. Richards will wrestle Wisconsin's Ryan Taylor, who is ranked No. 7 in both polls.

141: Steven Rodrigues, held his current spots in the rankings at No. 12 in InterMat and No. 13 in WIN after going 2-0 this past weekend. Rodrigues will not wrestle a ranked foe against this weekend.

157: Isaiah Martinez, also held his ranks at No. 2 in WIN and No. 3 in InterMat after remaining undefeated against an unranked Maryland wrestler and Purdue's Doug Welch (No. 12/13). Martinez will not wrestle a ranked opponent this weekend.

165: Jackson Morse, moved down one spot to No. 9 in InterMat and remained at No. 8 in WIN for the fourth-straight week. Morse will wrestle Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan, who is ranked third in both polls, this Sunday.

174: Zac Brunson, held his position in the polls. He is ranked No. 8 in WIN and No. 9 in InterMat. Brunson will also not wrestle a ranked opponent this weekend.

184: Nikko Reyes, is the fourth grappler to hold his spots in both polls after he fell three to No. 20 in InterMat last week. He is ranked No. 18 in WIN, and will not wrestle a ranked opponent for the second straight week.

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