Moline's Musings

Mark Johnson interview

Posted by: Brian Moline

Thursday, December 11, 2008 12:33 PM

Lots of traveling for me lately with Jolette Law's squad, so I've been a little lax in updating this space.  Here are a few thoughts:

I was impressed with the Illini wrestling team's performance out in Las Vegas, considering they were short four starters (Poeta, Smith-Bergsrud, Dergo, Wise) and one primary backup (Friedl).  Congratulations to Jimmy Kennedy for winning the championship at 133 pounds.  That's certainly a nice feather in his cap, and shows that he'll be in the mix for a national championship this season after finishing fourth a season ago.

I'll be talking with head coach Mark Johnson in just a few minutes.  Our conversation will air on tomorrow's edition of Sportstalk.  I'm filling in for the vacationing Steve Kelly tonight, tomorrow and Tuesday.  I'll be interested to get Johnson's thoughts about when he expects his team back at full strength.  Ryan Prater is the latest Illini to get banged up, as he had to injury default out of his seventh place match in Las Vegas.

One thing to keep in mind is that for all the talk about early season events, the most important months of the wrestling season are February and March.  February is when the majority of the Big Ten dual meets take place, which are important for seeding in the Big Ten tournament (March 7-8).  The Big Ten tournament then qualifies wrestlers for the NCAA Championships (March 19-21).  Johnson's main focus is having his team at full strength down the stretch.  If they are, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Two dual meets for the Illini coming up on Saturday at Huff Hall (Findlay and Mckendree 1 pm).  If you have time between games at the Assembly Hall (Shootout!), you should walk up fourth street and take a look at Mark Johnson's squad.

bmoline@wdws.com

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