Moline's Musings

Senior Day for Wrestlers

Posted by: Brian Moline

Sunday, February 22, 2009 11:57 AM

Today's final dual of the season is Senior Day for Illinois wrestling, so let's take a look at what this senior class has done here at the University of Illinois.  It consists of a highly-touted recruit, a transfer who started his career playing football, the youngest brother of a trio of accomplished wrestlers and a lesser known recruit who became an annual NCAA qualifier.

Mike Poeta came to Illinois as one of the best high school wrestlers in the nation.  His goal from the day he stepped on campus was to be at the top of the NCAA Championship podium in all four of his seasons as an Illini.  As a redshirt freshman, he wrestled up a weight class at 165 pounds, as Illinois had a two-time All-American wrestling at 157 in Alex Tirapelle.  Poeta qualified for the NCAA championships as a freshman, but did not place.  As a sophomore, Poeta moved down to his natural weight of 157, was ranked #1 in the country for a good part of the season and finished in 3rd place at the NCAA's.  His junior year followed a similar track, as Poeta was again ranked #1 for a good part of the season before finishing as national runner-up, dropping a tight 5-4 decision to Cornell's Jordan Leen in the national finals.  This season got off to a late start for Poeta, as he had surgery to repair a ruptured bursa sac in his knee.  He's yet to drop a match this season, at 9-0, and is ranked #1 or #2 in the country depending on what poll you check.  This is Poeta's last chance at reaching the top of the podium, and he looks poised to finally reach his goal.

John Wise started his college career playing football at Western Illinois.  After one year in Macomb, Wise transferred to Illinois to begin his quest for wrestling glory.  He has made great strides in his time at Illinois, going from a 16-14 season as a sophomore where he was two and out at the NCAA Championships, to last season's 31 win season that saw him reach the round of 12 at nationals, to this season's 16-6 record and top ten national ranking heading into today's match.  Wise is a key part of Mark Johnson's squad this March, as Wise will need to move to All-American status for the Illini to be a factor in the team standings in St. Louis.

Troy Tirapelle has seen his Illinois career cut short by injury, but has had some moments to remember as an Illini.  Troy qualified for the NCAA Championships as a redshirt freshman at 149 pounds, finishing 2nd at the Big Ten championships, and collecting 24 wins on the season.  He wrestled on the same team as his brother, Alex.  His sophomore season appeared to be on a similar track, but he finished 8th at Big Tens and did not qualify for the NCAA Championships despite a 21-8 record.  His last two seasons at Illinois ended with a shoulder injury, one that was surgically repaired last year but could not hold up under Troy's scrambling style.  He finishes his Illini career with 58 wins.

Roger Smith-Bergsrud came to Illinois not as highly-touted as some other members of this class, but has made the most of his time in the Illinois wrestling room.  Roger was never a state champion in high school, finishing in third place twice while at Lake Forest High School.  After spending his redshirt freshman season behind Mike Poeta at 165 pounds, Roger seized his opportunity as a sophomore when Poeta moved back down to 157.  He won 32 matches as a sophomore, and reached the round of 12 at the NCAA Championships.  His junior season was not quite as successful, as he struggled to improve his mat wrestling when opponents adjusted to his quickness on his feet.  But Roger still compiled 20 wins and qualified for the NCAA's.  This season, Roger continues to develop on the mat, and has compiled an impressive 17-6 record thus far.  Like John Wise, the Illini's hopes in March depend a lot on Roger taking the next step and reaching the podium in St. Louis.

In all, the Illini will say goodbye to wrestlers who have compiled more than 300 career victories in the Orange and Blue after this season.  It's been a pleasure covering all four of them, and they are student-athletes who will go on to be successes off the mat in whatever endeavors they choose.  Best of luck to them the rest of their senior seasons.

bmoline@wdws.com

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