Moline's Musings

Poeta Comes Up Just Short

Posted by: Brian Moline

Saturday, March 21, 2009 10:04 PM

By all accounts, Mike Poeta is one of the best wrestlers to put on an Illinois wrestling singlet.  Unfortunately, he won't leave the U of I with a national championship.  Poeta had a hard-fought match with Nebraska's Jordan Burroughs in the finals, but came out on the short end of a 5-1 decision.  Both wrestlers were undefeated on the season entering the match.

The two other Illini All-Americans ended their seasons with wins.  Jimmy Kennedy won his final match of the season in commanding style, a 16-0 technical fall over Steve Bell of Maryland, to finish in fifth place.  It was Kennedy's second straight All-American honor, after a fourth place finish last year.

Heavyweight John Wise finished his Illini career with a win, as he defeated Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh by medical forfeit.  Sheaffer suffered a concussion in his previous match.  Wise finished in seventh place, gaining the first All-American honor of his career. 

As a team, it was a good showing for the Illini, as they finished in eighth place, their highest finish since 2005.  Their three All-American is also the most they've had since that 2005 season.  And their team total of 55 points is the fifth highest in school history.  All in all, a good season for Mark Johnson and his Illini.

I've had a lot of fun covering this team, and despite losing three seniors from the starting lineup, there's no reason to think next year's Illini won't be even stronger.  Thanks to all of you for following my coverage on the blog and chats all season.  Talk to you soon.

bmoline@wdws.com

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