EVANSTON — Illinois’ Jimmy Kennedy rebounded from a semifinal loss and claimed third place at 133 pounds Tuesday at the Midlands Championships.

EVANSTON — Illinois' Jimmy Kennedy, the top seed at 133 pounds, advanced to the semifinals of the 46th annual Midlands Championships on Monday night with a 6-1 victory against Iowa's Montell Marion.

CHAMPAIGN – In a 10-minute conversation, Carl Perry says some version of "my wife is awesome" about 15 times. The Illinois wrestling assistant understands the sacrifices Jamie makes to be a coach's wife.

"I've got a great wife," Perry said. "She does a great job of understanding what my goals are professionally and what I like to do."

Jeff Huth spent months researching how much Illinois has spent on recruiting in recent years. He found that across the board, the Illini are major players on the recruiting scene.

CHAMPAIGN – No. 8 Illinois tuned up for one of its premier wrestling tournaments with two dominating performances Saturday.

The Illini beat Findlay 32-6 and McKendree 39-9 before a home-opening crowd of 845 at Huff Hall. On tap for Illinois is the Midlands tournament in Evanston on Dec. 29-30.

CHAMPAIGN – The movie buff doesn't list one of the few wrestling movies among his favorites. No "Vision Quest" or "Nacho Libre."

Jimmy Kennedy goes more for the underdog types. Like "Rocky" and "Forrest Gump."

LAS VEGAS – Third-ranked Illinois junior Jimmy Kennedy beat Boise State's Andrew Hochstrasser to win the 133-pound title Saturday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.

The 6-4 victory moved Kennedy's record to 9-0 this season.

LAS VEGAS – Illinois' Jimmy Kennedy, the top seed at 133 pounds, advanced to the semifinals of the 27th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Friday.

Kennedy, ranked third nationally, will face Bucknell's fourth-seeded David Marble (No. 16 nationally) at noon Saturday.