John Dergo wanted to go out with an NCAA title.

"The Friday morning round at the NCAA tournament is considered the 'money round.' Essentially, the wrestlers in the quarterfinals wrestle to be All-Americans.

"If a wrestler wins in the quarterfinals, they are guaranteed to be in the top eight in the country. There was a great amount of anticipation for this round, and many people think it is the best session in the tournament. The arena was sold out, and there were about 16,000 fans going crazy.

CHAMPAIGN — Ticket sales for Monday’s NIT game went better than expected Thursday.
About 6,400 tickets were sold, including 4,200 reserved seats in A and B sections. A Section is sold out.

Wrestling began Thursday morning, and the action was non-stop. Wrestling took place on eight mats, and there was always a great match somewhere in the arena. I was fortunate to score a front-row seat near the college sports information director's table. I am sitting right on the edge of the mat, getting an unreal view from press row!

Competition will continue until Saturday, when the finals will be aired live on ESPN at 6:30 p.m.

OMAHA, Neb. – Illinois' John Dergo and Jordan Blanton each won twice Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA wrestling championships.

Dergo (184 pounds), the No. 2 seed, decisioned Pittsburgh's Zac Thomusseit 6-1 in his opening match. He followed that up with a 21-5 tech-fall victory (6:27) against UNC Greensboro's Andrew Saunders. He'll face seventh-seeded Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming in today's quarters.

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Illinois 184-pounder John Dergo will try to win the school's 21st NCAA wrestling title this weekend in Omaha, Neb. It's been done (many times) before.

OMAHA, Neb. – He's just about done. For the second time.

As a senior at Morris High School, John Dergo was a dominant football player. He earned News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year honors while leading his team to a state championship. And he never played another game.

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Tough trip