Chambana Sun

The Illinois wrestling team secured a narrow victory over Northwestern in their season-finale dual, winning 21-20 on Sunday. The decisive moment came when redshirt sophomore Danny Pucino pinned Kolby McClain in 2:25, which ultimately led to Illinois winning the dual through tiebreakers.

The match was tied at 20-20 after all ten bouts, requiring the use of tie-breaking criteria. Both teams had five match wins each, but Pucino's pin was the only one of the night, granting Illinois the crucial tie-breaking point.

Head coach Mike Poeta praised his team's performance, stating, "I thought this was a good weekend of team wrestling for the guys. They fought hard for each other and showed a lot of heart." He highlighted Pucino's contribution, saying it was "a big weekend for Danny Pucino getting two massive pins for us."

The dual began with redshirt senior Justin Cardani securing an 8-4 decision win over Massey Odiotti, giving Illinois an early lead. Graduate student Tony Madrigal followed with an 8-0 major decision against Dedrick Navarro. Pucino's pin extended Illinois' lead to 13-0.

Freshman Chris Moore resumed scoring for Illinois after intermission by upsetting No. 20 Maxx Mayfield with a 5-4 decision. Redshirt junior Edmond Ruth added to the score with his eighth major decision win of the year.

As Northwestern closed in on Illinois' lead towards the end of the dual, Peter Marinopoulos played a critical role by preventing bonus points in his match against Jack Jessen. His efforts ensured that Illinois would win based on the second tiebreaking criterion—number of pins.

Illinois will next compete at the Big Ten Championships in College Park, Maryland on March 9-10.