Chambana Sun

The Fighting Illini wrestling team concluded the first day of competition at the 59th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The event, taking place at the NOW Arena, saw several Illinois wrestlers advancing through their respective brackets.

Redshirt junior Edmond Ruth became the first from Illinois to reach the semifinals. As the No. 1 seed in the 174-pound category, Ruth began his journey with a 16-5 major decision against Marty Larkin of Michigan State. He continued with victories over Shane Cartagena-Walsh (Rutgers), Justin Phillips (California Baptist), and Max Maylor (Wisconsin). Ruth is set to face Nick Incontrera from Penn in the semifinals.

Joining him is redshirt junior Luke Luffman, also a No. 1 seed at 285 pounds. Luffman secured his spot in the semifinals by defeating Zach Delsanter (Penn) and Jacob Christensen (NIU) before overcoming Chase Horne (NC State) with a decisive 12-0 major decision. He will compete against Trevor Tinker of Cal Poly next.

Other notable performances included redshirt sophomore Danny Pucino who reached the quarterfinals at 141 pounds but was defeated by Tom Crook from Virginia Tech. True freshman Kannon Webster also made it to the quarterfinals but faced his first college defeat against Ty Watters of West Virginia after a close match.

Three additional Illini wrestlers remain active in consolation brackets: Chris Moore (165 lbs.), Isiah Pettigrew (197 lbs.), and Sungyup Ryu (197 lbs.). Each has shown resilience by winning consecutive matches to stay in contention.

The second and final day of this prestigious tournament will continue tomorrow, December 30, starting at 11 a.m., where these athletes will aim for top placements in their categories.