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Subscribe to our NewsletterFighting Illini at No. 10 with our very own Travis Piotrowski on the Roster
Newton, Iowa. – WIN Magazine released their 2016-17 preseason wrestling rankings Thursday afternoon, tabbing Coach Jim Heffernan's Fighting Illini at No. 10 to begin the upcoming season. In addition to the team ranking, five Illini starters are mentioned amongst the top-20 in their respective weight classes.
The Orange & Blue rank sixth amongst the nine Big Ten schools, slotted ahead of #12 Minnesota and #13 Wisconsin. Iowa leads the conference with their No. 3 ranking, while defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Penn State check in at No. 7.
Senior Zane Richards is ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds according to WIN Magazine, just behind Big Ten foe Cory Clark of Iowa. The two grapplers faced off three times last season with each match being decided in its final seconds. Richards stole the opening bout in overtime at Huff Hall, but Clark grabbed rematches at Big Ten Championships and NCAA Championships to win the season series. The two will welcome Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello to the class in 2016-17, as the Buckeye makes the jump up to 133 pounds after winning the Big Ten title at 125 last season. Entering the season with 81 career wins, Richards is only 10 wins shy of cracking the program's top-25 list.
After spending his first two seasons conquering the 157-weight class, two-time NCAA Champion Isaiah Martinez debuts at No. 1 in WIN's 165-pound rankings. The red-shirt junior is a dominating 67-1 for his career at Illinois, and has twice led the NCAA in technical falls. The California native will begin to climb Illinois program rankings this winter, as he currently sits 24 wins shy of the top-25 career wins list. Needing just seven more matches to qualify, Martinez's .985 winning percentage has him primed to surpass Matt Lackey (0.896) as Illinois' all-time career leader early this season.
At 174 pounds, senior Zac Brunson checks in at No. 8 in the WIN Magazine ranks. Coming off a 22-5 campaign as a red-shirt junior, Brunson will look to finish the strong season he started in 2016. Prior to missing the opening of the Big Ten season due to injury, Brunson had rolled off 14 wins in a row. Despite a couple slipups in the Big Ten after returning, Brunson fought back at Big Ten Championships, including a semifinal pin of Alex Meyer in front of the host crowd. With victories last season over preseason No. 5 Nathan Jackson and No. 6 Meyer, Brunson will look to cap off his career with his first All-America honor.
Andre Lee makes his preseason rankings debut, checking in at No. 18 at 197 pounds. Lee is coming off of an 11-12 tally in his first season as a starter. With a year of Big Ten experience under his belt, Lee will look to build off of his 10-2 non-conference record and carry it into the annual grind of the conference slate.
Rounding out the ranked Illini is Brooks Black at No. 9. After compiling a 5-4 record in Big Ten duals last season, the red-shirt junior seemingly turned a corner during the postseason as he racked up four wins over ranked wrestlers, highlighted by a defeat of No. 6 Denzel Dejournette in the opening round of NCAA Championships. After finishing 22-11 overall in his second year as a starter, Black will set his sights on entering the nation's upper echelon in his third season.
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