Day 1 of the NCAA Wrestling Championships are in the books and the Fighting Illini sit in 23rd place. This is a far cry from the past six years, which have seen them finish between 7th and 12th by tournament’s end. However, it’s not that surprising given that only 5 Illini qualified and some bad matchups were drawn for them.

Session 1

At 125 pounds, Travis Piotrowski was pinned by Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State in 1:47. Piccininni moved to 24-3 on the year and went on to win his second round match. He’ll now face Iowa’s Spencer Lee, who has won both his matches in 18-0 tech falls, this morning.