Six Illini will compete today in the first round of the NCAA championships. Staff writer SCOTT RICHEY caught up with them before they left Champaign for Pittsburgh:
No. 4 Emery Parker (18-3)
Weight class: 184 pounds
First-round opponent: No. 29 Will Schany (14-13), Virginia
Who has been the most influential in your wrestling career?
I can name a lot. Some of the bigger ones are (Illinois assistant Mike Poeta), (Illinois coach Jim Heffernan), my dad. Those are probably the three guys I look up to the most and I've worked with the most over the past couple years.