EDWARDSVILLE – SIUE heavyweight Jake McKiernan pulled off the biggest win of his collegiate career Wednesday night with a 6-0 win over No. 6-ranked Illinois wrestler Brooks Black.
"That was a huge win for him," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates.
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SIUE dropped the team battle, however, falling to the Fighting Illini 30-10 at Edwardsville High School's Jon Davis Center.
"We came to wrestle, which was the biggest thing," said Spates. "The last few years we were beat before we stepped out on the mat. We gave ourselves some chances to win."
McKiernan's shutout was in between a pair of SIUE victories. Jake Tindle collected a 6-1 win over Andre Lee at 197 pounds. Freddie Rodriguez, ranked No. 12 nationally, grabbed a major decision over Illinois' Travis Piotrowski 14-6.
Five of Illinois' six wrestlers who are nationally ranked walked away winners. Illinois had two pins and a major decision.
Trevor Feagans turned in a strong match, dropping a 5-3 decision on a late takedown by Mousa Jodeh at 141 pounds.
"We're not satisfied with the loss but we're happy with where we are at as a team," said Spates. "We're getting better. Now we have a quick turnaround with Northwestern so we're excited to face another Big Ten team."
SIUE travels to Northwestern Saturday for an 8 p.m. matchup against the Wildcats in Evanston, Illinois.
Illinois 30 SIUE 10
165 - #1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over Sam Zimmerman (SIUE) (Fall 1:10)
174 - #12 Zach Brunson (Illinois) over Jake Residori (SIUE) (Dec 4-1)
184 - #12 Emory Parker (Illinois) over Jake Godinez (SIUE) (MD 18-5)
197 - Jake Tindle (SIUE) over Andre Lee (Illinois) (Dec 6-1)
285 - Jake McKiernan (SIUE) over #6 Brooks Black (Illinois) (Dec 6-0)
125 - #12Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) over Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) (MD 14-6)
133 - #2 Zane Richards (Illinois) over John Muldoon (SIUE) (MD 15-5)
141 - Mousa Jodeh (Illinois) over Trevor Feagans (SIUE) (SV-1 5-3)
149 - Brock Ervin (Illinois) over Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) (MD 9-1)
157 - Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) (Fall 1:14)
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