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Overtime wrestlers achieved new record performances and contributed heavily to Team Illinois historic freestyle showings this year at the 2011 USAW Cadet and Junior National Championships. Team Illinois won both the Cadet and Junior freestyle divisions by wide margins, with half of the wrestlers on each squad coming from the Overtime School of Wrestling.
Counting Ben Whitford's (135 pounds) Junior Greco-Roman and Junior freestyle national championships for Team Michigan, Overtime wrestlers won 22 All-American honors this year. Colin Holler (140 pounds) scored an impressive national championship victory in his Cadet freestyle bracket. Haley Augello (105 pounds) won a Women's Junior freestyle national championship without being scored on by any of her seven opponents.
Sam Brooks (189 pounds) won a pair of All-American honors in the Junior age division, with a third place finish in Greco-Roman and a fourth place finish in freestyle.
Joining national champion Colin Holler (140 pounds) on the All-American stand in the Cadet freestyle division were Sebastian Pique (112 pounds), with third place, and Jordan Reich (84 pounds) and Garrett Sutton (125 pounds), who each won sixth place. Rounding out the All-American awards at the Cadet level for Overtime were seventh place finisher Josh Alber (112 pounds) and a pair of eighth place finishers in Nick Lukanich (84 pounds) and Nicholas Gil (119 pounds).
In the Junior age group, both Team Illinois and Team Overtime wrestlers were even more dominant. Brian Murphy (145 pounds) and Edwin Cooper (152 pounds) both finished runner-ups in the national finals. Angelo Silvestro (140 pounds) and the aforementioned Sam Brooks (189 pounds) took third and fourth place, respectively. Austin Marsden (285 pounds) won fifth place, while Jimmy Panozzo (112 pounds), Jered Cortez (119 pounds), and Spartacus Chino (160 pounds) all ended up in sixth place. Eighth place award winners Zachary Synon (125 pounds) and Brad Johnson (189 pounds) rounded out the Junior freestyle All-Americans for Overtime.
Joel Schump (119 pounds) won seventh place in the Junior Greco-Roman division.
In total, Overtime wrestlers accounted for 7 of the 14 All-Americans for Team Illinois' Cadet freestyle national championship squad and 10 of the 20 All-Americans for Team Illinois' Junior freestyle national championship squad.
"Throughout the tournament, our Cadets and Juniors competed hard," said Overtime Coach Kerry Boumans. "They were very determined to win in every period and in every position. It showed in the results for Team Illinois!"
Team Illinois' Junior freestyle team had seven finalists and scored a staggering 93 team points. Team Iowa came in second place with 55 points, while Team Wisconsin took third place with 32 points.
The Team Illinois' Cadet freestyle team scored 70 points. Pennsylvania was second with 60 points, and Minnesota ended up a distant third place with 42 points.
Team Illinois also won the Junior Greco-Roman division and placed third in the Cadet Greco-Roman standings.
Wrestlers who finish in the top eight in their bracket at the tournament score team points and are referred to "All-Americans." Team points at the event are scored as 8 points for first place, 7 points for second place, 6 points for third place, 5 points for fourth place, 4 points for fifth place, 3 points for sixth place, 2 points for seventh place, and 1 points for eighth place.
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