Illinois has a rich tradition of producing quality wrestlers.
10 Eric Siebert
Eric was a 3x IHSA state placewinner, winning the state title in 1993. He holds the IHSA record for most consecutive pins at 40. At the University of Illinois he was a 4x national qualifier, a 3x all-american, and won the NCAA title in 1998 with a 36-0 record. His career record was 112-30.
9 Steve Marianetti
Steve is most often remembered for his stunning upset victory over Lincoln McIlravy in the 1995 NCAA finals. While that may be his claim to fame, his success in the sport did’t begin or end at that victory. His record of 44 wins in a single season, may be one that is never broken. He also racked up 118 career wins on his way to becoming a 3x all-american. After graduating he won Gold Medals at both the Senior Nationals and the Pan American Games.
8 Adam Tirapelle
Adam Tirapelle helped Illinois finish fifth at the 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships by taking the individual title at 149 pounds. It was Illinois’s best placing nationally since 1946. Tirapelle earned All-America honors three times and was the 2000 Big Ten Champion at 149 pounds. He holds the school-record with 15 pins in 1999-2000, ranks second on Illinois single-season wins list with 39, second in career wins with 127, is third in career pins with 33 and sixth in all-time win percentage (.858). Tirapelle qualified for the NCAA Championships all four years at Illinois, finishing second in 2000 and third in 1999 in addition to his 2001 title. One of the great leaders for the Illini, he was a three-time team captain and two-time Most Valuable Wrestler. Tirapelle was the 2001 Illinois Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year.
7 Ernest Benion
Ernest was a 2x state champion in high school, and even defeated another future NCAA champion in the state finals. Future teammate Eric Seibert. At UOI Benion was a 3x all american with a record of 121-34. He also won a Big 10 title, defeating a 3x NCAA champion in the finals. At the NCAA tournament he finished 3rd, 2nd, and 1st.
6 Jesse Delgado
Jesse came to Illinois, with a decorated resume. He was a California state champion, a FILA Junior Nationals Freestyle Champion, and a NHSCA Senior National Champion. At Illinois he would go on to become a 3x all-american, and 2x NCAA Champion. Finishing 7th as a freshman, and 1st his sophomore and junior seasons, before failing to place his senior year after battling injuries all season. He has quality wins over NCAA champions, Matt McDonough, and Nico Megaludis. Jesse finished his college career with a record of 101-16.
5 Bob Norman
Bob Norman won NCAA and Big Ten Championships in the heavyweight division in 1957 and 1958 while finishing his career undefeated (36-0-1) as a collegiate wrestler. He earned All-America honors both seasons he won national championships. Norman came to Illinois as a football player, but a knee injury as a freshman derailed his career in that sport, and he made the switch to wrestling. As a senior, Norman went 21-0 with 14 pins. It would of been interesting to see what he could of accomplished with a full career on the mat.
4 Matt Lackey
Matt was a 2x Illinois State champion from Moline, as well as a 2x Fargo national champion, winning titles as both a cadet and at the junior level. In 1996 Matt led Moline to a state Dual title capping a perfect 25-0 year. As a Fighting Illini, Matt was a 3x all-american finishing 3rd, 2nd and finally winning a NCAA title his senior year. During that final season at Illinois, Matt was a perfect 38-0, and collected titles at Midlands, Las Vegas, the Missouri Open, and the Big 10, before capturing the 2003 NCAA Championship. Matt was named the Illini of the decade, and Coach Mark Johnson said he was the best wrestler he had ever coached. He has quality wins over NCAA Champions, Joe Heskett, Ben Askren, Troy Letters, Johny Hendricks, and Donny Pritzlaff.
3 Joe Sapora
Joe Sapora was Illinois’ first two-time NCAA Champion, Big Ten Champion and All-American at 115 pounds during the 1929 and 1930 seasons. He later captured two Amateur Athletic Union titles for the New York Athletic Club. Sapora went on to coach wrestling at City College in New York from 1932 to 1968. During his 36 years at City College, Sapora helped steer Henry Wittenberg to the heavyweight gold medal in the 1948 Olympics, and led Jacob Twersky, a blind wrestler, to the NCAA finals in 1942. He was inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1994 and is a member of the CCNY Hall of Fame.
2 Isaiah Martinez
Imar burst onto the college scene in 2014, and dominated like very few have before him. I remember my high school coach saying, “this is the best wrestler I have ever seen” and the way he dominated his freshman season on the mat it was easy to believe the hype surrounding him. Going a perfect 35-0 with 24 wins by bonus points, he proved to the world the hype was for real. Isaiah repeated the following year, despite suffering his first college defeat. His Junior and Senior years he again reached the NCAA finals, but failed to defend his titles. Imar finished his college career, a 4x Big 10 Champion, a 4x NCAA finalist, and a 2x NCAA champion with an impressive college record of 116-3. He has quality wins over 3x NCAA Champion Jason Nolf and 2x NCAA Champion Vincenzo Joseph. His career accolades include, University Nationals 74kg Champion, Two-time Midlands Champion, and he also holds the Illinois career win percentage record. After graduating he became a 2x US Open National champion. In 2019, he won the World Cup crown at 74kg going 4-0.
1 Allie Morrison
Often times, when creating lists like these choosing number one is not an easy task. However at the University of Illinois it was quite easy. While records from this era are few and far between. I found enough info about Allie to justify his position as number one. He wrestled at the school before there was an official NCAA tournament. Between 1926 and 1928 he won 3 AAU National Tournaments, (the most respected tournament of the time) and never lost a match. In 1928 Allie went on to represent the United State at that years Olympics. He won a Gold medal without having a close match at the 134 weight class.
Honorable Mention:
John Lockhart
While in high school, John Lockhart was a four time state qualifier. He qualified three times while attending Hoopeston Area High School, placing 2nd as a junior. He was a Champion in 1997 as a senior while at Mahomet-Seymour High School. He had senior year record of 37-0 and had 122 career wins. John went on to the University of Illinois where he became a four time letter winner. He was a three time NCAA Division I All-American. He was the 2001 NCAA Heavyweight Champion and place 3rd in 2002 and seventh in 2000. He is presently fourth on Illinois career wins list with 122 and fourth on the career winning percentage list at .826. In addition, John is eighth on the Illini career pins list with 18. John helped Illinois to consecutive top ten finishes at the NCAA Championships from 2000 through 2002.
Jon Llewellyn
Jon began his career at Hinsdale Central High school, wrestling varsity for 4 years. As a senior he qualified for the state tournament. As a non-scholarship wrestler, he won 3 Big Ten Championships for the University of Illinois. He placed 3rd twice in the NCAA and as a senior won the National Championship, the first NCAA title holder in Illinois since 1958. He was named Illinois University Outstanding Athlete in 1991. He was also named the Outstanding Wrestler in the Big 10’s as a senior. He was champion of the Las Vegas College tournament, won the East-West All-star meet as a senior and placed three times in the Midlands. In international competition, Jon has placed 4 times in the USA open. He competed for the Wildcat club and was ranked in the top 6 at 220lb weight class.
Compare this list with Penn States list by clicking here.
