PARK RIDGE, Ill. (UI Release) - Illinois
sophomore All-American Jesse Delgado was named the Big Ten Wrestler of
the Week, the conference announced Tuesday,
after the third-ranked Delgado upset No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa), 9-4,
last Friday and scored a decision against Northwestern's Dominick Malone
in the Illini's win over the Wildcats.
Against
Iowa, Delgado scored two takedowns in the first period and McDonough
escaped once to make the score 2-1 after three minutes. Delgado was on
offense the entire second
period, notching two more takedowns, while McDonough notched another
escape. The Hawkeye grappler earned two more points by escape and a
stalling call on Delgado in the third, but it was not enough as Delgado
earned the riding time point and won, 9-4. With
Delgado's win, the Illini wrestler broke McDonough's 42-match win
streak. The last time the Hawkeye had dropped a match was to Delgado in
December 2011.
The
sophomore then earned his 17th win this season as he moved past
Northwestern's Malone on Sunday by a 4-0 decision. He was one of seven
Illini to win their matches as
the Orange and Blue wrapped up their conference dual season with a 24-10
win over the Wildcats.
This
marks the second conference honor of his career and first this season.
The last Illini to be named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week was Daryl
Thomas on Nov. 27, 2012.