There were no controversies this time. No trips to the table or refs conferring. Fifth-year senior 157-pounder Ian Miller, for the first time in a long time, lost fair and square.
But that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking.
Miller was as aggressive as one should be against the defending national champion in the semifinals.
“I thought he wrestled hard,” head coach Jim Andrassy said. “I thought he put himself in a position to win. In regulation he had more takedowns than (Isaiah Martinez).
Down 4-3, Miller took down Illinois’s No. 1 seed Martinez with one minute left.