Jackson, Oliver Advance Through First Day of Big Ten Championships

Saturday, March 5

Iowa City, IA

11:00 AM

Indiana University

Big Ten Wrestling Championships - Session I

Jackson, Oliver Advance Through First Day of Big Ten Championships

3/6/2016 2:21:00 AM | Wrestling

Indiana’s highest-ranked wrestlers remain in the race for top-three podium finishes

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The dust has settled on the first day of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The field of 140 grapplers has dwindled down to 82 hopeful podium finishers. Among the hopefuls is a pair of Hoosiers, junior Nate Jackson (174) and freshman Elijah Oliver (125).

Jackson and Oliver had nearly identical paths to their current resting place in their consolation semifinals matches. Both opened with strong first-round wins and fell in the quarterfinals to the fourth-seeds in their respective classes. In the wrestle-backs, the pair strung together two wins each, including wins over familiar opponents.

Tomorrow, both will face a tough environment at Carver-Hawkeye arena, as they'll face second-seeded Hawkeyes in front of an Iowa-heavy crowd.

"It's an influential crowd," said Indiana head coach Duane Goldman. "They'll probably have around 12,000 Hawkeye fans cheering against them, but that's the kind of adversity they need to face as they head into the NCAA Championships. They're the kind of matches they have to be ready for. They have to do a good job of cutting their weight tonight, and they'll have to be ready to go from the first whistle and finish strong.

Jackson battled for a major decision win in the opening round over Maryland's Josh Snook before falling short in a rematch against Ohio State's Myles Martin. He rebounded in the wrestle-backs with a tech fall over Michigan's Aaron Calderon, and pushed into the consolation semifinals after a tight 3-2 decision over Phil Bakuckas (Rutgers).

Oliver opened in dramatic fashion, scoring in the final seconds for a 4-3 win over Minnesota's Steven Polakowski. After a loss to Nebraska's Tim Lambert, Oliver won in sudden victory against Mitch Rogaliner (Michigan State). He advanced to the consolation semifinals with an 8-6 decision over Sean McCabe (Rutgers).

Five Wins Against Familiar Faces

One of the greatest elements of the Big Ten Championships is the high volume of rematches from the Big Ten dual season. Against familiar opponents, the Hoosiers amassed five victories in both the championship and consolation brackets.

Luke Blanton (149) and Alonzo Shepherd (133) took the accomplishment even further by exacting revenge on opponents who beat them in the regular season. Blanton opened his day with a 4-3 win over sixth-seed Alex Griffin (Purdue), who won 8-4 in their dual meeting. Shepherd met Michigan State's Garth Yenter in the first wrestle-back round, and emerged with a 12-10 win after losing 5-2 in January.

Other Hoosiers with wins over familiar opponents included Nate Jackson (13-5 over Maryland's Josh Snook; 3-2 over Phil Bakuckas) and Elijah Oliver (SV-1, 9-7 over Michigan State's Mitch Rogaliner).

Seniors on the Ropes

Three Hoosier seniors dropped to the wrestle-backs after first round losses, and their ensuing matches could have been the final bouts of their collegiate careers. Two seniors rejected that notion and snapped losing streaks with wins in their second bouts of the day. Alonzo Shepherd (133) took care of business with a 12-10 win over Garth Yenter (Michigan State), and Matt Irick (184) pinned Northwestern's Regis Durbin in 2:23.

Even Garret Goldman, who fell short in his two bouts on Saturday, left it all on the mat in his final day. The Hoosier hung tough against top-seeded Adam Coon (Michigan) in the opening round, and followed with a valiant effort against one of the top heavyweights in the country, Nick Nevills (Penn State).

"It's big for them," Goldman said. "It reaffirmed that they belong here, that they're one of the guys in this tournament that have established themselves. They can know that they're one of the top guys in the country, and that they're competing at a high level in the best conference in the country."

Underclassmen Hint at Bright Future

Four of Indiana's freshmen and sophomores delivered high-level showings on the tournament's opening day, picking up wins in the championship and consolation brackets.

Blanton's first round win over Alex Griffin gave him another win over a ranked opponent, giving the sophomore a shot at breaking into the pool of 33 wrestlers who will head to the NCAA Championships.

In the wrestle-backs, Bryce Martin (165) and Jake Masengale (197) picked up solid wins in their second bouts. Martin edged Northwestern's Luke Norland with a 5-2 decision, and Masengale earned one of the first session's fastest pins in 1:32.

Up Next: Session III of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Sunday, March 6 • Begins at 1:00 p.m. ET
BTN Plus: Mat 1 | Mat 2 | Mat 3

Jackson and Oliver will battle for spots in their respective third-place finals, but their path is front-loaded with adversity. Both grapplers will face Iowa Hawkeyes, the hometown favorites, who are coming off of losses in the championship semifinals.

Oliver will get things started with his bout against second-seeded Thomas Gilman, one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the nation. In their last meeting, Gilman won a 12-4 major decision.

Jackson faces a rematch against second-seeded Alex Meyer for a shot at the third place bout. Their previous meeting came down to the wire in Iowa City last month, but Meyer emerged victorious with an 8-7 decision.

Both Hoosiers can finish no lower than sixth in the Big Ten Championships. Given the Big Ten's NCAA qualifier allocations, both have punched their tickets for Madison Square Garden and the NCAA Championships in two weeks.