Hoosiers Place Two Wrestlers in Big Ten Semifinals

Saturday, March 4

Bloomington, IN

10 AM

Indiana University

Session I

Hoosiers Place Two Wrestlers in Big Ten Semifinals

3/4/2017 4:16:00 PM | Wrestling

Session I Brackets (PDF)

Jackson enters rubber match with Brooks; Eight IU grapplers remain

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – An exciting opportunity began for Indiana's wrestling team on Saturday morning with the commencement of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. It's the first mat action on the court in 11 years at Indiana, when they last hosted the greatest conference tournament in wrestling.

This year, two Indiana wrestlers are still in the hunt for Big Ten supremacy. Returning NCAA All-American and senior Nate Jackson (184) earned a pair of wins to gain a semifinal spot against a familiar foe. Elijah Oliver (125), Jackson's NCAA counterpart, utilized past match experience to score a couple of close decisions.

Oliver opened the day for Indiana with a bout with Michael Beck (Maryland) and snagged a 3-2 decision on his short time takedown in the third period. The sophomore followed with another close bout, a 5-3 decision win against Ben Thornton (Purdue).

Jackson, for the first time in his career, enters the Big Ten semifinals after two solid victories in the first session. It started with a shortened bout, a 19-3 technical fall in 3:51 over Idris White (Maryland).

The overstuffed 184 lbs. bracket ensured a top-15 opponent in the quarterfinals. For Jackson, that meant a rematch with 6-seed and 11^th-ranked Emery Parker (Illinois). Jackson notched takedowns in the first and second periods to build a 5-2 lead at the start of the third period. Parker pulled back with a crucial takedown and took the risk by cutting Jackson to give the Hoosier a 6-4 lead, but Jackson fended off short time attacks to take the semifinal spot.

Indiana nearly had three wrestlers in their respective semifinals, as freshman Devin Skatzka (174) came two points from the biggest upset of his young career. Skatzka entered the quarterfinals against top-seeded Bo Jordan (Ohio State) and had the advantage heading into the final period, but couldn't hold off Jordan's comeback.

Tied at 4-4 after one period, Skatzka broke for the escape and scored a takedown while shutting Jordan out for a 7-4 advantage heading into the final two minutes. At that point, Jordan grabbed an escape and two takedowns, riding out the period for a 9-8 win.

Up Next: Session II of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Saturday, March 4 • 6:00 p.m. ET • Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall

The Hoosiers will brace for this evening's second session, which includes two consolation rounds split by the championship semifinals. The following Hoosiers will begin this session in the following matchups:

Championship Semifinals
125: Elijah Oliver (Indiana) vs. #6 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) | Series: Lambert, 2-0
184: #8 Nate Jackson (Indiana) vs. #3 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) | Series: Tied, 1-1

Consolation Second Round
141: Cole Weaver (Indiana) vs. #14 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska)
157: Jake Danishek (Indiana) vs. #19 John Van Brill (Rutgers)
165: Bryce Martin (Indiana) vs. #17 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)
174: Devin Skatzka (Indiana) vs. Chris Pfarr (Minnesota)
197: Jake Hinz (Indiana) vs. Christian Brunner (Purdue)
285: Fletcher Miller (Indiana) vs. Razohnn Gross (Rutgers)