Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Midlands Finals
Hoosiers Finish Eighth at Midlands
12/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 31, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Indiana wrestling team took eighth place at the 43rd annual Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University on Dec. 29-30. Senior Brady Richardson led all Hoosier grapplers with a third-place performance and an overall 3-1 record at the championships.
Fourth-ranked Illinois (115.5) captured the team crown followed by second-place Central Michigan (112.5). Michigan State (99.0), Iowa (83.0) and Iowa State (82.5) rounded out the top five, while Indiana finished with a team total of 66 points.
Redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez (133 pounds) met stiff competition in the second day of the championships, turning in a fifth-place outing behind a 4-1 record. In Hernandez's semifinal match, the first-year starter fell to the eventual champion Tommy Vargas (California State-Bakersville) before defeating Dan Dennis of Iowa in the fifth-place bout.
At 157 pounds, sophomore Brandon Becker took on the nation's second-ranked grappler in Johnny Johnston of Iowa. Becker took the match down to the wire before falling in an 8-5 decision. Becker, a 2005 All American, finished in fourth-place behind a 3-2 performance at the Midlands championships.
Sophomore Max Dean finished in sixth place at 165 pounds, defeating sixth-seeded Brian Busby (California State-Bakersville) by a 6-3 decision before falling to two of the nation's best in seventh-ranked Travis Paulson of Iowa State, 3-1, and eighth-seeded Ray Blake, 3-2. Dean finished with a record of 6-3 at the championships.
At 174 pounds, sophomore Justin Curran grappled to a seventh-place finish behind a 4-2 record over the weekend. Curran completed the event on a winning note, topping John Murray of Michigan State in a 7-4 decision.
Two-time NCAA qualifier Richardson turned in the Hoosiers' top performance with a third-place outing. Richardson faced some of the best grapplers that 197 pounds has to offer, finishing with a 3-1 record and a decision over the nation's eighth-ranked grappler in Matt Delguyd (Northwestern), Dec. 3-2.
The Hoosiers will begin the New Year with their first 2006 competition on Jan.13-14 at the Virginia Duals in Norfolk, Va.
Players Mentioned
