Indiana University Athletics
Wrestling Sets for Missouri Open
11/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 17, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
The IU wrestling squad heads to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Open on Sunday, Nov. 19. The Hoosiers opened their season a week ago, as 11 wrestlers placed at the Michigan State Open on Nov. 12. Marc Bennett highlighted the event, beating three ranked wrestlers to win the title at 184 pounds, moving up from 174. Ten other Hoosiers placed at the event.
LAST TIME OUT
Junior Marc Bennett (184 pounds) took home first place, as 11 Hoosier wrestlers placed in eight different weight classes at the Michigan State Open on Sunday, Nov. 12. Redshirt freshman Trevor Perry finished in second place at 174 pounds, while four other grapplers took third-place finishes.
Brandon Becker (157), Matt Coughlin (149), Max Dean (165) and Angel Escobedo (125) all took third place in their weight classes, while Justin Curran (197) and Paul Young (157) each took fourth. Freshman Nathan Everhart placed fifth at 197 pounds in his first collegiate competition, while Dave Herman (HWT) and Kurt Kinser (149) each finished sixth. In the lone matchup between IU wrestlers on the day, Becker bested Young in the third-place bout. Young, Everhart and Kinser all competed unattached at the Open.
Bennett, who went 12-16 at 174 pounds a year ago, went 5-0 on the day, including two pins. The unseeded Bennett shocked the field, besting all of the top three seeds to take the title with a 3-2 victory over top-seed Alex Clemsen. Clemsen was ranked third in the country by the National Wrestling Coaches Association entering the season. Perry won his first four matches to advance to the championship bout with Penn's Matt Herrington. Herrington took the match 5-2 to claim the title at 174.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Indiana Athletic Media Relations Staff Assistant Matt Brady is the primary media relations contact for the wrestling team. He can be reached at his office (812-856-0215), via cell phone (413-222-2788) or e-mail (mlbrady@indiana.edu). Please contact Brady with all player and coach interview requests at least 24 hours in advance.
HISTORY BECKONS
Two-time All-American Brandon Becker opened his 2006 campaign with a third-place finish at 157 pounds, going 5-1 for the event. The top-seeded Becker registered a major decision, a pin and a technical fall in his first three matches, before being defeated by Edinboro's Matt Hill, who was seeded fourth in the event and entered the season ranked 17th by NWCA/Intermat. Becker rebounded by beating Penn's Gary Zanetti and teammate Paul Young to grab third place at the event.
Becker went 28-9 a season ago and earned sixth-team All-America status after finishing fifth in 2005. Becker is looking to become the sixth wrestler in IU history to be a three-time All-American. The Kingsway, N.J., native has a career record of 66-23 for IU.
MAKING HIS MARC
Junior Marc Bennett made quite an impression in his first event of 2006-07, winning all five of his matches to take the MSU Open title at 184 pounds. Bennett defeated three ranked wrest-lers in the process, culminating with a 3-2 decision over third-ranked Alex Clemsen of Edinboro, who was the event's top seed. Bennett defeated the top three seeds at the event and registered falls in his other two wins.
Bennett has wrestled most of his Hoosier career at 174 pounds, going 12-16 overall in 2005-06, including an 8-9 dual meet record. Bennett is now 24-20 in his career with 11 pins.
FULFILLING EXPECTATIONS
Indiana's three redshirt freshman standouts - Angel Escobedo, Matt Coughlin and Trevor Perry - all had strong outings in East Lansing, with Perry finishing second at 174 and Coughlin and Escobedo taking third at 149 and 125, respectively.
Perry won his first four matches at MSU, including a fall and a major decision, to advance to a finals matchup with Penn's Matt Herrington. The second-ranked Herrington took a close 5-2 decision in the finals after recording two major decisions and two falls in his first four matches. Perry, who went 17-7 as a redshirt a year ago, defaulted Ohio State's Blake Maurer in the semifinals to face Herrington in the final match.
Escobedo won his first three matches in East Lansing, including his first career fall, pinning Clint Frutiger of Michigan State in 4:15. Escobedo's only loss of the Open came to seventh-ranked Obe Blanc of Lock Haven in a 2-1 decision. Escobedo defeated his final two opponents by a combined 9-1 to take home third.
Coughlin entered the Open as the fifth seed and won his first three matches by a point each. He then went up against No. 3 Gregor Gillespie, with the sophomore taking a 4-0 decision. Coughlin topped 19th-ranked Jason Johnstone and third-seed Ryan Hitschler to go 5-1.
DEAN OF STUDENTS
Junior Max Dean kicked off his 2006-07 campaign by taking third place in the 165-pound division at Michigan State. Dean, the second seed, registered three wins before facing UNC's Keegan Mueller, who unseated Dean with a 6-3 decision. Dean rebounded to top Penn's Jeff Zanetti and MSU's Rocky Cozart to take the third-place crown. Dean, a 2005 and 2006 NWCA Scholar Athlete, finished last season 26-16 with a 10-6 mark in dual meets.
STRONG BEGINNINGS
True freshmen Kurt Kinser (149) and Paul Young (157) competed unattached in East Lansing, and both blazed a similar trail in the Open. The two former Bloomington South standouts each lost in their first career matches, but rallied in the consolation bracket to place in their respective weight classes.
Kinser lost a 9-8 decision to senior Jermain Thompson in the first round, then won his next five bouts to clinch a spot in the fifth-place bout. Kinser was then topped by Hitschler and Gillespie to take home sixth.
Likewise, Young was bested 7-6 by UNC's Chris Ramos before running off a string of victories that matched him up with Becker in the 157-pound, third-place bout. Young won six consecutive matches, including victories over fifth seed Tony Greathouse and second seed Eric Neil, to face Becker with third place on the line. Both wrestlers are expected to redshirt this season.
HAVE AN EVERHART
True freshman Nathan Everhart also competed unattached for the Hoosiers at MSU, finishing fifth at 197 pounds. Evehart upended third seed Tony Lyssiotis in the second round with a 4-3 decision after disposing of Ohio's Justin Reichad with a 13-0 major decision. Everhart then downed MSU's Nick Palmeiri with a 5-1 victory, but was topped by Michigan's Nick Roy in the semifinals.
Adding to Everhart's award resume was his selection as IU Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week ending Nov. 12. The award is selected on a weekly basis by IU Athletics' Academic Services. The Tinley Park, Ill., native is pursuing a degree in biology in order to attend dental school after graduation.
IN THE POLLS
The Hoosiers began the season ranked in the top 25 in four different polls, including a rank of 13th by TheWrestlingMall.com. IU is ranked 19th by the NWCA/Intermat and 14th by RevWrestling.com. Seven different Hoosiers are ranked in those three polls, with two-time All-American Brandon Becker leading the way, as he is ranked third in the country in three of the four polls. Matt Coughlin is the only other IU wrestler to be ranked in all four polls.
DUALING AWAY
Indiana will play host to the Hoosier Duals on Saturday, Nov. 25, as five teams will visit Assembly Hall for the day-long event, which begins at 10 a.m. Indiana will see Appalachian State, Bucknell, University of the Cumberlands, Ohio and Oregon visit Bloomington that Saturday. Each team will take part in five dual meets on the day, as three meets will take place simultaneously. IU will face Appalachian State in the first meet of the day, followed by Oregon, Bucknell, Cumberland and Ohio. The Hoosiers have never faced Bucknell, Oregon or Cumberland and are 1-0-0 all-time against Appalachian State. IU has faced the Bobcats 12 times, holding a 9-2-1 all-time advantage. Ohio topped Indiana in the last meeting between the two squads, taking a 25-15 decision on Jan. 11, 2004, at the Wendy's Duals.
