Indiana University Athletics
Wrestling Hosts Hoosier Duals
11/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 22, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
Indiana hosts the second annual Hoosier Duals on Saturday, Nov. 25, as
five different schools come to Bloomington to take part in a series of dual
meets. Appalachian State, Bucknell, Cumberland, Ohio and Oregon all will
wrestle at Assembly Hall. Bucknell and Cumberland will take part in four
dual meets, while the remaining squads will wrestle in five.
LAST TIME OUT
Ten different Hoosiers placed in the top four at the Missouri Open on
Sunday, Nov. 19. In the Open division, Josh Buuck and Dave Herman finished
as co-champions at heavyweight while competing unattached, while Nick
Walpole took the 141-pound title in the freshman/sophomore division. Five
Hoosiers finished in the top four in each division.
Buuck and Herman each won their first three matches to face off in the heavyweight final. Rather than go head-to-head for the championship, the teammates elected to finish as co-champions at the division. Herman, the top seed, registered a pair of decisions and a disqualification, while Buuck pinned all three of his opponents, including a fall of the second seed, Oklahoma's Brad Farmer, in 1:31.
IU had a pair of wrestlers finish second in the Open division, with Andrae Hernandez finishing as runner-up at 133 pounds and Kurt Kinser taking second at 149.
After going 3-2 at the MSU Open, Walpole was a perfect 5-0 in the freshman/sophomore division at Missouri to take the title. Walpole dominated the competition, registering two falls and two major decisions leading up to the final, then took a 10-3 decision over Chattanooga's Mark Nicely in the final.
Freshmen Nick Avery (174) and Kyle Sammuels (165) each took second-place finishes while competing unattached.
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 wrestler and coach
interview requests at least 24 hours in advance.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Hoosiers have faced only two of the five teams that will pay visit
to Bloomington this weekend. This will mark the first meeting for the
Hoosiers against Bucknell, Cumberland and Ohio. Indiana defeated Appalachian State in the only dual between the two squads, topping the Mountaineers 22-18 on Jan. 2, 1993. The Hoosiers have faced Ohio 12 times in the history of the two schools, going 9-2-1 all-time. The Bobcats bested the Hoosiers in the last dual, a 25-15 victory at the Wendy¹s Duals in Ashland, Ohio, in 2004.
NICK OF TIME
With his 5-0 record in the freshman/sophomore division at Missouri,
freshman Nick Walpole improved his season record to 8-2, including three
major decisions and three falls. The Indianapolis native has been impressive in the early going at 141 pounds, and has worked his way to a starting spot at the class. Walpole opened the season with a 3-2 record at the Michigan State Open.
MOVING ON UP
By virtue of their top-two finishes at Michigan State, junior Marc
Bennett (184) and redshirt freshman Trevor Perry (174) have found their way
into the Amateur Wrestling News rankings. Bennett vaulted all the way to the 11th slot after taking the title at MSU, and dropped Edinboro¹s Alex Clemsen from fourth to seventh by defeating him in the 184-pound final. Perry is ranked 20th to give the Hoosiers eight wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their individual weight classes.
BOUNCING BACK
After going 2-2 at MSU, sophomore Andrae Hernandez rebounded with a
second-place finish at the Missouri Open, pinning two of his first three
opponents to advance to the finals. The 16th-ranked Hernandez gave
fifth-ranked Matt Keller of Chattanooga all he could handle, as Keller
needed overtime to defeat the Griffith, Ind., native by a score of 6-4. Last season, Hernandez went 28-11, including a 7-1 mark in Big Ten action, and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
HISTORY BECKONS
Two-time All-American Brandon Becker opened his 2006 campaign with a
third-place finish at 157 pounds, going 5-1 at MSU. The top-seeded Becker
registered a major decision, a pin and a technical fall in his first three
matches, before being defeated by Edinboro¹s Matt Hill, who was seeded
fourth in the event and entered the season ranked 17th by NWCA/Intermat.
Becker rebounded by beating Penn¹s Gary Zanetti and teammate Paul Young to
grab third place at the event.
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 event¹s 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
Indiana¹s 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, at the Michigan State Open.
Perry won his first four matches at MSU, including a fall and a major decision, to advance to a finals matchup with Penn¹s 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 State¹s 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. Coughlin also topped 19th-ranked Jason Johnstone and third-seed Ryan Hitschler in the wrestleback to go 5-1.
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 Ohio¹s
Justin Reichad with a 13-0 major decision. Everhart then downed MSU¹s Nick
Palmeiri with a 5-1 victory, but was topped by Michigan¹s Nick Roy in the
semifinals.
Adding to Everhart¹s 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.
STRONG BEGINNINGS
True freshmen Kurt Kinser (149) and Paul Young (157) competed unattached
at Michigan State and Missouri, and both placed in each event. Both
Bloomington South alums took part in the Open division in Missouri rather
than wrestling in the Freshman/Sophomore division.
Kinser took first place at 149 pounds with a 2-1 decision over preseason No. 11 Aaron Martin. Young, on the other hand, finished fifth at 157 pounds, with his two losses coming to top seed Mike Poeta of Illinois and third seed Nick Marable of Missouri. Kinser is now 10-3 while Young is 9-4 on the year. Both wrestlers are expected to redshirt this season.
