Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Ready for Las Vegas Invitational
11/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 30, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
Indiana heads west for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, where nearly 500 wrestlers will compete for a shot at the championship. Each team may bring a maximum of 10 wrestlers - one per weight class - and 11 teams ranked in the NWCA/Intermat Top 25 will have representatives at the event.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana went a perfect 5-0 on the day, sweeping the Hoosier Duals on Saturday, Nov. 25, in Assembly Hall. Four Hoosiers - Angel Escobedo, Matt Coughlin, Brandon Becker and Marc Bennett - were a perfect 5-0 on the day, with Escobedo pinning his final four adversaries and posting a major decision in his opening match. The Hoosiers held all five of their opponents - Appalachian State, Bucknell, University of the Cumberlands, Ohio and Oregon - to single digits at the event.
IU opened the duals with a 38-9 victory over ASU, with Indiana taking eight of the 10 matchups in the dual. Escobedo opened with a 15-3 major decision over Brody Essick, with Nick Walpole, Coughlin and Trevor Perry posting falls in the dual.
Indiana stormed out of the gates against Oregon, with Escobedo pinning Ryan Dunn in just 44 seconds. Hernandez followed by putting up a 16-0 technical fall of Joey Lucas at 133, while Coughlin pinned his second wrestler of the day at 149, falling Zack Frazier at the 6:49 mark. Co-captains Becker and Max Dean followed by giving IU consecutive major decisions at 157 and 165.
Against Bucknell, the Hoosiers tallied their most decisive victory of the day, taking a 44-3 decision, and Indiana moved its tally to 4-0 against the Patriots, posting a 41-6 victory. The Hoosiers closed out the duals with a 31-9 victory over Ohio, as Indiana won the first six weight classes to jump out to an insurmountable 25-0 lead.
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).
EARNING WOWS
Redshirt freshman Angel Escobedo was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday, Nov. 29, after going 5-0 at the Hoosier Duals last weekend. Escobedo is the first IU wrestler to garner WOW honors since his predecessor at 125 pounds, Joe Dubuque, won the award on Dec. 22, 2004. After posting a major decision in his first match, the 125-pound Escobedo pinned each of the following four wrestlers he faced, registering falls on three of his adversaries in the first period. Escobedo pinned Delrico Choates, the top-ranked wrestler in the NAIA, in 4:04, helping the Hoosiers to a 41-6 victory over Cumberland. Escobedo is now 10-1 on the year, with his only loss coming to Lock Haven's Obenson Blanc, the seventh-ranked wrestler in the nation according to the NWCA/Intermat poll, by a 2-1 score.
MAKING HIS MARC
With a 5-0 record at the Hoosier Duals, 184-pounder Marc Bennett remained the only undefeated IU wrestler this season. Bennett wrestled his way to the MSU Open championship then sat out the Missouri Open before going perfect at the Hoosier Duals. For the year, Bennett has posted three pins and one major decision, climbing all the way to eighth in the Amateur Wrestling News poll, and is 16th in the most recent Wrestling International Newsmagazine poll. Bennett, who went 12-16 a season ago at 174, is just two victories shy of setting a career high in 2006-07.
HISTORY BECKONS
Two-time All-American Brandon Becker was equally dominant at the Duals, going a perfect 5-0 with his closest competition being Oregon's Jeremy McLaughlin, who Becker allowed just one point in a 13-1 major decision. Becker posted a pair of technical falls and two pins in his other four matches.
Becker is currently ranked in the top five of all the major polls. Becker will have a chance to improve his ranking at Las Vegas as consensus top-10 wrestlers Brian Stith of Arizona State, Craig Henning of Wisconsin and Andrew Flanagan of Harvard are all expected to be at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in the 157-pound bracket.
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 Edinboro's Matt Hill, who was seeded fourth in the event and is now ranked seventh in the nation in the latest Amateur Wrestling News poll. Becker rebounded by beating Penn's Gary Zanetti and teammate Paul Young to grab third place at the event.
ON THE MATT
Redshirt freshman Matt Coughlin was the fourth IU wrestler to go 5-0 at the Hoosier Duals, pinning his opponents in three of the five matches. Coughlin was also part of the most exciting match of the entire duals, as he took a 7-5 double-overtime decision over Bucknell's Michael Guttilla, as the two grapplers fought back-and-forth for 11 minutes in the bout.
Coughlin is now 10-1 on the season after going 5-1 at Michigan State and taking a third-place finish. 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. The Evansville, Ind., native's only loss came to the top seed at MSU, Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie, who is currently ranked third in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, Wrestling International Newsmagazine and NWCA/Intermat.
PERRYING HIS OPPOSITION
Redshirt freshman Trevor Perry had a chance to become the fifth IU grappler to go 5-0 at the Hoosier Duals, but was stopped in his chance for perfection in the final meet of the day by Ohio's Antione Love, who pinned Perry in 3:19. Perry earned two pins and a major decision in his four victories, going 4-1 on the day to run his season record to 8-2.
Perry won his first four matches at the Michigan State Open, 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. The Davison, Mich., native now has two major decisions and three pins to his name on the season.
NICK OF TIME
True freshman Nick Walpole continues to impress this season at 141 pounds after going 3-1 in the Hoosier Duals. Walpole kicked off his day by pinning Appalachian State's Jake Calhoun in just 38 seconds, and added a pair of major decisions later in the day. The Indianapolis native and former Perry Meridian standout has an 11-3 record with five pins and a team-leading four major decisions on the year.
Walpole posted a 5-0 record in the freshman/sophomore division at Missouri and opened the season with a 3-2 record at the Michigan State Open.
DEAN OF STUDENTS
Junior Max Dean posted a 4-0 record at the Hoosier Duals, including a major decision and a technical fall. Dean sat out the Appalachian State dual, as freshman Eli Cook took an 8-5 decision in his dual-meet debut for the Hoosiers. Dean posted a technical fall of Cumberland's Chuck Simmions, and earned a 10-2 major decision over Oregon's Kyle Bounds.
Dean, who went 5-1 to finish third at the Michigan State Open, has a 9-1 record on the year and a career mark of 60-32. He has twice qualified for the NCAA Championship, posting fifth-place finishes at the Big Ten Championship in each of his first two years for the Hoosiers. Dean is a two-time NWCA Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice.
ANDRAE THE GIANT
No. 16 Andrae Hernandez had a solid performance at the Hoosier Duals, going 4-1 with his only blemish being a 7-2 decision at the hands of 20th-ranked Terreyl Williams of Appalachian State. Williams was the only non-Hoosier to go 5-0 at the duals. Hernandez rebounded from that loss to post a 16-0 technical fall of Oregon's Joey Lucas, and went on to win his final three bouts to wrap up the duals with a 4-1 mark, adding another technical fall and two major decisions.
Hernandez went 3-1 at the Missouri Open in the 133-pound division to finish the event in second place, and now has a 9-4 mark on the year. The sophomore has two pins, three major decisions and two technical falls in 2006-07, a year after going 28-11 and qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
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.
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.
