Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Big Ten Championships
No. 17 Hoosiers Close Out Big Ten Championships in 10th
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 5, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The No. 17 Indiana wrestling team closed out the 2006 Big Ten Championships at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., on March 5, with a 10th-place tally of 43.5 points. Overall, the Hoosiers grabbed five spots at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., from March 16-18.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Minnesota claimed the overall title with 138 points, while No. 9 Illinois finished second with 125 points. No. 2 Michigan rounded out the top three with a 115-point total.
In the 125-pound division, defending national champion Joe Dubuque swept his two bouts to finish in third place. Initially, he dominated Collin Cudd of Wisconsin with a 12-1 major decision, before downing No. 3-seed John Velez of Northwestern 2-1 in the third place bout. With the pair of conquests, Dubuque moved his record to 23-1 this season.
Redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez secured a spot at the NCAA Championships in the 133-pound division with an 8-1 victory over No. 8-seed Reece Humphrey of Ohio State to claim seventh place. The win moved Hernandez's record to 13-5 on the year.
Sophomore Brandon Becker also punched his ticket to the national meet in the 157-pound grouping with a pair of wins on the day to take third place. He opened up with a 5-4 triumph over No. 2-seed Craig Henning of Wisconsin, before downing No. 6-seed Steve Luke of Michigan by a 6-0 decision. With the stellar performance, Becker improved to 22-7 on the season.
Sophomore Max Dean became IU's fourth NCAA qualifier with a fifth-place effort. He started the day with a 3-2 loss to No. 2-seed Mike Poeta of Illinois, before knocking off Dan Bedoy of Purdue by a 2-1 count. The split pushed Dean's record to 23-14.
Sophomore Dave Herman snared Indiana's fifth berth in the NCAAs with a 3-1 decision over Max Lossen of Michigan State to garner seventh place. The victory advanced Herman's record to 26-14 on the season.
