Brackets Released for Big Ten Wrestling Championships

Senior Brandon Becker has improved his Big Ten finish each season, including a second-place finish last season

Brackets Released for Big Ten Wrestling Championships

3/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

March 7, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The #20 Indiana University wrestling team begins the postseason this weekend at the Big Ten Championships held at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. Competition is scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 8 at 11 a.m. central time. Session two is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday while the championship round starts at noon on Sunday.

Complete Indiana Big Ten Championships Notes in PDF Format

Complete Big Ten Championships Brackets in PDF Format

Periodic bracket updates will be posted on the Minnesota wrestling homepage, located at www.gophersports.com. Match-by-match play-by-play from Sunday's championship round (starting at approximately 2 p.m.) will also be available.

Five Hoosiers received seeds for this weekends tournament, a pair of No. 3 seeds and three No. 6 seeds. Angel Escobedo and Brandon Becker filled the third seed slot in the 125-pound and 157-pound draws, respectively. Meanwhile, Matt Coughlin, Andrae Hernandez and Marc Bennett each garnered sixth seeds in their respective weight classes.

The Hoosiers are led by a man who knows all about being successful at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Head Coach Duane Goldman dominated in his four years at the University of Iowa under the tutelage of legendary head coach Dan Gable, going undefeated at Big Tens en route to four consecutive Big Ten Tournament titles from 1983-1986. He is one of only 10 individuals to ever earn four Big Ten Championships.

Several Hoosiers have placed at the Big Tens in previous seasons. Becker has improved his placement in each of his first three seasons; finishing, in order, fifth, third and second place. Hernandez placed sixth in 2005-06 and second a year ago. Additional Hoosiers that return after placing in last season's Big Ten Championships include: Nate Everhart (eighth), Marc Bennett (eighth), Trevor Perry (fifth), Matt Coughlin (fifth) and Angel Escobedo (third).