Pair of Hoosiers Take Titles at Keystone Classic

Sunday, November 22

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

Indiana University

Keystone Classic

Pair of Hoosiers Take Titles at Keystone Classic

11/22/2015 9:59:00 PM | Wrestling

Jackson defends Keystone title; Oliver wins first career championship

PHILADELPHA, Pa. – The Indiana wrestling team concluded a successful Keystone Classic showing with three podium finishes at the Palestra. Elijah Oliver (125) and Nate Jackson (174) earned their first tournament championships of the season, and redshirt senior Alex Gregory (157) battled to a third place finish.

"We definitely wrestled better as a team than we did at Eastern Michigan, but still have improvements to make," Indiana head coach Duane Goldman said, reflecting on the team's overall performance. "With a lot of guys being freshman, they have areas to improve but they've performed well. We had some matches we could've improved in, but we're moving in right direction."

Keystone Classic | November 22, 2015 | The Palestra
Philadelphia, Pa.

Hoosier Podium Finishes:

Elijah Oliver – 125 lbs. – Champion
Nate Jackson – 174 lbs. – Champion
Alex Gregory – 157 lbs. – Fourth Place

Elijah Oliver followed his second-place finish at the EMU Open with a championship win at the Keystone Classic. In the first tournament championship of his young career, Oliver recorded three major decisions and a quarterfinal pin in 4:06. He was also the tournament's top individual performer, tallying more team points (21) than any other wrestler in any weight class.

Through two tournament entries, Oliver has a 7-1 record, six major decisions, and one pin. The freshman has impressed the Indiana coaching staff so far, specifically in his ability to prepare mentally for the rigors of tournament play.

"This tournament gave Elijah a different group of opponents than the EMU Open, but he came out more prepared this time around," Goldman said of the true freshman champion. "It's a learning thing, and he's learning quickly from one week to the next. We'll see how he does in the upcoming dual meets, and we're looking forward to watching him grow as we progress through the season."

Nate Jackson was one of the top stories of this year's tournament, as he defended his Keystone Classic title from the 2014-15 season. The 12^th-ranked junior faced a tough slate of opponents on his way to the title, including a strong final round opponent in Sacred Heart's Conan Schuster. He recorded technical falls in the second round and quarterfinals, bouncing back from his second-place finish at the EMU Open.

Coach Goldman doesn't believe that this tournament necessarily affected Jackson's confidence as he heads into dual competition; rather, it gave Jackson a clear picture of his current strengths and areas for improvement.
"I don't think it changes his confidence from the EMU Open tournament," Goldman said. "Has he moved along and improved? Yes, and he had a better performance and a tough opponent in the finals today. He'll continue to work and improve through the season. Every competition is an opportunity for him to succeed, and we're glad he seized the opportunity today."

Indiana's other noteworthy performance came from redshirt senior Alex Gregory, who had a triumphant outing in the 157 lbs. bracket. Gregory opened with a 14-0 major decision over Dominic Vitale (Pittsburgh) in the second round, but dropped his quarterfinal matchup in a tough 1-0 decision.

Gregory rebounded in resounding fashion. He took down Nick Stager (Harvard) in a 9-0 major decision, then defeated Brooks Martino (Penn) on his way to the third place match. Gregory suffered an injury just over six minutes into his final bout, forcing a withdrawal, but the coaching staff liked what they saw in his fight to the finish.

"Gregory did a really good job today, and his loss in the quarterfinals came against a highly ranked wrestler," Goldman said. "He showed a lot of resiliency in the wrestle-back that we hadn't seen from him in a while. We're happy for him and proud of his work today."

The Keystone Classic was the second of four regular season tournaments the Hoosiers will take part in during the 2015-16 season. Indiana will continue their tournament schedule on December 20, when they head to Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions. They'll wrap up tournament play on December 29 when they take part in either the Ken Craft Midlands Championship (Evanston, Ill.) or the Lock Haven Invitational (Lock Haven, Pa.).

Up Next: Indiana vs. SIU-Edwardsville | Saturday, December 5 | Bloomington, Ind. | University Gymnasium

The Hoosiers will train the next two weeks in preparation of their first dual of the 2015-16 season, at home against SIU-Edwardsville. For many of the underclassmen, this will be their first experience in a dual meet at the collegiate level, but the work they've put in during the first three tournaments gives the coaching staff an idea of which guys are ready to step up to the challenge.

"We're getting a clearer picture, it's something we're still working through," Goldman said regarding the coaching staff's selection process for duals. "The first dual is going to be a challenge for us, so hopefully we can make improvements in the coming weeks and represent ourselves well against SIU-Edwardsville."