Indiana University Athletics
Blanton Realizing Potential In Third Season
12/18/2015 11:06:00 AM | Wrestling
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Luke Blanton was named the Big Ten's wrestler of the week Tuesday but may have been the last to hear it.
The redshirt sophomore committed to putting his phone away because he was studying for a final exam he had on Wednesday. He didn't want to be distracted by texts, calls or social media while he prepared.
So when he earned the conference honor, Blanton didn't know. It wasn't until he returned to his phone a couple of hours after the fact and saw a screen full of texts, calls and social media notifications that he realized what had just happened.
"I got out from a session with a tutor and my phone was blowing up," Blanton said. "It was a great honor to have."
Blanton (149) earned the Big Ten's nod with one of the best weekends in his young career, notching two ranked victories.
The first came against No. 20 Minnesota on the road where Blanton rallied back from an early deficit to defeat No. 10 Jake Short and lift Indiana to a 19-18 team win. It was the Hoosiers' first Big Ten dual victory since 2011 and arguably the best win of Blanton's career.
He kept the momentum rolling into Sunday where he knocked off No. 16 Nicholas Barber of Eastern Michigan to help Indiana to a 25-9 victory in Bloomington.
"Luke is the by-product of hard work and attitude," head coach Duane Goldman said. "He's a great guy to have on the team in all aspects of collegiate athletics."
The pair of ranked wins moved Blanton to No. 20 in the latest Asics FloRankings. He will have a chance to climb higher with a few more ranked wins this weekend at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
"I've kind of looked at is like, 'Okay, I'm where I believe I should be,'" Blanton said. "Obviously there's plenty of room to grow, but this is how I should be wrestling."
Blanton is off to an 8-3 start after going 16-16 overall last season wrestling at 157 pounds. The move to his more natural weight has been a welcome change, Blanton said, because he doesn't feel like he's wrestling opponents who are naturally bigger and stronger than him.
Though it was tougher, he said he doesn't regret wrestling up a weight last season because it's paying dividends now, as evident in is results. He said facing heavier guys taught him to be a smarter, more versatile wrestler as he returns to his natural weight.
"You've got to be more technical when you're up instead of powering through it," Blanton said. "That helped me a lot, working on my technique. Now that I've got a chance to be with lighter guys, I can show off my strength more."
The other advantage Blanton has is more noticeable—his height.
He's a bit taller than the majority of the wrestlers in his weight class and as longer arms because of it. The extra length gives him more reach and leverage which can be an unusual strength opponents aren't as used to.
"I've always been tall for my weight, so it's always been an advantage," Blanton said. "I've always used some of the stuff I do and some shorter guys can't really have much success with it."
Blanton can't really pinpoint why his season is going as well as it is early on. He said he's not doing anything differently apart from wrestling lighter and more experienced. These are the results he said he expects to have and isn't surprised by them.
Redshirt junior Nate Jackson agreed, but he had an even simpler answer behind Blanton's success.
"Great kid, great attitude," Jackson said. "He kind of embodies IU wrestling."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Luke Blanton was named the Big Ten's wrestler of the week Tuesday but may have been the last to hear it.
The redshirt sophomore committed to putting his phone away because he was studying for a final exam he had on Wednesday. He didn't want to be distracted by texts, calls or social media while he prepared.
So when he earned the conference honor, Blanton didn't know. It wasn't until he returned to his phone a couple of hours after the fact and saw a screen full of texts, calls and social media notifications that he realized what had just happened.
"I got out from a session with a tutor and my phone was blowing up," Blanton said. "It was a great honor to have."
Blanton (149) earned the Big Ten's nod with one of the best weekends in his young career, notching two ranked victories.
The first came against No. 20 Minnesota on the road where Blanton rallied back from an early deficit to defeat No. 10 Jake Short and lift Indiana to a 19-18 team win. It was the Hoosiers' first Big Ten dual victory since 2011 and arguably the best win of Blanton's career.
He kept the momentum rolling into Sunday where he knocked off No. 16 Nicholas Barber of Eastern Michigan to help Indiana to a 25-9 victory in Bloomington.
"Luke is the by-product of hard work and attitude," head coach Duane Goldman said. "He's a great guy to have on the team in all aspects of collegiate athletics."
The pair of ranked wins moved Blanton to No. 20 in the latest Asics FloRankings. He will have a chance to climb higher with a few more ranked wins this weekend at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
"I've kind of looked at is like, 'Okay, I'm where I believe I should be,'" Blanton said. "Obviously there's plenty of room to grow, but this is how I should be wrestling."
Blanton is off to an 8-3 start after going 16-16 overall last season wrestling at 157 pounds. The move to his more natural weight has been a welcome change, Blanton said, because he doesn't feel like he's wrestling opponents who are naturally bigger and stronger than him.
Though it was tougher, he said he doesn't regret wrestling up a weight last season because it's paying dividends now, as evident in is results. He said facing heavier guys taught him to be a smarter, more versatile wrestler as he returns to his natural weight.
"You've got to be more technical when you're up instead of powering through it," Blanton said. "That helped me a lot, working on my technique. Now that I've got a chance to be with lighter guys, I can show off my strength more."
The other advantage Blanton has is more noticeable—his height.
He's a bit taller than the majority of the wrestlers in his weight class and as longer arms because of it. The extra length gives him more reach and leverage which can be an unusual strength opponents aren't as used to.
"I've always been tall for my weight, so it's always been an advantage," Blanton said. "I've always used some of the stuff I do and some shorter guys can't really have much success with it."
Blanton can't really pinpoint why his season is going as well as it is early on. He said he's not doing anything differently apart from wrestling lighter and more experienced. These are the results he said he expects to have and isn't surprised by them.
Redshirt junior Nate Jackson agreed, but he had an even simpler answer behind Blanton's success.
"Great kid, great attitude," Jackson said. "He kind of embodies IU wrestling."
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