Hoosiers Win Three Against Defending Champs Ohio State

Friday, January 29

Bloomington, Ind.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

Ohio State

Hoosiers Win Three Against Defending Champs Ohio State

1/30/2016 12:37:00 AM | Wrestling

Blanton upends No. 11 Stieber; Danishek, Masengale secure comeback wins

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana wrestling team suffered their second home defeat of the season to No. 7 Ohio State, 27-9. Sophomore Luke Blanton triumphed in the 149 lbs. bout with an upset over No. 11 Hunter Stieber. Jake Danishek and Jake Masengale followed with a pair of come-from-behind wins for the Hoosiers.

"We fought hard," said Indiana head coach Duane Goldman. "I think some of our guys wrestled a little apprehensively. When you wrestle the best guys in the country, they're not going to be holding anything back. So we just need to get out there and get after it."

INDIANA vs. OHIO STATE • January 29, 2016
Bloomington, Ind. • University Gymnasium

Final Results: Indiana vs. Ohio State
Weight	Indiana Hoosiers	Record	Result	Ohio State Buckeyes	Record
Score	9	(6-3, 3-3)		27	(8-2, 5-1)
125**	#19 Elijah Oliver, Fr.	24-5 (4-2)	MD, 17-5	#1 Nathan Tomasello, r-So.*	14-0 (5-0)
133	Alonzo Shepherd, Sr.	11-14 (1-5)	D, 7-0	#8 Johnni DiJulius, r-Sr.*	13-3 (4-2)
141	Cole Weaver, r-Fr.	17-13 (1-5)	INJ 4:20	#4 Micah Jordan, r-Fr. *	16-1 (4-0)
149	Luke Blanton, r-So. *	17-8 (4-2)	D, 6-2	#11 Hunter Stieber, r-Sr.	1-2 (1-2)
157	Jake Danishek, r-Fr. *	14-5 (3-3)	D, 9-8	Justin Kresevic, r-Jr.	7-8 (0-2)
165	Bryce Martin, r-Fr.	16-13 (1-4)	MD, 14-5	#2 Bo Jordan, r-So. *	11-0 (5-0)
174	#8 Nate Jackson, r-Jr.	24-4 (4-2)	D, 6-5	#15 Myles Martin, Fr. *	22-3 (4-1)
184	Wyatt Wilson, r-So.	5-11 (0-3)	MD, 19-6	#13 Kenny Courts, r-Sr. *	13-6 (3-2)
197	Jake Masengale, r-So. *	8-14 (2-4)	D, 3-2	Josh Fox, r-Jr.	2-7 (0-3)
285	Garret Goldman, r-Sr.	13-11 (3-2)	D, 8-2	Nick Tavanello, r-Jr.	15-3 (3-1)

* match winner
** starting point of the dual
Big Ten dual record in parentheses

Indiana's biggest win of the evening came in the fourth bout, the 149 lbs. clash between Luke Blanton and No. 11 Hunter Stieber. Blanton nearly took an early lead at the end of the first period, but slipped off the edge at the end of his takedown attempt. The two took a scoreless stalemate into the second period.

Still, Blanton scored first. The Hoosier sophomore picked up an escape to start the period, and followed with a takedown midway though the period. Although the lead was too close for comfort, the crowd at University Gymnasium rose to their feet for the upcoming third period.

Stieber notched an early escape to make it 3-1, but Blanton extended his lead with his second takedown. He locked up the riding time point before Stieber executed his final escape with 44 seconds remaining. Blanton held off the 11^th-ranked Buckeye and sealed a 6-2 victory.

Blanton now has four wins over ranked opponents this season. The win over Stieber was an important one for the former Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, as Blanton hadn't won a match of that magnitude since the weekend in which he knocked off two ranked wrestlers.

"Luke hasn't been wrestling like himself," Goldman said. "Ever since he won those big matches and got in the rankings, he got his first experience as one of the top guys in the country and it made him wrestle differently. We told him this week, 'Your results happen when you wrestle like Luke Blanton.' He went out today, wrestled like himself, and got a good result."

Blanton agreed with his coaching staff. He knew something was off about his recent performances. The former walk-on attributes that to his lack of experience in dealing with the limelight that results from national recognition.

"The coaches were telling me all week to get back to what I do, how I wrestle," Blanton said. "It was a wake-up call. That's what I did today—I got back to what I did to get where I am right now."

Jake Danishek followed Blanton's win with a thrilling 9-8 decision win in the 157 lbs. bout against Justin Kresevic. Trailing 5-2 at the end of the first period, Danishek stayed the course and kept wrestling his match.

Kresevic attempted to extend his lead and put the bout out of reach in the second. He led 6-2 after an escape to start the second round. Danishek responded with a takedown, but Kresevic kept his three-point buffer heading into the final two minutes.

In the third, Danishek made his move. He escaped Kresevic's hold in the first 15 seconds and responded with a takedown, tying the bout at 7-7. Kresevic took the lead once again with an escape, but Danishek brought his opponent to the mat with 20 seconds remaining. The one-point lead was all he needed to take the win.

Following the win, Danishek extended his Big Ten dual win streak to three matches. All have come in the past week of competition.

"He's finding ways to win," Goldman said. "We've seen several matches like that with him this year. They're not pretty, but he's getting his hand raised and we'll take it."

In the 197 lbs. bout, Jake Masengale faced a familiar opponent in Ohio State's Josh Fox. The two met on the mat at the beginning of the season in the EMU Open, where Masengale emerged with the 5-2 win. He held off Fox's retaliation efforts with a 3-2 win, his second Big Ten dual win of the season.

Tied after the first period, Masengale earned the win in the second. He began the period with an escape, and closed it with a takedown in the final seconds. Although Masengale gave up two stall points in the final period, he held on for the win.

"They had a pretty close match last time, but this guy wrestled him differently tonight than he did earlier in the season," Goldman said. "He pushed himself hard and did a nice job getting the win."

Both of Indiana's nationally-ranked grapplers suffered their second Big Ten dual losses of the season on Friday evening. In the opening bout, Elijah Oliver had a showdown with No. 1 Nathan Tomasello, who came into University Gymnasium on a 31-match win streak. Tomasello left with a major decision win, 17-5, over Oliver.

Nate Jackson faced a rematch against No. 15 Myles Martin, the Ohio State freshman who handed Jackson his first loss of the season at the EMU Open. Martin led the bout 3-1 heading into the final period, but Jackson quickly tied it up with an escape-takedown combination. Martin countered with the same procedure, and held onto a 6-5 lead to the finish. The loss was Jackson's fourth of the season.

Up Next: No. 16 Indiana (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 2 Iowa (14-0, 8-0 Big Ten)
Friday, February 5, 2016 • 8:00 p.m. ET • BTN Plus
Iowa City, Iowa • Carver-Hawkeye Arena

The Hoosiers are headed to Hawkeye country next weekend for a battle against one of the nation's best, unbeaten Iowa. It will be a true test for the Hoosiers, as the Hawkeyes have eight-of-10 starters in the national rankings. The coaching staff plans to use their full week off to rest, recover, and get their youth-filled lineup in the mindset of trekking through the hard-nosed Big Ten schedule.

"We've got to get healthy and get the younger guys up to speed," Goldman said. "In their last full season, the freshmen were gearing up for the state championships around this time of year. Now, they have four more weeks of regular season before the Big Ten Championships. We're trying to train them accordingly while keeping them upbeat and fresh."