Wrestling Faces Weekend in Nation’s Capital

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head coach Duane Goldman is ready to see what this team is made of.

The Hoosiers (1-1) already began their season two weeks ago with a tri dual at Cal Poly. They handled San Francisco State with a 39-7 win, which included four Indiana pins in the final six bouts. But the Hoosiers fell short against the hosting Mustangs in their second dual, 19-18, on the fourth tiebreaker criteria.

That brings only one question to mind for Goldman: how will his young team respond to that defeat in their last outing?

"Cal Poly was kind of disappointing, and with a young group of guys you never quite know how they're going to respond, especially with a lot of travel," Goldman said. "This is another chance to get on the road in a hostile environment, but in a match where we believe we can compete well. I'm really looking to the dual meet first, and after that the tournament is a good chance to see a lot of teams we won't see for the rest of the year. We hope and expect to compete well."

For many in Indiana's starting lineup, the tri dual in the Bay was their first collegiate experience in that format. Five freshmen—Garrett Pepple (133), Gabe Koontz (165), Devin Skatzka (174), Jake Hinz (184), and Norman Conley (197)—made their first dual starts in an IU singlet. Koontz and Skatzka emerged unbeaten, with the latter picking up his first varsity pin and a decision win against the Mustangs.

Skatzka came into the season with a great deal of expectation, having led Indiana with 12 pins as a redshirt last year. The Richmond, Michigan native opened his pin tally in his first varsity match, but felt something lacked in his decision win versus Cal Poly.

"Personally, I just need to manage my match better," said Skatzka. "I gassed out at the end of my second match after putting a lot of effort into turning him in the first period. If I can't turn him, I'll need to start cutting him to conserve energy. I'm also wanting to score the last point in each period."

That last point seemed to be the tone of the last two weeks in Goldman's room. Luke Blanton (149) took the plan to heart this week after leaving points hanging in a seven-point decision win.

"I've been working on the ability to get in when I'm on my feet, getting good, smart shots," Blanton said. "And once I get the takedown, working on a hard, tough ride so I can ride somebody out."

The Hoosiers' first chance to respond will be Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at George Mason. It's George Mason's season opener, and it's just the second meeting between the Hoosiers and Patriots. Indiana won that meet, 36-11, in 1997.

Things get really interesting on Saturday, as the Hoosiers will enter their first tournament of the 2016-17 season, the Navy Classic hosted at the United States Naval Academy. The tournament doesn't boast one dominating team, opening the field for several outstanding individuals across the brackets. Sixth-ranked senior Nate Jackson (184) will face adversity from grapplers like Binghamton's No. 16 Steven Schneider, and No. 12 Elijah Oliver (125) could match up against Campbell's 19^th-ranked lightweight, Nathan Krassier.

Aside from Indiana's wrestlers already in the rankings, those on the outside looking to build a résumé for the 2017 NCAA Championships have a great opportunity to take on ranked foes and get podium finishes. "I'm really excited for the opportunity," said Skatzka, who is unranked but saw success at last year's Midlands with a pin over then-No. 16 Matt Reed (Oklahoma). "I have a chance to knock off some ranked wrestlers, and this year it could actually mean something for me, a chance to get into the rankings."

Indiana knows how crucial this weekend's tournament will be. Last year, the Hoosiers entered five regular season tournaments, including three tournament weekends to open the year. This season, Indiana begins the campaign with three dual meets before entering their first of two regular season tournaments.

"This is definitely a different-looking season from last year, with most of our matches coming from duals this year," Blanton said. "This upcoming weekend is pretty important, because we don't wrestle duals at nationals or Big Tens. We have to take these tournament opportunities to learn from them, to better ourselves in the tournament environment."

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Players Mentioned

Luke Blanton

Norman Conley

Jake Hinz

Nate Jackson

Gabe Koontz

Elijah Oliver

Garrett Pepple

Indiana University Athletics