Indiana Splits Results at Cal Poly

Thursday, November 3

San Luis Obispo, CA

8 PM

Indiana University

San Francisco State

11/4/2016 2:21:00 AM | Wrestling

Dual Results (PDF)

Returning NCAA qualifiers shine with bonus points in both bouts

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Indiana wrestling team kicked off the Division-I wrestling year with the season's first competition, a tri dual hosted by the Cal Poly Mustangs. The Hoosiers (1-1) split their meets, taking a 39-7 win over San Francisco State before suffering a tiebreaker defeat to the hosting Mustangs.

The dual against Cal Poly finished at an 18-18 tie, largely due to No. 5 Nate Jackson's win by fall in the 184 lbs. bout. The Mustangs battled back to take the final two bouts, and edged the Hoosiers in the fourth tiebreaker by winning six bouts to Indiana's four.

Jackson was one of five Hoosiers to pin their opponent in Thursday's action, but he was the only grappler with pins in both matches. Jackson secured his first pin in 5:28, after racking up a 13-3 lead in the third period, before pinning Cal Poly's Thomas Lane in 3:16.

Elijah Oliver, joining Jackson as Indiana's returning national qualifiers, picked up a 12-4 major decision to open his sophomore season. Against Cal Poly's David Gonzalez, Oliver secured a 4:06 win by fall after building a 4-0 lead.

Indiana had a third returning starter who started and won both bouts for his weight, fourth-year junior Luke Blanton. It began with his second career tech fall, a 15-0 blanking over the Gators' Dylan Furtado, and he followed with a dominating 9-2 decision against Joshua Cortez.

Several Hoosiers earned their first career dual start today, none better than freshman Devin Skatzka and his 2-0 evening. After recording a team-leading 12 pins as a redshirt last year, Skatzka opened his varsity career with a 98-second win by fall. Against Cal Poly, Skatzka pulled out a 10-7 decision win to tie the meet at 12-12. Garrett Pepple (133) started his career with a 10-7 decision, and Gabe Koontz (165) held his own with a 4-0 win.

Jake Danishek continued building the momentum and promise he showed from his first varsity year last season, opening his 2016-17 campaign with a 4:13 pin before dropping an airtight decision, 5-4, against Cal Poly.

Fletcher Miller set a formidable mark in the quest for Indiana's fastest pin this season, securing a win by fall in 39 seconds against the fifth-ranked Division-II heavyweight, Sam Alnassiri. The pin, the first of Miller's collegiate career, capped a 39-7 team win for Indiana over the Gators.

Two additional Hoosiers, Jake Hinz and Norman Conley, each made their first career dual cards at 197 lbs. Hinz dropped a major decision in his bout, and Conley fell on the wrong end of a 6-2 decision.

Up Next: Indiana (1-1) at George Mason (0-0)
Thursday, November 17 • 7:00 p.m. ET • Recreation Athletic Complex • Fairfax, Va.

Indiana begins their season with three weekends away from Bloomington, and they'll head to the east coast after two weeks of training. This will be just the second meeting between Indiana and the George Mason Patriots, and their first in 19 years. In their only meeting, head coach Duane Goldman and the Hoosiers took care of business with a 36-11 victory in Fairfax.

Following the dual against the Patriots, Indiana will stay near the nation's capital as they head to the 2016 Navy Classic in Annapolis, Maryland. The tournament, hosted by the United States Naval Academy, will be the first of two regular season tournaments the Hoosiers will enter this year.