Thursday, December 29
Evanston, IL
10:30 AM
Indiana University
vs
Midlands - Session 1
Hoosiers Send 15 to Midlands Championships
12/28/2016 1:46:00 PM | Wrestling
Jackson takes unbeaten record into tournament’s toughest bracket
EVANSTON, Ill. - It's the last full weekend of the calendar year, which brings about one of the premier regular season tournaments in all of college wrestling. The Hoosiers make a welcome return to the 54th installment of the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at the Welsh-Ryan Arena, a tournament that's sure to feature some of the best in the sport. Grapplers from at least 43 schools will take one of 10 mats. An astonishing 71 wrestlers enter the week with a national ranking, including 38 in the top ten of their respective weight classes.
The Hoosiers' highest ranked wrestler, #6 Nate Jackson (184), faces the greatest test with 10 ranked wrestlers in his bracket. Seven, including Jackson, are in the top 12. Joining Jackson are 14 Hoosier grapplers, including #20 Chris Perez (149) and Indiana's newest member, Brandon James (133), who transferred at semester from Old Dominion. All sessions and mats will stream live on BTN2Go.com, with the championship matches receiving the Big Ten Network Treatment.
Hoosier Notes:
Split Results at Indiana Duals
It has been a couple weeks since the Hoosiers last took the mat for competition. In their last appearance, IU split the day at University Gymnasium, suffering a 21-16 defeat to Buffalo before earning a 35-9 win over Indiana Tech. Devin Skatzka led Indiana with two pins in 3:04, and Nate Jackson continued his unbeaten run through the early season with a pair of major decisions.
The Hoosiers jumped out to a 16-3 lead over Buffalo before the Bulls took the final five bouts. Indiana returned to the mat against the Warriors and scored three wins by fall with two major decisions, sparked by Luke Blanton's 8-0 win in the first match.
Numbers on the Boards
Indiana's nationally ranked duo of Nate Jackson (184) and Elijah Oliver (125) are a combined 22-2 after their first five weekends of competition. Jackson maintained a #6 (Flo) ranking after an unbeaten start with bonus points in 12-of-13 matches; Oliver slips to #20 (Flo) after dropping a tight decision to #15 Noah Gonser (EMU).
Senior newcomer Chris Perez (149) maintained his #20 ranking in the latest Amateur Wrestling News polls. Perez (4-2) made his last appearance in the rankings last season at Princeton, climbing into the top 15.
Anticipated Return
While the Hoosiers didn't make an appearance at Midlands as a team last year, several redshirts took their chance at the weekend's premier event. Devin Skatzka, one of last year's attendees, nearly earned a podium finish in the wrestle backs, including a stunning win by fall over then-16th-ranked Matt Reed (Oklahoma).
Skatzka won't sneak up on anyone this year, but he's determined to exceed his mark from last season. The 174 lbs. freshman enters the tournament on a four match win streak, all pins, and leads the Hoosiers this year with seven wins by fall.
Test Against The Best
Nate Jackson's unblemished record faces its greatest examination this weekend, with the tournament's 184 lbs. bracket featuring 10 ranked grapplers and seven, including Jackson, in the national top 12. The contenders list includes five Big Ten grapplers, featuring reigning Big Ten Champ Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 2015 NCAA finalist T.J. Dudley (Nebraska), and Myles Martin (Ohio State), the reigning NCAA Champion at 174 lbs. Jackson and Martin met four times last year, with Martin narrowly taking all four encounters.
Jackson previously reached the podium at Midlands with a seventh-place finish in 2014 at 174 lbs.
Hoosier Debuts
Indiana's semester transfer, Brandon James (133) will begin a new chapter with the Hoosiers at Midlands after transferring from Old Dominion, the freshman posted a 19-12 record as a redshirt with the Monarchs last season.
Cole Jones (285) will make his varsity debut at Midlands as well, joining teammate Fletcher Miller in the heavyweight bracket.
Up Next: At Purdue
The Midlands Championships are Indiana's final regular season matches outside of the Big Ten. When they return from the semester break, the Hoosiers enter the gauntlet of Big Ten dual season. Their first stop is their annual rivalry clash with the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday, January 15.
The dual, known as "Mackey Mayhem", will take place in Purdue's historic Mackey Arena. The match is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET and will stream live on BTN Plus. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Back Points…
• As a team, the Hoosiers have an 117-65 record this season with 26 major decisions, 9 tech falls, and 32 wins by fall. They've only conceded 4 pins.
• Nate Jackson has scored 76 takedowns and 22 back points this year; conversely, he's allowed just 2 takedowns and zero back points to his opponents.
• Jackson is also the closest Hoosier to the century mark in career wins with 87.
• Elijah Oliver (125), Jake Danishek (157), and Nate Jackson (184) haven't conceded back points to their opponents this season.
• Sophomore Bryce Martin (165) ranks second on the team with 50 takedowns, and has allowed 7 takedowns this season.
• Devin Skatzka (174) once again leads the Hoosiers in pins with 7 so far this season, including one in each of his last four matches. Skatzka led IU as a redshirt last year with 14 wins by fall.
• Danishek has the Hoosiers' second longest active win streak with 6 in a row heading into the weekend.
• Indiana's last Midlands Champion was Taylor Walsh (165), who hoisted the crown in 2014. He went on to reach the NCAA finals and set Indiana's career record for pins (69) later that season.
The Hoosiers' highest ranked wrestler, #6 Nate Jackson (184), faces the greatest test with 10 ranked wrestlers in his bracket. Seven, including Jackson, are in the top 12. Joining Jackson are 14 Hoosier grapplers, including #20 Chris Perez (149) and Indiana's newest member, Brandon James (133), who transferred at semester from Old Dominion. All sessions and mats will stream live on BTN2Go.com, with the championship matches receiving the Big Ten Network Treatment.
Hoosier Notes:
Split Results at Indiana Duals
It has been a couple weeks since the Hoosiers last took the mat for competition. In their last appearance, IU split the day at University Gymnasium, suffering a 21-16 defeat to Buffalo before earning a 35-9 win over Indiana Tech. Devin Skatzka led Indiana with two pins in 3:04, and Nate Jackson continued his unbeaten run through the early season with a pair of major decisions.
The Hoosiers jumped out to a 16-3 lead over Buffalo before the Bulls took the final five bouts. Indiana returned to the mat against the Warriors and scored three wins by fall with two major decisions, sparked by Luke Blanton's 8-0 win in the first match.
Numbers on the Boards
Indiana's nationally ranked duo of Nate Jackson (184) and Elijah Oliver (125) are a combined 22-2 after their first five weekends of competition. Jackson maintained a #6 (Flo) ranking after an unbeaten start with bonus points in 12-of-13 matches; Oliver slips to #20 (Flo) after dropping a tight decision to #15 Noah Gonser (EMU).
Senior newcomer Chris Perez (149) maintained his #20 ranking in the latest Amateur Wrestling News polls. Perez (4-2) made his last appearance in the rankings last season at Princeton, climbing into the top 15.
Anticipated Return
While the Hoosiers didn't make an appearance at Midlands as a team last year, several redshirts took their chance at the weekend's premier event. Devin Skatzka, one of last year's attendees, nearly earned a podium finish in the wrestle backs, including a stunning win by fall over then-16th-ranked Matt Reed (Oklahoma).
Skatzka won't sneak up on anyone this year, but he's determined to exceed his mark from last season. The 174 lbs. freshman enters the tournament on a four match win streak, all pins, and leads the Hoosiers this year with seven wins by fall.
Test Against The Best
Nate Jackson's unblemished record faces its greatest examination this weekend, with the tournament's 184 lbs. bracket featuring 10 ranked grapplers and seven, including Jackson, in the national top 12. The contenders list includes five Big Ten grapplers, featuring reigning Big Ten Champ Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 2015 NCAA finalist T.J. Dudley (Nebraska), and Myles Martin (Ohio State), the reigning NCAA Champion at 174 lbs. Jackson and Martin met four times last year, with Martin narrowly taking all four encounters.
Jackson previously reached the podium at Midlands with a seventh-place finish in 2014 at 174 lbs.
Hoosier Debuts
Indiana's semester transfer, Brandon James (133) will begin a new chapter with the Hoosiers at Midlands after transferring from Old Dominion, the freshman posted a 19-12 record as a redshirt with the Monarchs last season.
Cole Jones (285) will make his varsity debut at Midlands as well, joining teammate Fletcher Miller in the heavyweight bracket.
Up Next: At Purdue
The Midlands Championships are Indiana's final regular season matches outside of the Big Ten. When they return from the semester break, the Hoosiers enter the gauntlet of Big Ten dual season. Their first stop is their annual rivalry clash with the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday, January 15.
The dual, known as "Mackey Mayhem", will take place in Purdue's historic Mackey Arena. The match is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET and will stream live on BTN Plus. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Back Points…
• As a team, the Hoosiers have an 117-65 record this season with 26 major decisions, 9 tech falls, and 32 wins by fall. They've only conceded 4 pins.
• Nate Jackson has scored 76 takedowns and 22 back points this year; conversely, he's allowed just 2 takedowns and zero back points to his opponents.
• Jackson is also the closest Hoosier to the century mark in career wins with 87.
• Elijah Oliver (125), Jake Danishek (157), and Nate Jackson (184) haven't conceded back points to their opponents this season.
• Sophomore Bryce Martin (165) ranks second on the team with 50 takedowns, and has allowed 7 takedowns this season.
• Devin Skatzka (174) once again leads the Hoosiers in pins with 7 so far this season, including one in each of his last four matches. Skatzka led IU as a redshirt last year with 14 wins by fall.
• Danishek has the Hoosiers' second longest active win streak with 6 in a row heading into the weekend.
• Indiana's last Midlands Champion was Taylor Walsh (165), who hoisted the crown in 2014. He went on to reach the NCAA finals and set Indiana's career record for pins (69) later that season.
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
FB: Elijah Sarratt Media Availability (9/9/25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB: Roman Hemby Media Availability (9/9/25)
Tuesday, September 09
FB: Under the Hood with Indiana Football - Week 2 (Kennesaw State)
Thursday, September 04
FB: D'Angelo Ponds Media Availability (9/2/25)
Tuesday, September 02