Indiana University Athletics
Wilkinson Hall Charts Hoosiers on Path to Success
1/14/2019 4:05:00 PM | Wrestling
BY PETE DIPRIMIO
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Program-changing wrestling victories will come.
Angel Escobedo believes that.
In fact, they already have.
Newly opened Wilkinson Hall gives Escobedo a recruiting edge no other Indiana University wrestling coach has ever had.
"With this facility," he said, "we'll attract the best kids in the state and in the country."
Welcome to the opening of a state-of-the-art facility to rival any in the country. It's a 3,000-seat, $17 million testament to the university's commitment to wrestling and volleyball.
Given the challenges Escobedo faces in his coaching debut season, and beyond, that commitment arrives just in time.
The Big Ten is a wrestling beast of a conference. Eleven of the league's 14 teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally, including the top three in defending national champ Penn State, and former national champs Ohio State and Iowa.
Eight of the top 11 teams are from the Big Ten with No. 5 Minnesota, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 10 Northwestern and No. 11 Rutgers also in the mix.
Escobedo, a former IU national champ, is driven to elevate the unranked Hoosiers (4-7) to that status. Wilkinson Hall, he says, "competes with everyone else in the country."
"That's the standard, right there."
That standard got its first test on Sunday against Maryland.
The result -- a 36-3 Cream 'n Crimson victory. It was the first Big Ten win for the Hoosiers in nearly two years, the first conference victory of Escobedo's head coaching career, and it came against the nation's No. 30 program.
You'd better believe that will generate recruiting attention.
"We've already seen (a recruiting boost)," Escobedo said. "Having the recruits see the plans, they were buying in.
"I saw a lot of high school kids in the stands (on Sunday). You can tell the spark in their eyes they were thinking how much fun it would be to walk out of that tunnel.
"The more we get high school kids in here, the better it will be."
As senior Jake Danishek put it, "It will be huge for recruiting, especially today when recruiting is super competitive. Guys take their trips, and to know that they will be competing in an exciting atmosphere like that, it will draw recruits in big time."
Still the journey to elite status remains formidable. The Hoosiers lost to No. 2 Ohio State 43-3 on Friday night. Bryce Martin at 165 pounds was the lone IU winner.
It was, Danishek said, a "humbling experience."
"That's good when it comes to motivating and getting our guys going in a better direction."
Added Escobedo: "We preach being a relentless competitor. That showed (against Maryland). We talk about how you can get back up and keep moving forward.
"They were ready to compete. We set the tone in every match. I'm proud of their effort and attitude."
Indiana does have a 19-16 victory over then No. 12 North Carolina in December. It was just the Hoosiers' second win over a ranked team since December of 2015, and first over a top-15 opponent since 2006.
This is, it seems, very much a program on the rise, although Danishek pushed caution.
"It's a great feeling and we did it in dominating fashion, but it's mid-season. There's still a lot of work to be done. We want to use this momentum to move forward. It's another step toward us getting better."
On Sunday the Hoosiers arrived to a flaming entrance and then put the heat on Maryland immediately with 197-pound Jacob Kleimola's 3-0 victory over Niko Cappello to open action.
The onslaught soon followed.
At 125 pounds, Liam Cronin rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to win 9-5. Victories followed from 133 Paul Konrath, 141 Kyle Luigs, 149 Fernie Silva, Danishek, Martin, 174 Jacob Covaclu and 184 Norman Conley.
Konrath, Luigs and Conley won by major decisions. Danishek won by third-period pin.
"It was an incredible atmosphere," Danishek said. "It's been a couple of years coming. It was well worth the wait. It was above expectation. It made it fun to compete and put it all on the line."
Added Escobedo: "With the fans and the atmosphere, it was everything we could ask for. The guys fed off that energy. It was a dominating performance. It was great that it happened in the Big Ten."
Escobedo used the Wilkinson Hall debut to tap into IU's wrestling tradition by bringing in 30 former wrestlers for an alumni reception and honoring All-Americans Chris Russo, Adam Chalfant, Jeff Lyons, Brian Dolf, Matt Coughlin and Pat Degain.
That was part of a crowd in excess of a thousand that had the place rocking in ways previous wrestling home University Gym never did.
"Our guys were like, 'It's really loud out there.'" Escobedo said.
"You can't compare it to (University Gym). In the locker room you could hear how loud the fans were. You never heard that before. It elevates their intensity.
"I told them, This is your time to shine, your moment, make the most of it. Compete to your best ability."
And so they did.
"I'm so proud and happy for my seniors," Escobedo said. "They've put in a lot of time and effort. It was special to see. They've been through some heartaches and injuries. This is something they'll remember for rest of their lives."
More memories could be coming. IU heads to No. 25 Purdue on Friday, then hosts No. 1 Penn State on Jan. 27.
"From this win, our guys are committed to beating Purdue," Escobedo said. "We haven't beaten them in seven to eight years. This team believes it can there and capitalize on the moment."
*****
This is the latest success in a sports life full of them for Escobedo.
It didn't start that way.
He had a tough beginning growing up in Gary to a single mom struggling to raise four kids.
At the time, Escobedo said, Gary was known as the murder capital of the world. He saw his share of drug deals and shootings.
He wound up living with his grandparents, but it was four wrestling uncles, including David and Mike, who set the sports tone that has dominated his life.
David and Mike, while juggling multiple shifts in a steel mill to support the family, took Escobedo, cousins and friends to numerous national youth wrestling tournaments.
They traveled in a battered van, and often slept in it to save money. David converted his living room into a wrestling room, with a wrestling mat on the floor and wrestling mats on all the walls. Those wall mats included written wrestling moves that Escobedo was required to practice on a daily basis before being allowed to play.
Escobedo has called it, "Living the dream to achieve greatness" with the understanding that greatness doesn't come without cost.
"It was intense."
Intensity paid off. At northwest Indiana's Griffith High School, Escobedo was a wrestling superstar, compiling a 223-1 record with four state championships from 2002 to 2005. In 2011, he was elected to the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Only eight other Indiana wrestlers have ever won four high school state titles. Only two others have ever won more matches, and Escobedo never lost to an Indiana prep wrestler (his only loss came as a junior to an Illinois competitor). He also set a state record with 156 pins.
Escobedo shared the high school. limelight. His brother, Jose, also won a state title.
IU coach Duane Goldman made a huge recruiting push to get Escobedo and offered him a full-ride scholarship, something rarely done in wrestling because a fully funded program only gets 10 scholarships. Usually coaches divide up scholarships so more wrestlers can get financial aid.
Escobedo was worth the risk.
As a sophomore in 2008, he won a national title at 125 pounds. He also won three Big Ten titles and became the Hoosiers' only four-time wrestling All-America. He ranks second in program history in career wins (137) and third in pins (42).
Escobedo is one of 11 IU wrestlers to win a national championship, a run that started in 1932 when the Hoosiers won the team title.
Yes, there is a banner at Wilkinson Hall to honor that.
Escobedo went on to a successful international career, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships in Hungary and a second-place showing at the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.
He joined the Iowa State coaching staff from 2015-17 and helped develop Earl Hall into a two-time All-American.
Last year, he returned to IU as an associate head coach. When Goldman retired last spring, Escobedo took over.
Escobedo has based his program on core values such as Be Yourself, Relentlessness, and Be Confident in Yourself, Your Teammates and Your Coaches, to help his wrestlers "be the best man you can be all the time" and become "a great individual on and off the mat."
On Sunday, the Hoosiers showed what that best can look like, with this final thought:
It will only get better.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Program-changing wrestling victories will come.
Angel Escobedo believes that.
In fact, they already have.
Newly opened Wilkinson Hall gives Escobedo a recruiting edge no other Indiana University wrestling coach has ever had.
"With this facility," he said, "we'll attract the best kids in the state and in the country."
Welcome to the opening of a state-of-the-art facility to rival any in the country. It's a 3,000-seat, $17 million testament to the university's commitment to wrestling and volleyball.
Given the challenges Escobedo faces in his coaching debut season, and beyond, that commitment arrives just in time.
The Big Ten is a wrestling beast of a conference. Eleven of the league's 14 teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally, including the top three in defending national champ Penn State, and former national champs Ohio State and Iowa.
Eight of the top 11 teams are from the Big Ten with No. 5 Minnesota, No. 6 Michigan, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 10 Northwestern and No. 11 Rutgers also in the mix.
Escobedo, a former IU national champ, is driven to elevate the unranked Hoosiers (4-7) to that status. Wilkinson Hall, he says, "competes with everyone else in the country."
"That's the standard, right there."
That standard got its first test on Sunday against Maryland.
The result -- a 36-3 Cream 'n Crimson victory. It was the first Big Ten win for the Hoosiers in nearly two years, the first conference victory of Escobedo's head coaching career, and it came against the nation's No. 30 program.
You'd better believe that will generate recruiting attention.
"We've already seen (a recruiting boost)," Escobedo said. "Having the recruits see the plans, they were buying in.
"I saw a lot of high school kids in the stands (on Sunday). You can tell the spark in their eyes they were thinking how much fun it would be to walk out of that tunnel.
"The more we get high school kids in here, the better it will be."
As senior Jake Danishek put it, "It will be huge for recruiting, especially today when recruiting is super competitive. Guys take their trips, and to know that they will be competing in an exciting atmosphere like that, it will draw recruits in big time."
Still the journey to elite status remains formidable. The Hoosiers lost to No. 2 Ohio State 43-3 on Friday night. Bryce Martin at 165 pounds was the lone IU winner.
It was, Danishek said, a "humbling experience."
"That's good when it comes to motivating and getting our guys going in a better direction."
Added Escobedo: "We preach being a relentless competitor. That showed (against Maryland). We talk about how you can get back up and keep moving forward.
"They were ready to compete. We set the tone in every match. I'm proud of their effort and attitude."
Indiana does have a 19-16 victory over then No. 12 North Carolina in December. It was just the Hoosiers' second win over a ranked team since December of 2015, and first over a top-15 opponent since 2006.
This is, it seems, very much a program on the rise, although Danishek pushed caution.
"It's a great feeling and we did it in dominating fashion, but it's mid-season. There's still a lot of work to be done. We want to use this momentum to move forward. It's another step toward us getting better."
On Sunday the Hoosiers arrived to a flaming entrance and then put the heat on Maryland immediately with 197-pound Jacob Kleimola's 3-0 victory over Niko Cappello to open action.
The onslaught soon followed.
At 125 pounds, Liam Cronin rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to win 9-5. Victories followed from 133 Paul Konrath, 141 Kyle Luigs, 149 Fernie Silva, Danishek, Martin, 174 Jacob Covaclu and 184 Norman Conley.
Konrath, Luigs and Conley won by major decisions. Danishek won by third-period pin.
"It was an incredible atmosphere," Danishek said. "It's been a couple of years coming. It was well worth the wait. It was above expectation. It made it fun to compete and put it all on the line."
Added Escobedo: "With the fans and the atmosphere, it was everything we could ask for. The guys fed off that energy. It was a dominating performance. It was great that it happened in the Big Ten."
Escobedo used the Wilkinson Hall debut to tap into IU's wrestling tradition by bringing in 30 former wrestlers for an alumni reception and honoring All-Americans Chris Russo, Adam Chalfant, Jeff Lyons, Brian Dolf, Matt Coughlin and Pat Degain.
That was part of a crowd in excess of a thousand that had the place rocking in ways previous wrestling home University Gym never did.
"Our guys were like, 'It's really loud out there.'" Escobedo said.
"You can't compare it to (University Gym). In the locker room you could hear how loud the fans were. You never heard that before. It elevates their intensity.
"I told them, This is your time to shine, your moment, make the most of it. Compete to your best ability."
And so they did.
"I'm so proud and happy for my seniors," Escobedo said. "They've put in a lot of time and effort. It was special to see. They've been through some heartaches and injuries. This is something they'll remember for rest of their lives."
More memories could be coming. IU heads to No. 25 Purdue on Friday, then hosts No. 1 Penn State on Jan. 27.
"From this win, our guys are committed to beating Purdue," Escobedo said. "We haven't beaten them in seven to eight years. This team believes it can there and capitalize on the moment."
*****
This is the latest success in a sports life full of them for Escobedo.
It didn't start that way.
He had a tough beginning growing up in Gary to a single mom struggling to raise four kids.
At the time, Escobedo said, Gary was known as the murder capital of the world. He saw his share of drug deals and shootings.
He wound up living with his grandparents, but it was four wrestling uncles, including David and Mike, who set the sports tone that has dominated his life.
David and Mike, while juggling multiple shifts in a steel mill to support the family, took Escobedo, cousins and friends to numerous national youth wrestling tournaments.
They traveled in a battered van, and often slept in it to save money. David converted his living room into a wrestling room, with a wrestling mat on the floor and wrestling mats on all the walls. Those wall mats included written wrestling moves that Escobedo was required to practice on a daily basis before being allowed to play.
Escobedo has called it, "Living the dream to achieve greatness" with the understanding that greatness doesn't come without cost.
"It was intense."
Intensity paid off. At northwest Indiana's Griffith High School, Escobedo was a wrestling superstar, compiling a 223-1 record with four state championships from 2002 to 2005. In 2011, he was elected to the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Only eight other Indiana wrestlers have ever won four high school state titles. Only two others have ever won more matches, and Escobedo never lost to an Indiana prep wrestler (his only loss came as a junior to an Illinois competitor). He also set a state record with 156 pins.
Escobedo shared the high school. limelight. His brother, Jose, also won a state title.
IU coach Duane Goldman made a huge recruiting push to get Escobedo and offered him a full-ride scholarship, something rarely done in wrestling because a fully funded program only gets 10 scholarships. Usually coaches divide up scholarships so more wrestlers can get financial aid.
Escobedo was worth the risk.
As a sophomore in 2008, he won a national title at 125 pounds. He also won three Big Ten titles and became the Hoosiers' only four-time wrestling All-America. He ranks second in program history in career wins (137) and third in pins (42).
Escobedo is one of 11 IU wrestlers to win a national championship, a run that started in 1932 when the Hoosiers won the team title.
Yes, there is a banner at Wilkinson Hall to honor that.
Escobedo went on to a successful international career, highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the 2013 World Championships in Hungary and a second-place showing at the 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.
He joined the Iowa State coaching staff from 2015-17 and helped develop Earl Hall into a two-time All-American.
Last year, he returned to IU as an associate head coach. When Goldman retired last spring, Escobedo took over.
Escobedo has based his program on core values such as Be Yourself, Relentlessness, and Be Confident in Yourself, Your Teammates and Your Coaches, to help his wrestlers "be the best man you can be all the time" and become "a great individual on and off the mat."
On Sunday, the Hoosiers showed what that best can look like, with this final thought:
It will only get better.
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