Hoosiers Set to Host Wisconsin, Minnesota

Friday, January 31

Bloomington, Ind.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

#4 Wisconsin

BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 20, 2020 - Indiana Hoosiers Wrestling Team during the match between the Purdue Boilermakers and the Indiana Hoosiers at Wilkinsom Hall in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Lauren Bacho/Indiana Athletics

1/30/2020 10:35:00 AM | Wrestling

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team will host a pair of ranked teams this weekend as they are set to take on No. 9 Wisconsin on Friday and No. 14 Minnesota on Sunday.

Friday January 31
Indiana vs. No. 9 Wisconsin
7:00 PM ET | Bloomington, Ind.
Promotion: Red Out and Alumni Night

Sunday February 2
Indiana vs. No. 14 Minnesota
1:00 PM ET | Bloomington, Ind.

Both matches at Wilkinson Hall (1151 E 17^th Street)
Both matches free admission

The Series
Wisconsin leads the all-time series against Indiana, 34-24. The last meeting came on Jan. 26, 2018 in Madison, Wis., with the Badgers winning, 24-19. Minnesota leads the all-time series against Indiana, 48-5-1. The last Indiana win in the series came on Dec. 11, 2015, with Indiana taking a 19-18 victory.

Last Time Out
Last time out the Hoosiers secured their first Big Ten win with a 19-16 victory over Maryland. Liam Cronin started the dual with a 13-4 major decision and Rudy Streck finished it at heavyweight for the Hoosiers with a 8-3 decision. The Hoosiers improved to 4-0 all-time against the Terrapins.

Rooks Earns Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Again
On January 21, redshirt freshman Graham Rooks was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. Rooks has taken down ranked opponents in his last two Big Ten matches and is currently ranked No. 16 by InterMat and No. 22 by FloWrestling. This was the second Big Ten weekly honor for Rooks this season.

Cronin Comes up Big
Redshirt junior Liam Cronin has won his last three matches, including two against ranked opponents. In the Hoosiers dual against Purdue, Cronin took down No. 5 ranked Devin Schroder. Cronin has won his last three matches by a combined total of 20-7.

The Lineups
Indiana
125: Liam Cronin (9-11)
133: Cayden Rooks (18-9) or Jonathan Moran (5-13)
141: Eddie Bolivar (5-9)
149: #20 Graham Rooks (10-5)
157: Fernando Silva (7-15) or Joey Sanchez (14-10)
165: Davey Tunon (6-14) or Dillon Hoey (4-8)
174: Jacob Covaciu (14-9)
184: Jacob Hinz (6-15)
197: Nick WIllham (15-14) or Spencer Irick (3-7)
285: Rudy Streck (3-14) or Jake Kleimola (10-11)

Wisconsin
125 - Eric Barnett, Fr. (11-4)
133- #1 Seth Gross, RS Sr. (17-1) or Dom Dentino (3-6)
141 - #4 Tristan Moran, RS Sr. (14-3)
149 - #13 Cole Martin, RS Sr. (10-6)
157 - Drew Scharenbrock, RS Fr. (17-8) or Garrett Model, RS So. (7-9)
165 - #4 Evan Wick, RS Jr. (18-2)
174 - Jared Krattiger, RS Fr. (6-11) or Tyler Dow, RS Fr. (7-9)
184 - #13 Johnny Sebastian, RS Sr. (7-3)
197 - Peter Christensen, Fr. (6-6) or Taylor Watkins (4-12)
285 - #5 Trent Hillger, RS So. (16-3)

Minnesota
125: No.12 Pat McKee (17-5)
133: Jake Gliva (6-8) OR Boo Dryden (3-0)
141: No.5 Mitch McKee (21-3) OR Ben Brancale (7-4)
149: No.4 Brayton Lee (18-3)
157: No.22 Ryan Thomas (9-5) OR Carson Brolsma (10-9) OR Kasper McIntosh (4-4)
165: Bailee O'Reilly (18-7)
174: No.8 Devin Skatzka (23-5)
184: No. 18 Owen Webster (17-7)
197: Hunter Ritter (18-6) OR Garrett Joles (8-10)
HWT: No.1 Gable Steveson (7-0)

Success at Midlands Championships
The Hoosiers had three wrestlers earn spots on the podium at the Midlands Championships. Brock Hudkins, despite an injury in the semifinal match finished in sixth-place at 125 pounds. Indiana had two on the podium at 174 with Jacob Covaciu finishing in fifth-place and freshman Donnell Washington finishing in sixth-place.

Early Season Success for Indiana
Brock Hudkins (125) and Nick Willham (197) both won titles for the Hoosiers at MSU Open. The Hoosiers have five wrestlers finish in the top-three at the MSU Open. At the Journeyman Classic eight wrestlers finishined in the top-three, with Kyle Luigs, Joey Sanchez and Dillon Hoey each winning first-place in their respective weight classes.

Hoosiers Open Wilkinson Hall
Wilkinson Hall was dedicated on January 16, 2019. Wilkinson Hall is a multi-use training and performance center that is the new home venue for the Indiana Wrestling and Volleyball programs. The 3,000-seat venue is used as a competition facility for both Indiana Volleyball and Indiana Wrestling. Wilkinson Hall is named after IU alumnus Jay Wilkinson and his family, who have an incredible history of support for IU Athletics and its student-athletes. Last season, the Hoosiers first year in Wilkinson Hall, they ranked 21^st in the country in attendance at 1,286 fans per match. This included a program record 1,962 fans when they hosted No. 1 Penn State.

Hoosiers Sign Elite Recruiting Class
IU head coach Angel Escobedo announced the Hoosiers 2020 class, which includes four wrestlers. Jacob Moran, Derek Gilcher, Nico Bolivar and Santos Cantu will be joining the Hoosiers in the 2020 class. Cantu chose Indiana over Ohio State and is a three-time OSAA 6A Champion at 195 lbs. Gilcher chose Indiana over Virginia, Maryland, Michigan State and Wisconsin and is ranked No. 6 nationally and part of a team that is ranked No. 5 nationally. Bolivar is the brother of current Hoosier Eddie Bolivar was the 2018 Illinois Freestyle Champion. Moran is the brother of current Hoosiers Jonathan Moran and was the 2018 Indiana State Champion and is ranked No. 6 on FloWrestling. Moran is spending this year training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.