Indiana University Athletics
Perseverance Leads to Success for Cronin
1/30/2020 6:30:00 PM | Wrestling
By Jared Rigdon
IUHoosiers.Com
Liam Cronin rose up off the ground and pointed straight at the Indiana bench with a smile on his face.
He stepped over Purdue's No. 5 125 pound wrestler Devin Schroder on his way to hype up a Wilkinson Hall crowd of more than 1,800 people on MLK day.
His last-minute takedown secured a decision over his fifth-ranked opponent and gave IU momentum to take forward from the match.
The intensity is part of his mentality when he's on the mat. He's one of the smallest on the team but he's quickly learned how to channel his confidence into his passion to make him one of the productive wrestlers IU's got over the past few weeks.
"Off the mat I'm pretty easy going but when I get out there my mindset clicks to something different," Cronin said. "I'm intense and I want to dominate. I want to compete and go out there to put on a show for the fans. If I win and dominate I like to celebrate. It makes it fun."
At the beginning of the season it didn't look like he'd get the chance to shine against top-ten opponents. Brock Hudkins started the season as the main wrestler in the 125 lb weight class.
But when he got injured at a tournament early in the season, Cronin stepped into the position and quickly established himself as a premier wrestler in the weight class.
Cronin has won his last three matches, including two against ranked opponents. In his last three matches he has outscored opponents, 20-7. It's no coincidence that IU's been highly competitive in the past few weeks and picked up its first win of the season last Sunday against Maryland.
"It's good to have competition," Cronin said. "Brock is a great wrestler and it's great to have someone to be at your weight class and push you. There's only so many competitions a year to gauge yourself so it's great to have someone near your weight nipping at your heels to know you've got to put in the work to keep the spot."
He and Hudkins have combined to make the 125-lb weight class one of IU's strongest positions in its lineup. It shouldn't come as a surprise to many given the history that surrounds that lightweight position.
IU head coach Angel Escobedo won the 2008 NCAA National Title at 125 lbs. He was an All-American in that weight class and remains IU's last individual national champion in wrestling.
With Escobedo in his second year in Bloomington as head coach of IU, it's been a luxury for Cronin to have the knowledge and intel of a former National Champion to help guide him on the mat.
"Having him as a drill partner and a leader, it's helped me and a lot of the lower weights with confidence," Cronin said. "Every day we go in and he's working with us and showing us to be a champion. It's the mindset of what's changed in IU wrestling, to go out there and give maximum effort and have a great attitude. Besides the fact that he's a world-class technician, it's the mentality that he's brought to help us."
Even though he doesn't focus on the number in front of his opponent's name, he admits it's been nice to rack up a couple consecutive wins including some over ranked wrestlers.
He struggled with confidence issues early in his IU career especially as he worked during his redshirt year to put on weight and bring himself on par with the rest of the conference.
"It's good to see your hard work pay off," Cronin said. "I go into the workout room every day with the mindset that I'm going to be a national champion and sometimes the results aren't there. At the beginning of the season I had some losses in there but every day it's being consistent and staying the course."
Things are starting to fall in place for Cronin. With Wisconsin and Minnesota on the horizon this weekend, the same mindset is in-tact for him. There's no easy match in the conference.
But he knows that.
"The breakthrough is coming for me," Cronin said. "I think a big part of that was the mindset. The ability was there but I wasn't always there mentally. Getting a couple tweaks in my mind has started to pay off and I'm hitting the right steps."
The results are starting to reach the same level as his confidence and fiery passion. As long as he's in the lineup, Cronin is going to keep setting the tone as IU continues its road to being a wrestling power.
IUHoosiers.Com
Liam Cronin rose up off the ground and pointed straight at the Indiana bench with a smile on his face.
He stepped over Purdue's No. 5 125 pound wrestler Devin Schroder on his way to hype up a Wilkinson Hall crowd of more than 1,800 people on MLK day.
His last-minute takedown secured a decision over his fifth-ranked opponent and gave IU momentum to take forward from the match.
The intensity is part of his mentality when he's on the mat. He's one of the smallest on the team but he's quickly learned how to channel his confidence into his passion to make him one of the productive wrestlers IU's got over the past few weeks.
"Off the mat I'm pretty easy going but when I get out there my mindset clicks to something different," Cronin said. "I'm intense and I want to dominate. I want to compete and go out there to put on a show for the fans. If I win and dominate I like to celebrate. It makes it fun."
At the beginning of the season it didn't look like he'd get the chance to shine against top-ten opponents. Brock Hudkins started the season as the main wrestler in the 125 lb weight class.
But when he got injured at a tournament early in the season, Cronin stepped into the position and quickly established himself as a premier wrestler in the weight class.
Cronin has won his last three matches, including two against ranked opponents. In his last three matches he has outscored opponents, 20-7. It's no coincidence that IU's been highly competitive in the past few weeks and picked up its first win of the season last Sunday against Maryland.
"It's good to have competition," Cronin said. "Brock is a great wrestler and it's great to have someone to be at your weight class and push you. There's only so many competitions a year to gauge yourself so it's great to have someone near your weight nipping at your heels to know you've got to put in the work to keep the spot."
He and Hudkins have combined to make the 125-lb weight class one of IU's strongest positions in its lineup. It shouldn't come as a surprise to many given the history that surrounds that lightweight position.
IU head coach Angel Escobedo won the 2008 NCAA National Title at 125 lbs. He was an All-American in that weight class and remains IU's last individual national champion in wrestling.
With Escobedo in his second year in Bloomington as head coach of IU, it's been a luxury for Cronin to have the knowledge and intel of a former National Champion to help guide him on the mat.
"Having him as a drill partner and a leader, it's helped me and a lot of the lower weights with confidence," Cronin said. "Every day we go in and he's working with us and showing us to be a champion. It's the mindset of what's changed in IU wrestling, to go out there and give maximum effort and have a great attitude. Besides the fact that he's a world-class technician, it's the mentality that he's brought to help us."
Even though he doesn't focus on the number in front of his opponent's name, he admits it's been nice to rack up a couple consecutive wins including some over ranked wrestlers.
He struggled with confidence issues early in his IU career especially as he worked during his redshirt year to put on weight and bring himself on par with the rest of the conference.
"It's good to see your hard work pay off," Cronin said. "I go into the workout room every day with the mindset that I'm going to be a national champion and sometimes the results aren't there. At the beginning of the season I had some losses in there but every day it's being consistent and staying the course."
Things are starting to fall in place for Cronin. With Wisconsin and Minnesota on the horizon this weekend, the same mindset is in-tact for him. There's no easy match in the conference.
But he knows that.
"The breakthrough is coming for me," Cronin said. "I think a big part of that was the mindset. The ability was there but I wasn't always there mentally. Getting a couple tweaks in my mind has started to pay off and I'm hitting the right steps."
The results are starting to reach the same level as his confidence and fiery passion. As long as he's in the lineup, Cronin is going to keep setting the tone as IU continues its road to being a wrestling power.
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