Indiana University Athletics
No Limits – Indiana Shoots for Wrestling Mountaintop
1/31/2023 10:45:00 AM | Wrestling
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Satisfied? Are you kidding? Indiana wrestling isn't built for that. Not under coach Angel Escobedo. Not with nationally ranked standouts such as heavyweight Jacob Bullock and 174-pound DJ Washington aiming for NCAA Championship glory.
Yes, the Hoosiers' three victories over ranked teams that propelled them into the top-25 highlight a big start, but it's not the end game.
"We made team goals," Washington says, "and I see us shooting past all of them."
Flash back to a recent afternoon in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall wrestling room. Practice is over, coaching is not. Big Ten challenges are too great, IU's potential is too promising to call it a day.
Veterans Graham Rook and Derek Gilcher work to refine their on-the-mat technique. Escobedo watches with the focus of a diamond cutter, offering a tweak here, a suggestion there.
The margin between success and failure is tiny. Rooks and Gilcher, building for a postseason to remember, push with Escobedo's help to close that gap. So do all the Hoosiers in this defining season
They have a No. 25 national ranking, a 7-2 dual meet record (3-2 in the Big Ten) that includes victories over No. 23 Princeton, No. 16 Maryland and No. 16 Rutgers, plus a 17-16 win over rival Purdue that snapped a 12-meet, 12-year losing streak to their rivals.
"On our goal sheet in the locker room," Escobedo says, "we said win three Big Ten meets. We've done that. We said get three ranked wins. We're already there. We said have five All-Americans. We can exceed that.
"Some people are surprised at how good we are this year. We're not. These guys deserve it from the work they put in."
Escobedo, a former IU national champ with a career of defining victories on his resume, expected instant success after taking over the program in 2018.
Big Ten power wrecked those plans.
IU endured seasons of 6-12, 2-10, 2-6 and 3-8. It finished last in last year's conference championships.
It burned then.
It burns now.
"The competitor I was, I thought I'd come in and turn it over in one year," Escobedo says. "That's not reality. It takes time. It takes the right guys to get into the program and learn the system we're teaching."
The Hoosiers spent the offseason committed to a turnover, with one over-riding focus.
"Build men of character," Escobedo says, "and the results will take care of themselves."
And so they have.
"This is a completely different team," Washington says. "We are coming for a lot. I see the hunger. It's personal for us."
*****
Escobedo works to ensure Hoosier wrestlers have everything they need for elite success. That ranges from extra meals to protein shakes to chiropractor sessions to massages to even cool flames that erupt when they emerge for a Wilkinson Hall match.
Don't underestimate the advantage of Wilkinson Hall, a state-of-the art facility shared with women's volleyball that shows IU's commitment to excellence in those sports.
"It's ridiculous what we have now," Washington says. "It's made a big difference. The coaches are putting in work to make things happen.
"It's made a big impact in how our bodies feel. You can tell, when we get into the second and third periods, the other teams are feeling tired. We're feeling fresh."
Key victories have come up and down the lineup. Individual success fuels team momentum. Nick South's recent come-from-behind pin at 165 pounds against a strong Rutgers opponent showcased that.
"That's the kind of energy we've been feeding off of all year," Washington says. "The whole lineup wrestles through every second on the clock. There's never a point where we're relaxing. Other teams know that."
The Hoosiers can't afford to relax. Not against powerful Big Ten competition that includes No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Ohio State among the 12 ranked conference teams.
The Big Ten has won every national title since 2007. It's had the runner up in 10 of those years.
IU hosts Penn State on Sunday and also travels to Michigan State and Michigan.
"We will be tested," Escobedo says. "That prepares us for the national championship. It prepares this team to be great."
*****
Wrestling coaches get 9.9 scholarships to fill 10 lineup spots. They can divide that up any way they want, making it like a salary cap.
"There are a lot of ways you can build your team," Escobedo says. "You can divide your money amongst 15 guys, or invest in nine really, really good guys and the rest are walk-ons. You can mix and match. Some go after the big quarterback, some want offensive linemen. It's what you prioritize in the program."
Escobedo recruits to his strengths. It's hard for Indiana to beat out Penn State and Iowa for the top-rated wrestlers, but it can develop good wrestlers into great ones.
For IU, that means guys such as Washington (18-3, ranked No. 18), Bullock (16-2, No. 24), Gilcher (21-7, No. 19 at 157), Graham Rooks (22-5, No. 30 at 149) 125 Jacob Moran (19-10), 133 Henry Porter (16-6, No. 28), 141 Caydon Rooks (10-7), 197 Nick Willham (14-8) and South (7-5).
Bullock was named Big Ten wrester of the week after going 5-0 with two major decisions and a pin to win the Tournament of Champions in Nevada in mid-December.
Gilcher and Moran both placed in the top eight in December's prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
They are among 27 wrestlers on the roster from 11 states, some as far as Oregon and California.
"If you look up and down our lineup," Escobedo says, "there are no No. 1 recruits, but now they're top-30 guys in the country. That's unheard of (at Indiana). It shows the development we've seen in this program because of the mindset they have."
What does Escobedo look for in a recruit? It starts with guys who aren't intimidated by elite competition
"I want someone who is tenacious, determined," Escobedo says. "Someone who goes after it no matter what. They know they want to get better. They'll never stop wrestling.
"We might not get the blue-chip recruits. I want the gritty recruits. The guys who keep coming, who keep getting better and have a huge upside."
This season that means high school senior standouts Anthony Bahl, Bryce Lowery, Sam Goin and Aidan Torres. Goins, last season's 152-pound Indiana state champ for Crown Point who is positioned for a second title at 160 this season, is the highest rated of this class.
This season's success will boost recruiting and showcase the program's development strength.
"It's showing recruits they can develop here," Escobedo says. "We've had some good signees. That's based on our results. They see what we're capable of."
Development includes patience. Wrestlers can redshirt and still compete unattached in open tournaments. A change in NCAA rules allows a freshman to wrestle in as many as five dual meets and still retain redshirt status.
Case in point -- 197-pound freshman Gabe Sollars out of Evansville Mater Dei High School. He was a dominant two-time state champion who earned All-American status. He's redshirting this season, but still has a 17-6 record, including 2-2 in dual meets with a key victory at Purdue. He has nine pins.
"This gives them a year to develop," Escobedo says. "Let's figure out a way to get them in the lineup.
"For them, it's fun. They can redshirt, but also get a taste of what it's like to be on the team. It gives them incentive."
*****
This breakthrough season could just be the start of something special. The entire team returns next year, and there is championship history. IU won the title in 1932, and finished second in 1934 and '40, and if that seems irrelevant now, don't tell the Hoosiers.
"We don't lose one guy," Escobedo says. "The recruits coming in know they can be on a good team, work with these guys and get better."
What's the end game?
It starts with no limits.
"We know what it's like to compete against the best," Escobedo says. "We'll go after that. We want that. If we can make it from the bottom to the middle, we can go from the middle to the top. That's what I'm excited about."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Satisfied? Are you kidding? Indiana wrestling isn't built for that. Not under coach Angel Escobedo. Not with nationally ranked standouts such as heavyweight Jacob Bullock and 174-pound DJ Washington aiming for NCAA Championship glory.
Yes, the Hoosiers' three victories over ranked teams that propelled them into the top-25 highlight a big start, but it's not the end game.
"We made team goals," Washington says, "and I see us shooting past all of them."
Flash back to a recent afternoon in the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall wrestling room. Practice is over, coaching is not. Big Ten challenges are too great, IU's potential is too promising to call it a day.
Veterans Graham Rook and Derek Gilcher work to refine their on-the-mat technique. Escobedo watches with the focus of a diamond cutter, offering a tweak here, a suggestion there.
The margin between success and failure is tiny. Rooks and Gilcher, building for a postseason to remember, push with Escobedo's help to close that gap. So do all the Hoosiers in this defining season
They have a No. 25 national ranking, a 7-2 dual meet record (3-2 in the Big Ten) that includes victories over No. 23 Princeton, No. 16 Maryland and No. 16 Rutgers, plus a 17-16 win over rival Purdue that snapped a 12-meet, 12-year losing streak to their rivals.
"On our goal sheet in the locker room," Escobedo says, "we said win three Big Ten meets. We've done that. We said get three ranked wins. We're already there. We said have five All-Americans. We can exceed that.
"Some people are surprised at how good we are this year. We're not. These guys deserve it from the work they put in."
Escobedo, a former IU national champ with a career of defining victories on his resume, expected instant success after taking over the program in 2018.
Big Ten power wrecked those plans.
IU endured seasons of 6-12, 2-10, 2-6 and 3-8. It finished last in last year's conference championships.
It burned then.
It burns now.
"The competitor I was, I thought I'd come in and turn it over in one year," Escobedo says. "That's not reality. It takes time. It takes the right guys to get into the program and learn the system we're teaching."
The Hoosiers spent the offseason committed to a turnover, with one over-riding focus.
"Build men of character," Escobedo says, "and the results will take care of themselves."
And so they have.
"This is a completely different team," Washington says. "We are coming for a lot. I see the hunger. It's personal for us."
*****
Escobedo works to ensure Hoosier wrestlers have everything they need for elite success. That ranges from extra meals to protein shakes to chiropractor sessions to massages to even cool flames that erupt when they emerge for a Wilkinson Hall match.
Don't underestimate the advantage of Wilkinson Hall, a state-of-the art facility shared with women's volleyball that shows IU's commitment to excellence in those sports.
"It's ridiculous what we have now," Washington says. "It's made a big difference. The coaches are putting in work to make things happen.
"It's made a big impact in how our bodies feel. You can tell, when we get into the second and third periods, the other teams are feeling tired. We're feeling fresh."
Key victories have come up and down the lineup. Individual success fuels team momentum. Nick South's recent come-from-behind pin at 165 pounds against a strong Rutgers opponent showcased that.
"That's the kind of energy we've been feeding off of all year," Washington says. "The whole lineup wrestles through every second on the clock. There's never a point where we're relaxing. Other teams know that."
The Hoosiers can't afford to relax. Not against powerful Big Ten competition that includes No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Ohio State among the 12 ranked conference teams.
The Big Ten has won every national title since 2007. It's had the runner up in 10 of those years.
IU hosts Penn State on Sunday and also travels to Michigan State and Michigan.
"We will be tested," Escobedo says. "That prepares us for the national championship. It prepares this team to be great."
*****
Wrestling coaches get 9.9 scholarships to fill 10 lineup spots. They can divide that up any way they want, making it like a salary cap.
"There are a lot of ways you can build your team," Escobedo says. "You can divide your money amongst 15 guys, or invest in nine really, really good guys and the rest are walk-ons. You can mix and match. Some go after the big quarterback, some want offensive linemen. It's what you prioritize in the program."
Escobedo recruits to his strengths. It's hard for Indiana to beat out Penn State and Iowa for the top-rated wrestlers, but it can develop good wrestlers into great ones.
For IU, that means guys such as Washington (18-3, ranked No. 18), Bullock (16-2, No. 24), Gilcher (21-7, No. 19 at 157), Graham Rooks (22-5, No. 30 at 149) 125 Jacob Moran (19-10), 133 Henry Porter (16-6, No. 28), 141 Caydon Rooks (10-7), 197 Nick Willham (14-8) and South (7-5).
Bullock was named Big Ten wrester of the week after going 5-0 with two major decisions and a pin to win the Tournament of Champions in Nevada in mid-December.
Gilcher and Moran both placed in the top eight in December's prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
They are among 27 wrestlers on the roster from 11 states, some as far as Oregon and California.
"If you look up and down our lineup," Escobedo says, "there are no No. 1 recruits, but now they're top-30 guys in the country. That's unheard of (at Indiana). It shows the development we've seen in this program because of the mindset they have."
What does Escobedo look for in a recruit? It starts with guys who aren't intimidated by elite competition
"I want someone who is tenacious, determined," Escobedo says. "Someone who goes after it no matter what. They know they want to get better. They'll never stop wrestling.
"We might not get the blue-chip recruits. I want the gritty recruits. The guys who keep coming, who keep getting better and have a huge upside."
This season that means high school senior standouts Anthony Bahl, Bryce Lowery, Sam Goin and Aidan Torres. Goins, last season's 152-pound Indiana state champ for Crown Point who is positioned for a second title at 160 this season, is the highest rated of this class.
This season's success will boost recruiting and showcase the program's development strength.
"It's showing recruits they can develop here," Escobedo says. "We've had some good signees. That's based on our results. They see what we're capable of."
Development includes patience. Wrestlers can redshirt and still compete unattached in open tournaments. A change in NCAA rules allows a freshman to wrestle in as many as five dual meets and still retain redshirt status.
Case in point -- 197-pound freshman Gabe Sollars out of Evansville Mater Dei High School. He was a dominant two-time state champion who earned All-American status. He's redshirting this season, but still has a 17-6 record, including 2-2 in dual meets with a key victory at Purdue. He has nine pins.
"This gives them a year to develop," Escobedo says. "Let's figure out a way to get them in the lineup.
"For them, it's fun. They can redshirt, but also get a taste of what it's like to be on the team. It gives them incentive."
*****
This breakthrough season could just be the start of something special. The entire team returns next year, and there is championship history. IU won the title in 1932, and finished second in 1934 and '40, and if that seems irrelevant now, don't tell the Hoosiers.
"We don't lose one guy," Escobedo says. "The recruits coming in know they can be on a good team, work with these guys and get better."
What's the end game?
It starts with no limits.
"We know what it's like to compete against the best," Escobedo says. "We'll go after that. We want that. If we can make it from the bottom to the middle, we can go from the middle to the top. That's what I'm excited about."
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