Saturday, December 9
Bloomington, Ind.
2:00 PM
Indiana University
vs
Central Michigan
Indiana to Host Central Michigan for Saturday Dual
12/6/2023 11:00:00 AM | Wrestling
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. ––––– Indiana Wrestling is set to compete back in Bloomington this weekend when it hosts Central Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. in Wilkinson Hall.
This will be the first dual between the Hoosiers and Chippewas since 1997.
CMU PREVIEW:
-Central Michigan enters Saturday's dual with an 0-3 record but have lost to three good squads in No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 22 North Carolina and Illinois.
-The Chippewas boast three ranked wrestlers in their lineup, including: No. 16 Corbyn Munson (149), No. 23 Johnny Lovett (157) and No. 18 Alex Cramer (174).
-All three of them were national qualifiers last season with Lovett and Cramer each recording one win at NCAAs.
-This season, the trio owns a combined 16-4 record in the season's early window.
-In addition to them, Central Michigan retains a lot of experience, as it returned five other starters from a year ago in Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (133), Tracy Hubbard (165), Cameron Wood (197) and Bryan Caves (285).
-Last year's team finished second at the MAC Championships and only fell short from a title by 2.5 team points.
CLASS OF THE MAC:
-Central Michigan head coach Tom Borrelli is in his 33rd season leading the Chippewas. In his tenure, Borrelli has amassed many accolades.
-His achievements include 14 MAC Championships first-place finishes, 15 MAC regular season titles and he has been named MAC Coach of the Year 14 times. He was named the conference's coach of the year as recent as last season.
-Borrrelli owns a career 406-196 record as a head coach (360-171 at CMU). He ranks second behind only Oklahoma State's John Smith for most dual victories for active Division I coaches.
-He has coached one national champion, 45 All-Americans, 92 MAC champions and 10 MAC Wrestler of the Year honorees.
-In 1998, he was named the National Coach of the Year by the NWCA and Wrestling International Newsmagazine (W.I.N.).
ONWARD AND UPWARD:
-The Hoosiers continue to elevate the level of the program's standard for success with a consistent total of six wrestlers throughout the year who are in the national rankings.
-Of the six, three of them are ranked in the top-ten of their weight class.
-The ranked Hoosiers are No. 27 Danny Fongaro (141), No. 13 Graham Rooks (149), No. 19 Brayton Lee (157), No. 9 Derek Gilcher (165), No. 10 DJ Washington (174) and No. 31 Nick Willham (285).
-Gilcher and Washington both currently hold undefeated records.
PRINCETON REWIND:
-Indiana had a tight and thrilling dual match with the Tigers last weekend.
-After commanding an 11-3 lead early on, the Hoosiers would have to dig deep in its final two matches to secure an 18-15 win.
-Down 15-11 with bouts at 133 and 141 lbs. remaining, graduate students Cayden Rooks (133) and No. 27 Dan Fongaro (141) got the job done for the Hoosiers.
-Rooks defeated Sean Pierson by decision, 8-3, to make it a 15-14 match. Fongaro, a New Jersey native, excelled in his home state, winning over Tyler Vazquez by major decision, 15-2, and gave Indiana the dual victory.
-Earlier in the match, DJ Washington (174) had another standout performance, winning by tech fall over Mikey Squires, 19-3 (3:59).
NEW FACES:
-Indiana has eight new wrestlers on the roster for this season.
-Of the newbies, five of them are freshmen while the other three are transfers.
-All five freshmen are from the state of Indiana. They include Bryce Lowery (Indianapolis), Joey Buttler (Greenwood), Cheaney Schoeff (Avon), Anthony Bahl (Crown Point) and Aidan Torres (Chesterton).
-Lowery, Buttler and Torres all won an IHSAA individual State Championship during their senior season. Bahl won a Team State Title with the Crown Point Bulldogs, the second in a row for the team, and their third in four years.
-Lowery won IndyStar's Most Outsanding Wrestler award for the best senior wrestler in the state for the 2022-2023 school year.
-Indiana's transfer class includes Dan Fongaro, Brayton Lee and Roman Rogotzke.
-Lee, a known commodity around NCAA Wrestling, returns to his home state after spending five years at Minnesota.
-The two-time All-American (2020, 2021) is seeking to recapture his momentum after entering last season as the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 157 lbs. in the country.
-Lee's 2022-23 season was cut short due to injury at The Big Ten Championships.
-Fongaro comes to Indiana after five years at Columbia where he competed at 141 and 149 lbs. He will wrestle at 141 lbs. for the Hoosiers.
-Fongaro owns fifth and sixth place finishes at the EIWA Championships in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
-Rogotzke, a transfer at 184 lbs., from South Dakota State, enters his redshirt sophomore season with plenty of momentum.
-Last year, Rogotzke racked up 17 wins and took first place at two open tournaments.
SEASON OUTLOOK:
-Indiana's 2023-2024 schedule features 12 dual matches and four invitational tournaments in the regular season.
-Indiana's dual slate features eight Big Ten matches and four non-conference duals.
-Indiana will compete at Southern Scuffle for the first time this season.
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS:
-The Indiana Wrestling team had a number of wrestlers compete in offseason competition to get better and compete on the world stage.
-Senior Jacob Moran competed for Team Puerto Rico at 57 kg in Freestyle and took third place at the Central American and Caribbean Games while also competing at the 2023 U23 World Championships in Albania.
-Derek Gilcher took fifth place at the 2023 U.S. Open at the Senior Level at 74 kg.
-Gabe Sollars earned sixth place at the 2023 U.S. Open in the U20 division in Freestyle at 92 kg. He also had a sixth place finish at the U20 World Team Trials in the same weight class and division.
-DJ Washington finished in second at 86 kg in the U23 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Nick Willham had a fourth place finish at 92 kg in the U23 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Tyler Lillard earned 7th place at 74 kg in the U20 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Cole Rhemrev took 7th place at 67 kg in Greco-Roman at the U20 World Team Trials. Magnus Kuokkanen got 7th in the same division, but at 77 kg.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSION:
-Indiana's roster features wrestlers everywhere across the country.
-Fifteen wrestlers on the team are home grown, in-state Hoosiers, including all of the freshmen.
-Of the 30 wrestlers on the team, there are 13 different states represented.
-The states represented on Indiana's roster include Indiana, New Mexico, Illinois, New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Minnesota, Kansas and Kentucky.
This will be the first dual between the Hoosiers and Chippewas since 1997.
CMU PREVIEW:
-Central Michigan enters Saturday's dual with an 0-3 record but have lost to three good squads in No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 22 North Carolina and Illinois.
-The Chippewas boast three ranked wrestlers in their lineup, including: No. 16 Corbyn Munson (149), No. 23 Johnny Lovett (157) and No. 18 Alex Cramer (174).
-All three of them were national qualifiers last season with Lovett and Cramer each recording one win at NCAAs.
-This season, the trio owns a combined 16-4 record in the season's early window.
-In addition to them, Central Michigan retains a lot of experience, as it returned five other starters from a year ago in Sean Spidle (125), Vince Perez (133), Tracy Hubbard (165), Cameron Wood (197) and Bryan Caves (285).
-Last year's team finished second at the MAC Championships and only fell short from a title by 2.5 team points.
CLASS OF THE MAC:
-Central Michigan head coach Tom Borrelli is in his 33rd season leading the Chippewas. In his tenure, Borrelli has amassed many accolades.
-His achievements include 14 MAC Championships first-place finishes, 15 MAC regular season titles and he has been named MAC Coach of the Year 14 times. He was named the conference's coach of the year as recent as last season.
-Borrrelli owns a career 406-196 record as a head coach (360-171 at CMU). He ranks second behind only Oklahoma State's John Smith for most dual victories for active Division I coaches.
-He has coached one national champion, 45 All-Americans, 92 MAC champions and 10 MAC Wrestler of the Year honorees.
-In 1998, he was named the National Coach of the Year by the NWCA and Wrestling International Newsmagazine (W.I.N.).
ONWARD AND UPWARD:
-The Hoosiers continue to elevate the level of the program's standard for success with a consistent total of six wrestlers throughout the year who are in the national rankings.
-Of the six, three of them are ranked in the top-ten of their weight class.
-The ranked Hoosiers are No. 27 Danny Fongaro (141), No. 13 Graham Rooks (149), No. 19 Brayton Lee (157), No. 9 Derek Gilcher (165), No. 10 DJ Washington (174) and No. 31 Nick Willham (285).
-Gilcher and Washington both currently hold undefeated records.
PRINCETON REWIND:
-Indiana had a tight and thrilling dual match with the Tigers last weekend.
-After commanding an 11-3 lead early on, the Hoosiers would have to dig deep in its final two matches to secure an 18-15 win.
-Down 15-11 with bouts at 133 and 141 lbs. remaining, graduate students Cayden Rooks (133) and No. 27 Dan Fongaro (141) got the job done for the Hoosiers.
-Rooks defeated Sean Pierson by decision, 8-3, to make it a 15-14 match. Fongaro, a New Jersey native, excelled in his home state, winning over Tyler Vazquez by major decision, 15-2, and gave Indiana the dual victory.
-Earlier in the match, DJ Washington (174) had another standout performance, winning by tech fall over Mikey Squires, 19-3 (3:59).
NEW FACES:
-Indiana has eight new wrestlers on the roster for this season.
-Of the newbies, five of them are freshmen while the other three are transfers.
-All five freshmen are from the state of Indiana. They include Bryce Lowery (Indianapolis), Joey Buttler (Greenwood), Cheaney Schoeff (Avon), Anthony Bahl (Crown Point) and Aidan Torres (Chesterton).
-Lowery, Buttler and Torres all won an IHSAA individual State Championship during their senior season. Bahl won a Team State Title with the Crown Point Bulldogs, the second in a row for the team, and their third in four years.
-Lowery won IndyStar's Most Outsanding Wrestler award for the best senior wrestler in the state for the 2022-2023 school year.
-Indiana's transfer class includes Dan Fongaro, Brayton Lee and Roman Rogotzke.
-Lee, a known commodity around NCAA Wrestling, returns to his home state after spending five years at Minnesota.
-The two-time All-American (2020, 2021) is seeking to recapture his momentum after entering last season as the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 157 lbs. in the country.
-Lee's 2022-23 season was cut short due to injury at The Big Ten Championships.
-Fongaro comes to Indiana after five years at Columbia where he competed at 141 and 149 lbs. He will wrestle at 141 lbs. for the Hoosiers.
-Fongaro owns fifth and sixth place finishes at the EIWA Championships in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
-Rogotzke, a transfer at 184 lbs., from South Dakota State, enters his redshirt sophomore season with plenty of momentum.
-Last year, Rogotzke racked up 17 wins and took first place at two open tournaments.
SEASON OUTLOOK:
-Indiana's 2023-2024 schedule features 12 dual matches and four invitational tournaments in the regular season.
-Indiana's dual slate features eight Big Ten matches and four non-conference duals.
-Indiana will compete at Southern Scuffle for the first time this season.
INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS:
-The Indiana Wrestling team had a number of wrestlers compete in offseason competition to get better and compete on the world stage.
-Senior Jacob Moran competed for Team Puerto Rico at 57 kg in Freestyle and took third place at the Central American and Caribbean Games while also competing at the 2023 U23 World Championships in Albania.
-Derek Gilcher took fifth place at the 2023 U.S. Open at the Senior Level at 74 kg.
-Gabe Sollars earned sixth place at the 2023 U.S. Open in the U20 division in Freestyle at 92 kg. He also had a sixth place finish at the U20 World Team Trials in the same weight class and division.
-DJ Washington finished in second at 86 kg in the U23 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Nick Willham had a fourth place finish at 92 kg in the U23 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Tyler Lillard earned 7th place at 74 kg in the U20 World Team Trials in Freestyle.
-Cole Rhemrev took 7th place at 67 kg in Greco-Roman at the U20 World Team Trials. Magnus Kuokkanen got 7th in the same division, but at 77 kg.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISPERSION:
-Indiana's roster features wrestlers everywhere across the country.
-Fifteen wrestlers on the team are home grown, in-state Hoosiers, including all of the freshmen.
-Of the 30 wrestlers on the team, there are 13 different states represented.
-The states represented on Indiana's roster include Indiana, New Mexico, Illinois, New Jersey, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Minnesota, Kansas and Kentucky.
Players Mentioned
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