Luke Blanton

Photo by: Mike Dickbernd

Weight:
149
Year:
Redshirt Junior
Hometown:
Alexandria, Ind.
High School:
Alexandria Monroe

2016-17 (Redshirt Junior – 149 lbs.)
Team Captain
Academic All-Big Ten honoree … Billy Thom Leadership Award winner … the 2016-17 SAAC representative for IU wrestling … posted a 12-6 record at 149 lbs. in his final collegiate season … earned four starts at dual meets, winning three matches … picked up four wins with bonus points (2 MD, 1 TF, 1 WBF) … kicked off the season with a 15-0 technical fall against Dylan Furtado at San Francisco State (11/3) … followed that evening with a 9-2 decision win over Joshy Cortez in the dual with Cal Poly (11/3) … earned a fifth-place finish at the 2016 Navy Classic (11/20) with a 3-3 record, aiding the team championship effort … started the weekend with a major decision win over Lucas Stewart (Campbell) … secured a shutout major decision over Justin Atkinson (Indiana Tech) in his final dual match at University Gymnasium (12/18) … represented IU at the Midlands Championships (12/28-29), going 2-2 with a 3:49 win by fall over Tyshawn Williams (SIU-Edwardsville) … finished runner-up at the Greyhound Open, scoring three decision wins before dropping an 8-5 decision to Jeremy Golding (Purdue) in the title bout.

Summer 2016 (Freestyle)
Attended the 2016 ASICS University Nationals at the University of Akron … won his first two matches, starting with a 1:19 pin over Zaal Zafari (Edinboro) … also earned a 13-2 technical fall victory.

2015-16 (Redshirt Sophomore - 149 lbs.)
Academic All-Big Ten honoree ... named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (12/15) ... earned a third-place finish at the LHU Classic ... opened the season with a third-place finish at the MSU Open (11/15), including a 7-1 win over Wisconsin’s Rylan Lubeck ... began dual competition with an 11-5 decision win against SIU-Edwardsville (12/5) ... down 6-4 entering the third period, came back with a 13-4 third period to upset #10 Jake Short, lifting the Hoosiers to the dual win over Minnesota (12/11) ... followed the upset with a 4-0 decision over #17 Nicholas Barber of Eastern Michigan (12/13) ... named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (12/15) ... climbed to #20 in the national rankings, the highest ranking of his college career ... finished third at the LHU Classic (12/29) ... pulled away in the tiebreaker period for a bout win against Maryland (1/15) ... upset #11 Hunter Stieber in dual action against Ohio State (1/29) ... scored an upset win over Purdue’s Alex Griffin in the first round of the Big Ten Championships (3/5).

2014-15 (Redshirt Freshman - 157 lbs.)
Finished in third-place at the Michigan State Open ... an Academic All-Big Ten honoree ... Indiana's Hoosier Pride Award winner (providing inspiration through sacrifice and perseverance) ... totaled a 16-16 overall record, and a 7-5 dual record, at 157 pounds ... tallied a +18 point differential on the season, which also included three pins and three major decisions ... earned a third-place finish at the MSU Open, going 4-1 and winning the finals consolation match (11/4) ... earned a fall at the Harold Nichols Open (11/8) ... split results at the CKLV Invite, going 2-2 (12/5) ... won a 13-4 major decision against Erik Traveras in dual vs. SIUE (12/13) ... earned a pin in 1:39 against Bryce Roberts in dual vs. Manchester (12/13) ... defeated Ben Sullivan in a 9-3 decision in dual vs. Northwestern, Blanton’s first career Big Ten win (1/18) ... defeated Kyle Visconti 13-7 in dual competition at Ohio State (1/23) ... defeated Travis Curley in a 10-2 major decision against Michigan State (2/13) ... pinned Joseph Evans in 1:57 in the Hoosiers’ dual win over Gardner-Webb (2/15) ... defeated Clayton Bass in a 12-3 major decision against SIUE (2/15).

Prep/Personal: Three-time Indiana state placer, posting second, fourth and sixth place finishes ... 2013 NHSCA Senior All-American ... NHSCA Academic All-American ... three-year team captain ... also captained the football team for a year, earning three letters on the gridiron ... the son of Denise and Calvin Blanton ... born on December 18, 1994 ... has a sister, Angel and nine brothers, Chris, Matt, Eric, Randy, Mark, Brent, Josh, Jon and Tyler ... majoring in Economics and Mathematics.