Wrestling team goes 4-1 during weekend

During a weekend of success for the IU wrestling team in which the Hoosiers posted a 4-1 record, it was the loss that stuck with the coaches and wrestlers the most, they said.  

After defeating Northern Colorado, Drexel, the Virginia Military Institute and Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville by scores of 32-9, 29-9, 46-0 and 28-9, respectively, IU went into its matchup with West Virginia knowing this would likely be the main event.

“West Virginia was really the team we were looking forward to meeting in this dual meet,” senior Adam Chalfant said.

West Virginia won the first four matches to go up 15-0.

“West Virginia came out wrestling hard,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We didn’t wrestle poorly at 125, 133. We started off OK but gave up some bad points that took us out of that scenario.

“I was thinking, ‘I hope Taylor can pin this guy and get the tide turned a little bit,’” Goldman said.

As Goldman had hoped, No. 6 ranked junior Taylor Walsh brought the Hoosiers some momentum by pinning junior Brutus Scheffel. It was Walsh’s fourth pin in as many matches on the weekend, and he ended the weekend going 5-0, all pins.

Walsh now has 17 pins on the season and is 20-0. His 17 falls place him three away from breaking the school record, and his 38 career pins put him at fifth all time.

A victory by senior Ryan LeBlanc, a loss from freshman Nate Jackson and a pin by junior Luke Sheridan set up an intense must-win match between sophomore Garret Goldman and West Virginia sophomore Mark Colabucci.

Goldman went into the match with a 7-8 record but has shown frustration in some difficult defeats.

The University Gym was roaring with enthusiasm during the match that included a replay review and a bench warning.

Neither wrestler had a clear view of victory until the final seconds. Goldman held on for a 6-5 win thanks to a late takedown to bring the team score to 21-18 in favor of West Virginia.

The takedown gave Chalfant a chance to complete the Hoosier comeback, as he needed at least an eight-point victory to secure the four points IU needed to win.

“Luke came back with a huge pin on a tough kid,” Goldman said. “Garret had a great win against a solid opponent that really put us in a situation to win the dual.”

The No. 8 ranked heavyweight, Chalfant managed to win on a 6-3 decision to tie the match 21-21.

“I knew that guy was going to run from me most of the time, so I just tried to push the pace with him and try to get out there on top, but it kind of ended up coming back and biting me,” Chalfant said.

The contest was decided on tiebreaker criteria, and the Mountaineers won with more points on non-fall bouts.

“I was proud that the guys fought back, but we just fell a little short,” Goldman said.

Despite the difficult loss, Walsh, LeBlanc, Sheridan and Chalfant went to 5-0 for the weekend.

All four are ranked in the top 25 for their weight class. Goldman went 4-1 as he won his final four bouts.

Goldman said he was confident in the guys who are highly ranked, but he said he needed everyone else on the team to realize that every point matters. Chalfant agreed.

“We got to push it harder in the room,” Chalfant said. “We got to push our teammates harder. The hard work is what is going to separate us from being a good team to being a great team.”

Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.