In their fourth match-up of the season, junior Matt Powless at 197 pounds was upset by Michigan States Tyler Dickenson 7-4. The loss sends Powless to the consalation bracket where he will have a long road ahead of him to snatch one of the sic automatic qualifer spots. This is by far the earliest loss in a tournament on the year for Powless, so it will be interesting to se how he responds.
Powless had a narrow 8-5 victory the last time these two met.
In other first round (or "pigtail round") action, redshirt freshman Ryan LeBlanc held his seed with a win over Purdues Kyle Mosier at 165 pounds.
Among IU's unseeded wrestlers, three lost to seeded opponents as expected. True freshman Mitchell Richey, however, rebounded from a pin at the hands of Purdue's Jake Fleckenstein his last time out to return the favor, pinning Fleckenstein. His reward? A daunting matchup against Iowa's Montell Marion.
I will continue to post updates throughout the weekend. Live blogs can also be found at both Intermat and TheOpenMat.
