After the first day of the Big Ten Championships for wrestling, five Hoosiers are still in the running for a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Joe Duca was the first Hoosier to kick off Session II, with a 6-2 decision over Northwestern's Dom Malone. Sophomore Taylor Walsh would join his teammate, with a win over Wisconsin's Kalvin York. At this point, both wrestlers would be one win away from clinching a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Junior Ryan LeBlanc became the first Hoosier to secure his spot in the NCAAs, clinching one of the eight spots in his weight class of 165 pounds. Along with the three other Hoosiers, sophomore Luke Sheridan would be one spot away from securing his spot, with a close 1-0 win over Wisconsin's Ben Cox.
Along with LeBlanc, junior Adam Chalfant would be the only Hoosier to gain a secure spot in the NCCAs with his win over Purdue's Alex White.
Duca, Walsh, Sheridan, and LeBlanc will all wrestle for the seventh spot tomorrow, however LeBlanc has already secured his spot. Chalfant will be wrestling for third place. Wrestling resumes tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. with Session III and the finals will begin at 2:30 p.m., which will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.
