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(02/10/14 3:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU wrestling lost 18-16 to Michigan State on Saturday during IU’s final regular season Big Ten match of the season before next month’s Big Ten Championship.Freshman Trevor Moody opened the match against the Spartans with a 4-2 decision win against Michigan State’s Brian Gibbs at 141 pounds. The win was Gibbs’ second consecutive Big Ten victory.Junior Taylor Walsh climbed one step closer to becoming IU’s all-time pins leader by pinning Michigan State’s Roger Wildmo. Walsh fell behind to his foe 2-0 early but managed to pin Wildmo at the one minute 40 seconds mark.Walsh’s pin was his 45th during his career, putting up two behind Viktor Sveda’s all-time pins record of 47. The pin was Walsh’s 24th of the season, adding to his school-record for pins in a season.In the heavyweight matchup between IU’s No. 4 Adam Chalfant and Michigan State’s No. 6 Mike McClure, Chalfant defeated McClure 5-1. IU next travels on Saturday to Edwardsville, Ill., for its final matches of the regular season before the Big Ten Tournament.— Sam Beishuizen
(02/05/14 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Only in his redshirt junior season, wrestler Taylor Walsh has already surpassed four-time All-American and national champion Angel Escobedo for the second most pins in school history. His 44 pins are three shy of the school record. Walsh leads the nation with 23 pins this season. He has broken the all-time IU record of 19, procuring 23 thus far. Walsh has nearly two more months of action to further elevate his record.Walsh began wrestling relatively late, said Matt Walsh, Taylor’s father and an inner-city wrestling coach. Matt said he knew the risks of forcing a sport on his son too young.“Most kids start wrestling at 4 or 5 ... but I never pushed him on it. I didn’t want to spoil it for him,” Matt said. Walsh began wrestling in the third grade. After struggling in his first year, winning only two or three matches, Walsh said he went on a binge of wrestling matches. “I was wrestling 100 matches a year,” he said.Walsh said the mat experience he gained markedly improved his ability.Walsh said his appearance led to opponents doubting his ability and mocking him. “I had bleach-blonde hair, glasses and used to get made fun of. They called me Harry Potter,” Walsh said.Walsh used his appearance as a stratagem to elevate the confidence of his opponent, he said. “I would intentionally mope around so the kid would get overconfident ... then I would go out and kill the kid,” Walsh said. Joe Melchiore, four-time All-American and Walsh’s coach and mentor since the age of 9, said he was special.“He has something you can’t teach.”,” he said. Pete Dipol, Walsh’s high school coach, backed Melchiore’s sentiment. “He’s a rare talent,” Dipol said.Walsh was undefeated throughout junior high school, pinning all but one opponent. In high school, he went to the state finals three times, winning the championship twice for Camden Catholic High School in Cherry Hill, N.J.Walsh said critics claimed his unorthodox style couldn’t translate to the collegiate level. Despite this, Walsh received multiple wrestling scholarships to attend a multitude of colleges, including IU, Ryder and North Carolina. He said the prestige of the Big Ten Conference, the campus and the distance from his New Jersey home attracted him to IU.“I saw people go to school close by, and their hometown friends were always visiting, and I knew that could be a negative influence,” he said.Walsh advanced to the NCAA Championships his freshman and sophomore seasons. This year, he began ranked No. 4. Walsh’s jump into elite status is a product of his long-standing mental approach and his confidence, Dipol said.During high school he began working with a sports psychologist to strengthen his mind.“I never minded losing during the season because you have to take the losses as a learning experience,” he said. Before every match, Walsh sits in solitude and enters a tranquil state of mind. “I will sit in a corner by myself or in the locker room, say a prayer, clear my mind and use a breathing pattern to calm me down,” Walsh said. Melchiore and Dipol both said Walsh hasn’t reached his peak yet.“The sky is the limit,” Matt said.
(12/28/13 10:25pm)
Evanston, Ill. will be the center of collegiate wrestling this week as Northwestern hosts the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, which is often considered to be the premier amateur-wrestling tournament during the season.
(12/16/13 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Everything went as expected for the IU wrestling team in a 52-0 defeat of Division-III Manchester this weekend.“It was a productive match, and we got out of it what we hoped to,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.Only two matches were won by decision as IU won eight of 10 on pins or technical falls. This includes junior Taylor Walsh’s NCAA-leading 18th pin of the season that puts him one away from tying the school record. “We got an opportunity again to make that weigh-in and wrestle in front of a really good crowd,” Goldman said. “Really happy with the turnout today. All of our guys experienced success today, and we came out unscathed on the injury side of it, so now we can move forward into finals week and get ready for what’s coming up after Christmas.”Walsh, seniors Adam Chalfant and Ryan LeBlanc and junior Luke Sheridan all remained undefeated at home this season.On a day of expected domination, sophomore Joe Randazzo went out and did so.A walk-on from Mt. Prospect, Ill., Randazzo was 0-8 on the season before the matchup with Manchester, and he received an opportunity to wrestle in place of injured sophomores Eric Roach and Alex Gregory.Randazzo defeated Manchester freshman TJ Thompson 7-3 in what will be Randazzo’s final match of the season. “It was awesome,” Randazzo said. “Today is my last match this year since I am studying abroad in Rome. It was awesome to get out there with Roach and Gregory being out and get out there and get a win. That was really cool and seeing everyone else out there getting wins as well.”The differential in talent showed in Manchester’s timidity, and IU capitalized on it.“The other team was backing up a lot,” Randazzo said. “They really didn’t want to wrestle us. I don’t really blame them since they are a D-III school coming into a Big Ten dual, but they were backing up, and we just kept attacking.”The 52-0 victory puts IU at 7-1 on the season going into winter break. The team’s break won’t be long, as they head to the Midlands tournament at Northwestern on Dec. 29 and 30.“Midlands is a heck of a tournament,” Goldman said. “There are a lot of great teams, and they have a really tough field. We have some guys individually that have done well so far, and it’s a team tournament, and hopefully we can continue in that aspect and have a good tournament.”Goldman said he is hoping some of the younger wrestlers that are starting to gain a lot more experience will show more maturity at Midlands. While Randazzo will not be around for the rest of the season, he did have some thoughts on the team and how the rest of the season will go.“This year, we are coming out as pretty much a whole new team,” Randazzo said. “You know with (IU Assistant Coach Nick) Simmons and Duane (Goldman) it’s just a whole new feel. Everything is just going good right now. We are looking good for the future, and I think we are going to crawl up the rankings.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(12/16/13 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In addition to its victory against Manhattan this weekend, the IU wrestling team has been making a splash on the recruiting trail as this year’s signing class was ranked No. 9 by Wrestling Insider News magazine.“We worked hard in that early signing period, and we were really happy with what we got,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.Five of the six recruits are ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective weight classes, and the lone wrestler in the class not ranked, 195-pounder Dakota Thacker, is ranked No. 1 in the state of Indiana at 195 pounds. “We have some guys that we think are really going to contribute in the future,” Goldman said. “A lot really fill needs in weight classes where we are starting to feel older. So we feel like we are moving in the right direction.”The primary focuses of this recruiting period were middleweights and heavyweights, Goldman said. Jake Danishek out of Miamisburg, Ohio, is a three-time Ohio state champion. He has won the Super 32 Challenge, considered to be the most difficult preseason tournament in the country, and is the No. 2 152-pounder in the nation.Logan Marcicki is a Michigan state champion and two-time finalist from the city of Novi. A Junior National All-American, he is ranked No. 15 at 182 pounds. Bryce Martin is another Junior National All-American from California who is ranked No. 16 at 170 pounds.In addition to Thacker, another Indiana man is 220-pound Junior All-American Fletcher Miller, who is ranked No. 11.To round out the current class is two-time Michigan state champion and No. 12 ranked 138-pounder, Cole Weaver, who is a two-time Cadet All-American. “The guys that we signed, we like that they are not only successful but they are really hard-working, tough kids that will be able to succeed on this mat,” Goldman said.This past recruiting season, the Big Ten had nine of the top 12 freshman classes in the nation. Goldman looked back on past classes that have stood out, and the best one he could remember is the 2005 class that had four-time All-American Angel Escobedo, Matt Coughlin and Trevor Perry, among others.Goldman said he feels this class is a good sign for the future of IU and hopes all six will have success.Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(12/13/13 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday at IU’s University Gym, No. 24 IU will take on Division III Manchester. “It is one of our lighter duals of the season, so we all want to go out and make sure that everyone gets good wins, and hopefully some people can get some bonus points this weekend,” junior Taylor Walsh said.Walsh, 157 pounds and No. 5 in the nation, has 17 pins, which puts him two away from tying the single-season school record.“I feel like every match, no matter easy or hard, you try to look for it,” Walsh said.IU Coach Duane Goldman said when a wrestler is on a pin streak like Walsh’s, opponents are aware of it and try to avoid it. Goldman attributes some of Walsh’s success to his noticeable improvement. “For him, I think it’s just a question of going out and staying aggressive,” Goldman said. “He has always been a pinner, but before he used to sit back and wait for opportunities, and now he is creating and going after his opportunities.” This week the team has been working hard and focusing on conditioning since it does not have to rest as much as it would for a Big Ten match, Walsh said. “Our goal for the week is to have no setbacks,” Goldman said. “Aside from winning all of our matches, we want to come out of it with no injuries.” Staying healthy against Manchester remains a focus for the Hoosiers, who saw two of their own, including sophomore Garret Goldman, suffer injuries against the Spartans last season.“That was a pretty unfortunate circumstance, and we just want to avoid that,” Goldman said. With final exams approaching, the Hoosier players have more to focus on than Manchester. The staff made some adjustments to tailor to the wrestlers’ schedules. “As far as our practice schedule, we change that up a little,” Goldman said. “We make it a little more open, obviously, if guys have to study and all. We try to be intense when we can, but probably on a more individual basis.”The team went 4-1 last weekend at Hoosier Duals and four wrestlers went 5-0. This week the team’s mentality is that the Manchester meet is another opportunity to get in the rhythm of the dual-meet format, Goldman said. Wrestlers will have another opportunity to continue to improve before the Midlands Tournament over winter break and then the Big Ten season. “We had five matches last week, two weigh-ins, we got a lot accomplished and had a lot of competition,” Goldman said. “This is the time to get another one-hour weigh-in and hopefully have a good result and kind of come down off last week. Then, our guys have finals after that and go home for Christmas, and hopefully we can just go off on a good note.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(12/11/13 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Hoosier standout Matt Powless has been named the new assistant coach of the IU wrestling team.The team has been without a second assistant coach since former assistant Joe LeBlanc took a new job at Brown in early November.Powless was an All-American in 2011 for IU and has served as a volunteer coach since 2012 while he earned his master’s degree in counseling and counselor education. Indiana’s Most Outstanding Wrester in 2011 and 2012, Powless’ 124 career wins rank fifth all time at IU.During his 2011 All-American season, he led all of NCAA wrestling with 13 major decisions and led the Big Ten with 39 total wins, the seventh-most in an IU season.His accolades go beyond strictly wrestling, as he was the only four-time Academic All-American in IU wrestling history.Powless was also named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar after his junior and senior seasons.Powless was a leader on the mat for several seasons, and the team is looking forward to him helping wrestlers in the future, IU Coach Duane Goldman said. Possibly his greatest legacy as a wrestler was being named a 2012 Spirit of Indiana Directors Award honoree. IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass presents the award to two student athletes who most represent the ideals of the school’s athletic program.— Brody Miller
(12/11/13 4:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Luke Sheridan stands behind the coaches, waiting for his match to begin. He has a poised, fixated look out at the mat as if there is nothing on his mind besides the next 10 minutes of wrestling.He strides out onto the mat. He displays a large tattoo of a grandfather clock on his left arm and an equally sizeable tattoo of a lion on his right thigh. He walks to the far edge of the circle and taps his shoes together.He does this preceding each match, right before he makes his way to the center to face his next opponent.Sheridan said he taps his shoes together as an ode to when he used to write initials of family members on his shoes when he was younger. Sheridan takes wrestling very personally.“Every time I go out there, this is what I have decided to do with my life, this is what I have put my heart into,” Sheridan said. “This person is standing in front of me and my whole life, so I am not going to just let them run over me.”The person standing in front of Sheridan today is an even more personal opponent for him.Seven years earlier, Sheridan was competing in a regional 18-under tournament in which he had just won the Greco-Roman division — Sheridan’s specialty.The next day was the freestyle tournament, and Sheridan went up against a wrestler from the state of Washington named Nick Bayer. Sheridan may have gone in with too much confidence.Bayer defeated Sheridan but did not end up placing in the tournament. Sheridan came back to gain third place. It was the loss that mattered to him, though.“For seven years I have been thinking about that match, how I let my ego get the best of me,” Sheridan said. “It was tough.”Years later at a tournament in Washington, Bayer’s dad came up to Sheridan and, when he mentioned who his son was, Sheridan knew exactly who he was talking about.“When I lose matches in the Olympic styles I take it very personally,” Sheridan said. “But I haven’t seen him or heard of him or anything until this weekend.”During the years after their matchup, Sheridan has placed third twice in the California state championships, and last summer he won the Junior Fila National Championships without a point being scored on him.He also won the Junior Fila World Team Trials to go on to compete in the 21-under World Championships.He has won the University Nationals and University World Team Trials and qualified for the World team, but he decided to stay home and focus on his collegiate wrestling and his education.Bayer, on the other hand, has been a three-time Washington state champion and has posted winning records in his first two seasons at Northern Colorado.Fast forward to this week, as Sheridan realized he would be facing Bayer at the Hoosier Duals.He was elated.“Just pure excitement,” Sheridan said. “I mean, I love avenging losses. It is one of the best feelings in the world.’”Fast forward again to the Hoosier Duals as Sheridan and Bayer face off.Sheridan gets off to a slow start as Bayer takes the lead. With 90 seconds left in the match, Sheridan trails 5-2.“I looked over in my corner and Coach (Duane Goldman) looked at me and was like, ‘You can do this. Time to start wrestling,’” Sheridan said. “I decided to flip the switch and forget about the score and just start wrestling my match.”Sheridan gets an escape with 1 minute and 9 seconds left to bring the match within two points.Then, he goes for a double leg takedown but can’t quite get it.With less than 30 seconds left, Sheridan receives another opportunity and nails a takedown to tie the match up at 5-5. The match Sheridan had been waiting seven years for is going to a sudden victory period.The first person to get a takedown wins.Sheridan wastes no time. He takes Bayer down quickly to win the match 7-5.“I was pretty excited to say the least,” Sheridan said.Sheridan went on to win all five matches on the weekend, including a pin in a must-win bout in the meet against West Virginia.The team needed points from him to stay in it. West Virginia ended up winning on tiebreaker criteria.Sheridan did not gloat about his vengeful victory over Bayer or talk about his 5-0 outing. He said it was bittersweet because he wished the team could have won all five matchups.Now he said he just wants to keep working toward the next competition.The wrestler who let his ego get the best of him seven years ago no longer has an ego issue.“Something Coach Goldman has taught me is that there is always room for improvement,” Sheridan said. “There is always something you can learn from every single match. So now I just need to go back, watch the film and get ready for the next one.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(12/09/13 3:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>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.
(12/06/13 1:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It will be a busy weekend at the University Gym as six wrestling teams meet for the Hoosier Duals. IU, West Virginia, Northern Colorado, Drexel, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Virginia Military Institute will participate in a round robin competition Saturday and Sunday.IU Coach Duane Goldman said he was not too pleased with IU’s first dual meets back in November but looks forward to seeing the team progress this weekend.“It’s a new challenge for us,” Goldman said. “The whole format of what we are doing this weekend serves us better down the line like what we are trying to prepare for tournament-wise, trying to string together wins. Three the first day, two the second. You know, to win an NCAA championship you have to win five matches, and this is kind of that scenario.”The team values these early season meets to prepare them for the road ahead.“This lays the groundwork, gets us ready, we work out all the kinks out now because the Big Ten season is really competitive,” senior Ryan LeBlanc said.Goldman and the wrestlers view this as an even field where they should come out victorious.“I think all of the teams are actually pretty evenly matched,” Goldman said. “I think it should be a good weekend of wrestling. I wouldn’t say that there are necessarily any teams as a whole that are really strong from top to bottom. They are all pretty similar to us. They have their leaders, and they have their guys that are working their way in.”One of the more interesting individual matchups will be between junior Luke Sheridan and Northern Colorado junior Nick Bayer Jr. “The kid from Northern Colorado (Bayer) beat me seven years ago in a freestyle match, and when it comes to my freestyle career I don’t really forget matches that I lose,” Sheridan said. “He probably doesn’t even remember me, but I am definitely looking forward to that one.”IU is now ranked No. 25 in the nation, but that is not what the wrestlers focus on, Sheridan said. “We are definitely not content,” Sheridan said. “We want to keep pushing it. Top-25 is no accomplishment, really. It is a step in the right direction, but it’s nowhere near where we want to be.”This year’s IU squad has a combination of highly ranked veterans and inexperienced members. Goldman values what the veterans can provide.“Our four ranked guys are all juniors and seniors,” Goldman said. “We depend on those guys. Our young guys coming up depend on them. They need that leadership. They need some guys that have been in that action to lead the way.”For instance, sophomore Ethan Raley has had ups and downs in his first year wrestling with IU after transferring from Lincoln College. Raley went through a difficult stretch two weeks ago to win the 149-pound title at the Keystone Classic.“Ethan Raley has done a great job, but he has been kind of a rollercoaster,” Goldman said. “He had a really good tournament, then he didn’t look good the next couple of weeks. Then he went to this last tournament and looked great. He has got to develop some consistency.”Goldman emphasized the benefits his team will have playing at home this weekend.“It is always good to be able to sleep in your own bed and not travel,” Goldman said. “Also, with finals week and things like that, guys are putting more time in the classroom and studying, in theory, so this is definitely a good time to be here and hopefully we get some good support.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/22/13 5:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team could face up to 54 ranked wrestlers from 12 schools at the high-profile Keystone Classic tournament Sunday.“It’s a tough tournament,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “It is all invited D-1 schools; there are a lot of ranked wrestlers at different weights. If our guys are going to go in there and if they do well, they will get a lot of good wins for their RPI and qualifying for their matches.”Last season, senior Adam Chalfant took the heavyweight title in the Keystone Classic and Senior Ryan LeBlanc took third place at 165 pounds.At heavyweight, Chalfant will be in the same weight class as seven other wrestlers ranked in the top 32. Chalfant is ranked No. 6 in the nation.LeBlanc, ranked No. 18, will also be in the same bracket as five top-ranked wrestlers.He said he has been working on certain aspects of his performance for this weekend.“I’ve been making sure that I am tightening up my top work,” LeBlanc said. “I got some deep holds this past weekend, but I didn’t necessarily finish them. I worked a lot on that from a technical aspect. From a physical aspect, just been building my condition, building my shape, working hard running and lifting.”As a team, IU has been building off some issues from last week’s tri-meet wins against Duke and Cleveland State.“At the dual meet last week, I wouldn’t say we wrestled horribly, but I think we felt the one hour weigh-in a little too much,” Goldman said. “We addressed some technical things. They weren’t major problem issues but more strategic process philosophy.”The team has also been working on conditioning and wrist work, LeBlanc and sophomore Garret Goldman said. Freshman Nate Jackson expects to make his season debut at the Keystone Open.“We will see what he can do, or not do,” Goldman said. “He has been waiting for a while to get on the mat, so it will be good for him to get that opportunity.”Alongside 165 pounds and heavyweight, the 125- and 149-pound classes will have seven top-32 ranked wrestlers. No weight class has fewer than two.The wrestlers have a positive attitude going into the weekend.“I think everyone is going into it looking to do good, looking to wrestle hard and do their best and get their name out there a little more,” Goldman said. “Me personally, I’d like to get out there and have guys recognize me a little more and kind of get my name out there in the rankings.”Goldman is trying to find a consistent stride after a 1-1 performance last weekend.“This is our first tournament where they keep team score, so I am excited to see how we will do,” LeBlanc said. “I think we have everyone in the lineup. Everyone is healthy, so I have high expectations to get in those placing rounds and have a lot of guys placing.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/18/13 4:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Sunday, IU defeated Duke 22-15 before going on to beat Cleveland State 25-10 in the tri-meet. Duke defeated Cleveland State 19-16 in their matchup.Despite performing well in the win column, the players and coaches seemed to feel the Hoosiers wrestled sloppily in the opener. “First match we were all a little flat,” junior Luke Sheridan said. “But then we came together as a team, talked about it, noticed our mistakes, put it behind us and moved on to the next one. I felt we definitely brought a lot more pressure that second dual, definitely showed our upsides and what we have to do this year.”Sheridan won both matches today by at least five points. He is ranked No. 12 nationally at 184 pounds.Senior Heavyweight Adam Chalfant, ranked No. 6 in the nation, won his first match 10-4 and then went on to defeat Cleveland State’s Sophomore Riley Shaw 14-5.Chalfant had a similar feeling about the difference between the first two matches. “Team performance was ... awesome our second match against Cleveland State,” Chalfant said. “Our first match, I think a lot of guys felt their weight, and plus it is our first home dual, and that is never any easy one. A lot of guys were getting rid of the butterflies in their stomach.”IU Coach Duane Goldman was pleased that the Hoosiers won their matches but was aware that there were some struggles adapting to the different format.“They just need to get used to that one-hour weigh-in and wrestling in these kinds of situations,” Goldman said. “That’s why it’s good to have this kind of thing this time of the year.”Another successful Hoosier today was Senior Ryan LeBlanc. Leblanc, who is ranked 18th in the country at 165 pounds, won his first match 9-0 and his second match 16-1 for a technical fall. Sophomores Ethan Raley and Eric Roach went 2-0 today. Roach’s victory against Cleveland State’s Sophomore R.J. Labeef came down to a takedown by Roach with 13 seconds left to win 4-3. Junior Taylor Walsh, the No. 8 ranked 157-pounder in the nation, did not wrestle today. Walsh was not feeling up to par, so the staff decided not to have him compete, Goldman said. In Walsh’s place, Sophomore Alex Gregory wrestled at 157 pounds when he normally wrestles at 149 pounds. He held his own at the change in weight class, wrestling in two tight bouts, winning the second 1-0 against Cleveland State’s freshman Latrell Davis.Junior Joe Duca finally made his debut today. Duca had a strong end to last season and put in hard work all off-season, Goldman said, but he lost both matches.“Obviously, Joe had a real disappointing day,” Goldman said. “He started showing signs of what he can do in that second match in spurts. He’s just got to go back to doing what he does best and get there on a consistent basis.”Despite a slow start, IU started the season at 2-0.“It feels really good,” Sheridan said. “Especially coming out here, first dual at home. We had some friends coming out, some close family members here and what not. It feels great to get some good wins and put on a little bit of a show.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/15/13 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The first dual meets of this wrestling season are Sunday in Bloomington at the University Gym against Duke and Cleveland State.“Both are teams that we are going to need to be ready to compete against and do what we need to do to win matches,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.The IU wrestling team is coming off two successful outings at the Clarion Open and Michigan State Open. Junior Adam Chalfant was one of two Hoosiers to place first last weekend at the Michigan State Open for his seasonal debut. Chalfant is still focused on improving for this weekend.“Really, I just got to go back and look at the tapes from my matches and look at the good and, more than just looking at the good, checking out what I did wrong and look at the opportunities that I may have not seen out there in those matches,” Chalfant said.Senior Ryan LeBlanc placed second last weekend and is 10-2 for the year. He has been pleased with how the squad has been looking thus far.“The team looks great,” LeBlanc said. “I felt we did a really good job as a team this past weekend having four finalists and a couple placers in that tournament. I think that is the best I have ever been a part of. I am pretty excited to see what we do when we all get on the mat.”Goldman is not worried about any wrestlers losing any drive after success in the first two tournaments.“I think the success motivates them,” Goldman said. “I don’t think it’s hard to keep them motivated. They have done well. We just have to make sure they stay focused.”This week the team has been working hard on conditioning in practice, Goldman said. The key focus has been running and making sure the guys are mentally ready for their opponents. Junior Joe Duca is scheduled to make his debut this weekend at the University Gym. He missed the first two tournaments with an injured ankle. “Last week he was probably 90 percent, but we didn’t want to push it,” Goldman said. “It just didn’t seem worth it at the time. But he is fine and ready to go.”A dual meet is a different type of competition for wrestlers. There is less time between weigh-ins and wrestling than in tournaments, and there is only one match for a wrestler to prove himself.“A dual meet situation is totally different than a tournament,” Goldman said. “Everyone’s points count. In tournaments you have to wait around for several hours waiting for when you are going to wrestle. In a dual meet you weigh in and then have to be ready to go. There’s no wrestle backs, there’s no second chances, so the guys really need to take that to heart and get themselves ready to perform the way they need to.”LeBlanc understands the difference in preparation.“Since it is our first one hour weigh in, I have to keep my weight in check, and being ready to go as soon as I step off that scale is really important,” LeBlanc said.Goldman just hopes the wrestlers are ready for the first duals of the season.“It is one mat. All the focus is on them,” Goldman said. “It’s just how they can handle the pressure and the nerves standing out there alone.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/11/13 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Four IU wrestlers made their way to their respective finals Saturday at the Michigan State Open, where two Hoosiers took first place. The two champions were junior Taylor Walsh at 157 pounds and senior heavyweight Adam Chalfant.“Adam wrestled great,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “He had a really tough weight class. He beat a highly ranked All-American (Jeremy Johnson, Ohio) and then beat the No. 6-ranked guy in the country out of Michigan State (Mike McClure, MSU) in the finals. He just had a really solid tournament and wrestled well.”For No. 9 ranked Chalfant, it was his season debut.He did not waste any time making an impact, defeating two top 10 ranked wrestlers on his road to the heavyweight title.Walsh, who is also ranked ninth in the nation for his weight class, kept his momentum going after earning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week this past week for his first place finish at the Clarion Open. “Taylor has had a couple of real successful seasons, but he has taken it up a notch,” Goldman said. “I mean he has been showing the signs of being where he needs to be to get on the stand and make a run for a high finish at the end of the day.”Walsh is now 10-0 on the season with eight pins. His 29 career pins leave him two away from making his way into IU’s top 10 list.“It was good to see he didn’t have a let down from last week,” Goldman said. “He continued to roll and get after it.”Senior Ryan LeBlanc (165 pounds) and junior Luke Sheridan (184 pounds) also reached the finals but ended the day with second-place finishes. Leblanc was defeated by Ohio State freshman Bo Jordan in the finals to go 4-1 during the tournament.“Ryan in particular had a real solid performance,” Goldman said. “He showed a workmanship-like approach. The guy he met in the finals is an excellent wrestler, and he just kind of got caught there, but he had an outstanding performance going up to it.”Sheridan had a tougher journey to the finals with several tight matches, including a 3-1 overtime victory against Michigan State junior John Rizqallah in the semi-finals before a loss to No. 8-ranked sophomore Ken Courts from Ohio State.“Luke had some really tight matches that he had to pull out,” Goldman said. “Those are the kind of matches that really make a difference down the line through the season.”Junior Joe Duca was a tournament-time decision (ankle), but the staff decided not to rush him, so Duca did not wrestle.Duca has missed both tournaments to start the season but will be fine, Goldman said. There has been competition for the 149-pound spot for IU, but sophomore Eric Roach may have all but sealed the spot for himself with a 6-1 performance during the tournament.“Eric has pretty much established himself as the guy there,” Goldman said. “He started off a little slow during the day, but then he had a couple of big matches toward the tail end of the tournament that really seemed to get him on the right track.”In the freshman/sophomore division of the tournament, freshmen Chris Caton and Kyle Springer both competed at 133 pounds.Springer was the runner-up, losing to freshman Jordan Northrup of Northern Illinois in the finals. Northrup also defeated Caton earlier in the tournament.“Both those guys were at the same weight competing for that 133 spot,” Goldman said. “Chris only lost one match and Kyle only lost one match. Kyle’s was in the finals to Northrup and actually it was a real close match.“He lost on a really kind of controversial call. Both of them not being able to compete last week did a real nice job and showed that whoever we decide to put out there should be able to give a real strong performance.”The Hoosiers will move on from this tournament and have their first dual meets of the season next Sunday for the home opener at University Gym.Sunday will be a tri-meet with IU going against Duke and Cleveland State.Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/08/13 6:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coming off a successful outing last weekend, the IU wrestling team will head to East Lansing, Mich., this Saturday for the Michigan State Open.The No. 9 ranked 157-pounder in the country, junior Taylor Walsh, comes off a first place finish last weekend at the Clarion Open, which led to Walsh being named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.Two years ago Walsh won the 149-pound open title as a freshman in the 2011 MSU Open, while No. 18 ranked senior Joe Leblanc placed third as a 179-pounder. Indiana last participated in the event in 2011.“We had a pretty good week at Clarion, and we have just been getting back to work,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We had a couple guys who didn’t wrestle in Joe Duca and Adam Chalfant who are going to be able to wrestle this week and we are looking ahead towards that.”Junior Adam Chalfant is the No. 9 ranked heavyweight in the country. Goldman said he is ready to go.Junior Joe Duca, who has garnered a lot of praise from his peers for his offseason work, missed the Clarion Open with a sprained ankle.“Duca, I think, is ready to go, we will see,” Goldman said. “We will play it by ear that day whether or not we put him out there. He is fine — he had a sprained ankle, but not severely sprained, so he has been working back into it. We just don’t want to rush it. If he had to wrestle he could, but he doesn’t have to wrestle.”Goldman felt good about the transition from last weekend’s meet and the preparation for this Saturday.“I think we held steady during the week with guys working on some of the things that they needed to from this past weekend,” Goldman said. “It has been a pretty productive week of practice.”This week the team has worked on specific positioning and controlling opponents while on top. Another point of focus has been finishing. “We did a good job getting the legs during the tournament, but our finishing percentage wasn’t where we would like it to be,” Goldman said. “There were some specifics but nothing really alarming.”Sophomore Ethan Raley, a transfer student from Lincoln College, fared well in his debut last weekend, placing second. “It felt great,” Raley said. “It has been a long time coming, so I was excited to be on the mat representing the Hoosiers.”The transfer process only built the anticipation for Raley to wrestle for IU.“It felt like it was a long time just because I was anticipating coming here, but now that I am here I can see this is the place I need to be,” Raley said. The Hoosiers are looking to take the season opener at the Clarion Open as a gage for their performance and what to improve.“From last tournament I could see where I stood at, and now I can just keep getting better from there,” Raley said. “I am just looking forward to this tournament. A lot of good wrestlers are going to be there.”Sophomore Garret Goldman missed last season due to injury. The Clarion Open was also his first time competing for quite a while. “For me personally, I didn’t wrestle at all last year because I was injured,” Goldman said. “5-2 is not top of the podium but since it is my first tournament in over a year I am not too disappointed in the results.”Goldman looks to take his results from last week and continue to improve. “I definitely need to get back to working on my defense a little bit,” Goldman said. “I think my shape was good, and I was hitting my offense pretty well. I think a big part of it is I just need to get my defense going a little better.”Goldman is aiming for success at the MSU Open but is aware of the big picture.“These early season tournaments are as much about learning and improving and getting ready for the rest of the season as they are being important here in the beginning,” Goldman said. “They all matter in the RPI and stuff like that, but like any sport it’s early in the year, and you got to get on track and figure things out. We got a lot of wrestling left ahead of us.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/05/13 5:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Taylor Walsh, the No. 9 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds, opened IU’s 2013-14 wrestling season with a first-place finish at the Clarion Open on Sunday in Clarion, Pa. “Taylor really dominated the matches,” IU wrestling Coach Duane Goldman said.” I think he is taking it to heart this year to put guys away.”Walsh pinned his first four opponents before facing Ohio State’s Randell Languis in the finals. In the final match, Walsh gave up his first point in a 7-1 victory against Languis. Walsh was the lone IU wrestler to win first place, but three other IU wrestlers placed in the top three of their weight class, and an additional five wrestlers finished 3-2 for the day. Sophomore Ethan Raley, a transfer student from Lincoln College, excelled in his IU debut. Raley was victorious in his first five matches as a Hoosier. He suffered his first defeat in the 141-pound finals to Laike Gardner of Lehigh University to end the day with a second-place finish. “We haven’t really been in his corner yet.” Goldman said. “We were really happy to see him compete at a high level and beat some really good wrestlers.”Junior Luke Sheridan came into the Clarion Open ranked 29th in the nation in the 184-pound weight class.After losing his first match Sunday to Lehigh’s Zach Diekel by one point, Sheridan fought back to win his next five matches and set up a rematch with Diekel. Sheridan defeated Diekel with a 6-1 decision to place third.Senior Ryan LeBlanc also won four straight bouts in wrestle backs, the loser’s bracket for wrestlers to fight for third place, to become one of three Hoosiers to place third. LeBlanc is ranked 14th in the country in the 165-pound division.At 149 pounds, freshman Neal Molloy and sophomores Eric Roach and Alex Gregory all went 3-2 for the day. “We had several guys do well there,” Goldman said. “Neal Molloy, Alex Gregory and Eric Roach all did a great job. Eric Roach I think stood out amongst those three. I would say he definitely has the nod at the spot right now, but we are very happy to have some depth there.”Freshman Matt Irick (174 pounds) and sophomore Garret Goldman (197 pounds) also went 3-2 Sunday.As the opener to the season, the Clarion Open provided some insights to how the team will perform this year. “The team as a whole I think we competed really well,” Coach Goldman said. “We had several guys do a really good job. It gave us a lot of opportunity to see where we stand, and I think we look pretty good for the beginning of the year.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/01/13 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team has a clear goal this season — to be tougher.The wrestlers agree being tougher and pushing themselves has been a key focus in the offseason.“I would say we probably have been working most on overall toughness,” Junior Luke Sheridan said. “I feel like everybody has had the technique the whole time but now we are just getting a lot more mean when it comes to being on the mat.”Redshirt Sophomore Alex Gregory has a similar outlook on the offseason.“The offseason has been going very well. We have been pushing ourselves really well, which we were kind of lacking last year,” Gregory said. “Last year we were really reserved, and we would hold back, and it showed in matches when it came to the later periods.”Sheridan said toughness comes down to doing little things, like pushup ladders.“Your muscles can do it; it’s just all in your head,” he said. “You have to have that toughness factor and if you take that into a match I feel like you are definitely going to win.”The Hoosiers suffered several injuries last year. “We need to stay healthy,” redshirt sophomore Eric Roach said. “Last year we had a lot of injuries. It was very unfortunate and put us at a big disadvantage.”Roach is in the midst of one of the tighter battles for time this season. He is fighting to wrestle at the 149-weight class with Gregory, who took over at 149 when Roach was injured.IU Coach Duane Goldman said he expects a lot of good things at that weight class. Roach is looking stronger at the moment, Goldman said, but Gregory gained a lot of experience wrestling at the end of the season and in the Big Ten championships in Roach’s absence. “We are pleased with our schedules,” Goldman said. “We have 12 home dual meets which will give our guys a lot of opportunities to compete in front of their family and their fans and hopefully have a lot of home crowd momentum in those matches and get a lot of wins.”The returning starter at 125 pounds and last season’s voted most-improved player, redshirt junior Joe Duca, has garnered a lot of praise. “Joe put in a great summer,” Goldman said. “He stayed here most of that time and worked hard to improve himself and improve his skills. He is very focused and we are excited to see what he can do this season.”It is not just Duca’s coach who has observed his work. Teammate Luke Sheridan did not have to think long when he was asked who has impressed him the most this offseason.“He has been here this whole summer in the weight room, on the mat, he is a completely different wrestler,” Sheridan said.Sheridan had a busy offseason as well. He won the Junior Fila Nationals and the Junior World Team Trials. Sheridan also competed at the University National Championships and the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria. “Luke had a great summer,” Goldman said. “He loves to wrestle, he loves to compete. Now with a couple of years of varsity wrestling under his belt, as well as being an NCAA qualifier, we feel like he is turning the corner and I think he feels the same way. It looks like he is really ready to turn it on this year and have a great year.”The team’s season begins this Sunday in Clarion, Pa., for the Clarion Open. All of the Hoosiers’ offseason preparation will be on display.“Coach Goldman has been making a point that everyone needs to get with the program and be a part of the team,” Roach said. “They need to be in it 100 percent. This is a sport you need to be completely committed to or else things will not be very fun for you.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter at @BrodyMillerIDS.
(06/27/13 12:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>He didn’t celebrate. He expected to win.When rising junior Luke Sheridan pinned William Baker June 23 at the Jr. World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla., he didn’t feel the need for any celebration.He knew that was just a small step toward his much larger goal.Sheridan’s pin of Baker earned him a spot on the USA FILA World Championship team. He will represent the U.S. and compete for a world title at 185 pounds Aug. 13-18 in Sofia, Bulgaria.“Celebrating isn’t too high on the list right now,” he said. “I’ll celebrate after the world championship. This was a very small step in a much bigger process for me.”This will be Sheridan’s third time putting on the red, white and blue singlet. Representing his country is one of the things Sheridan said drives him in his wrestling training. He said representing his country has been his goal since he started wrestling.“Each time it kind of makes me more excited because I know how important it is to wear that uniform,” he said. “It’s been my goal. It’s been my dream. It’s the reason I wake up every morning: to get to wear the USA singlet and represent our country.”Sheridan had to defeat Baker twice to earn his spot this year. He won the first bout 8-2, but it was Baker’s takedown of him that motivated him and pushed him to not only win the first bout, but pin him early in the second.“That was the first time I’ve gotten scored on at the USA in Greco in a couple of years,” Sheridan said. “That kind of lit a fire under my butt and I rattled off some points in the first one after that. Me and my coach talked about the second one and we had a good gameplan going in. I executed it perfectly, just the way we had talked about, and that’s why I got him pinned so quick.”Last year Sheridan competed on the 21U World Championship team for the U.S.He finished in the top 10, but it wasn’t the result he was looking for.He’s looking forward to the opportunity to prove himself this year.“Top 10 to a lot of people in the world is a great accomplishment and I’m not putting that down, but being a competitor and being an athlete, losing is losing,” Sheridan said. “I don’t care if it’s the league championship or the world championship.”During his junior year of high school, he competed on the 18U World Championship team and finished fourth.Sheridan served as a captain on last year’s 21U team. He said he will once again be a captain in August.But he added that’s really just a title, noting all of the guys on the team are accomplished wrestlers in their own right.He wrestled alongside two of his teammates last year on the 21U team. He said he’s looking forward to meeting up with those two guys and winning a world championship.“We know what it’s going to take to get the title,” he said. “We’re extremely focused. We’re busting our butts. I feel like the three of us are going to be the leaders of this team for sure.”
(06/23/13 11:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Hoosier and NCAA wrestling champion Angel Escobedo placed second Saturday in the 55-kilogram (121-pound) weight class at the 2013 United States World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla.Escobedo, now based out of Columbus, Ohio, and representing the New York Athletic Club, lost two consecutive matches in the best-of-three finals to former Lock Haven and Oklahoma State wrestler Obe Blanc, both by decision. Blanc defeated Escobedo in the finals of the same tournament in 2010.By Saturday evening, he took to Twitter acknowledging the loss, writing, “I just want to be the best in the world. A loss won’t stop me from reaching that goal. Just thankful God let me compete today.”Escobedo is IU’s most recent national champion in wrestling, taking the crown at 125 pounds as a sophomore in 2008. The native of Griffith, Ind., was an All-American in each of his four seasons at IU and won the Big Ten title at his weight three times.— Max McCombs
(06/23/13 5:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Hoosier and NCAA wrestling champion Angel Escobedo placed second Saturday in the 55-kilogram (121-pound) weight class at the 2013 United States World Team Trials in Stillwater, Okla.Escobedo, now based out of Columbus, Ohio, and representing the New York Athletic Club, lost two consecutive matches in the best-of-three finals to former Lock Haven and Oklahoma State wrestler Obe Blanc, both by decision. Blanc defeated Escobedo in the finals of the same tournament in 2010.By Saturday evening, he took to Twitter acknowledging the loss, writing, “I just want to be the best in the world. A loss won’t stop me from reaching that goal. Just thankful God let me compete today.”Escobedo is IU’s most recent national champion in wrestling, taking the crown at 125 pounds as a sophomore in 2008. The native of Griffith, Ind., was an All-American in each of his four seasons at IU and won the Big Ten title at his weight three times.– Max McCombs