No Average Joe

The last Saturday night of spring break, members of the IU student body were all over the place. Some paraded on the beaches of Mexico and Florida. Others caught the IU-Gonzaga game on CBS. But on ESPN at about the same time, there was one IU student busy making history in Oklahoma City.\nHis name is Joe Dubuque.\nThe IU senior wrestler quietly won his second consecutive national title in the 125-pound weight class March 18.\nBut really, there shouldn't be anything quiet about it -- at least that's what his coach Duane Goldman says.\n"He's been in such a loaded weight class his whole life, and he's always been the underdog, always been overlooked, and yet he comes away with title after title," Goldman said in a statement. "With the quality of wrestlers, it's probably the toughest weight class at the national championship and (the toughest to) walk away with two national titles. He has to be categorized as one of the best of all time."\nAnd Dubuque hasn't even won a Big Ten title.\n"Last year, it didn't matter to me," Dubuque said of not capturing a Big Ten crown during his junior season. "This year, it did because I was a senior and really wanted a Big Ten Championship. It says a lot about how tough our conference is. It was a disappointment and gave me a blow to my confidence. But I sat down and talked to the coaches, regrouped and got my mind right."\nRegroup he did.\nDubuque knocked off No. 2-seed Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma 2-1 in his semifinal matchup, a rematch of last year's title bout. He then dominated freshman Troy Nickerson of Cornell 8-3 in the final.\n"People thought I was going to pack it in after the Big Tens even though I was the \nreturning national champ," Dubuque said. "People were looking for Hazewinkel and (Nick) Simmons (Michigan State wrestler and Big Ten Champ) to be in the finals. Most thought I would finish fourth or some place around there."\nAlthough this was his second national championship, Dubuque set a first for IU wrestlers -- he is the only person in IU wresting history to capture back-to-back national titles.\nAnd not since the 1930s has an IU wrestler won two national titles in his career, when Charlie McDaniel captured back-to-back titles in 1935 and 1938. You know, the 1930s -- when the Great Depression raged in America and Adolf Hitler reigned in Germany.\nNeedless to say, Mr. Dubuque is in extremely rare territory.\n"I'm not going to sit down and look down on my career because I didn't win a Big Ten title; I think I can overlook it with two national championships," he said.\nI think we'll all overlook it, Joe.