IU wrestling starts new season with 2 road meets

The first bell is about to ring this weekend, and the eight-month wait is finally over for the IU wrestling team.\n“It feels great to finally get back out there and wrestle,” junior Andrae Hernandez said.\nThe Hoosiers already “unofficially” kicked off their season with an intra-squad scrimmage last week held at Brown County High School. In that scrimmage, 10 matches were held between Hoosiers battling on the mat for supremacy over their teammates.\nExpectations continue to grow as the Hoosiers attempt to put together another solid season while incorporating new talent.\n“It’s good to see some new faces,” senior Brandon Becker said. “And it was also helpful to have a dual match before the season started to add a little pressure.”\nIn his 16th year at IU, head coach Duane Goldman, the school’s all-time winningest wrestling coach, said a few things still need to be sorted out before the season starts.\n“We are still trying to figure out our lineup,” Goldman said. “We have a very strong nucleus with some question marks outside of that.”\nAccording to www.intermatwrestle.com, the Big Ten has nine teams in the top 25, with IU ranking eighth in the Big Ten on that list and 15th overall. IU finished with a 4-4 conference record to complement its 13-5 overall record last season. Standing in front of IU last season was a competitive Big Ten that included national champion Minnesota and national fourth-place finisher Northwestern. Last year at the Big Ten Championships, IU finished the tournament in fifth place.\nBeyond high expectations for the team, the Hoosiers also have much to look forward to in the individual competitions. \nFour All-Americans are returning for the Hoosiers this year. In the 157-pound weight class, senior Brandon Becker returns for the Hoosiers after failing to receive All-American status his junior year. Becker earned All-American honors in both his freshman and sophomore years.\n“I want to win more,” Becker said. “I also want to go out there and have more fun and not worry so much about who I’m wrestling.”\nAlso back for the Hoosiers is sophomore Matt Coughlin, an All-American in the 165-pound weight class who finished seventh at the NCAA championships last season.\nThis season, the Hoosiers’ biggest strengths are in the lower-weight classes. Last season in the 125-pound weight class, sophomore Angel Escobedo from Griffith, Ind., displayed skill, garnering himself a fourth-place finish at the NCAA championships. Escobedo begins this season ranked third nationally in his weight class.\nAccompanying Escobedo in the light-weight classes is his cousin Hernandez, also from Griffith, Ind. Hernandez is ranked third nationally in the 133-pound weight class and looks to rebound after finishing eighth in the NCAA Championships.\n“This season, my goal is to take nationals,” Hernandez said. “I have help this year from a couple guys in the room who can push me.”\nThe Hoosiers begin play this weekend by traveling north for matches against Wabash at 7 p.m. Friday. They will then travel to East Lansing, Mich., for matches in the Michigan State Open.\n“This weekend, we want to get out there, win and break the ice on a great season,” Goldman said.