Young excels in NC

    Despite being in the midst of the Big Ten season, the Hoosiers wrestling team ventured outside its conference’s Midwestern confines to compete in the Southern Scuffle tournament in Greensboro, N.C., on Dec. 29 and 30.

The team took 13th place overall, a result that fell short of IU coach Duane Goldman’s expectations.

“It was a very competitive tournament, but as a whole for the team, it was a disappointing performance, I felt,” Goldman said. “We had some good individual showings, but as a team, across the board, we had some things we needed to improve upon.”

Several wrestlers managed strong showings at the event, most notably senior Paul Young in the 157-pound weight class. Young reeled off five straight victories, including a major decision in the opening round, en route to reaching the 157-pound championship match. He ultimately fell to Penn State freshman David Taylor in the finals.

Young’s semifinal match paired him against Navy’s Bryce Saddoris for the second time this season. After dropping the initial meeting, Young rebounded to take a 5-2 decision.

“I wanted to wrestle my kind of style and my match,” Young said. “In the finals, it slipped away, and that’s why I lost and took second, but up until that point, I was pretty confident and doing my style of wrestling, which worked for me.”

Young credited several adjustments that allowed him to turn the tables on Saddoris in their second matchup.

“On bottom I didn’t stop moving. I was constantly trying to escape,” Young said. “My riding on top was a lot better. I think that those two things carried me and especially helped me mentally. I finished my shots, which is another thing I didn’t do the first time that we wrestled.”

With his performance in Greensboro, Young rose several spots in the most recent Intermat rankings and now resides at No. 7.

Junior Matt Powless, wrestling at 197 pounds, also rose as a result of his showing at the tournament. Powless’ third place finish propelled him up to No. 6 in the rankings. His only loss of the tournament came against top-ranked Cam Simaz of Cornell, the only wrestler Powless has lost to this year.