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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports wrestling

IU junior looks to faith when he wrestles

Junior Nate Jackson holds down Clayton Bass of SIU during the 174 lbs match on Dec. 5. Jackson won the match 16-1, scoring 10 points in just the first period helping the Hoosiers secure a 25-12 victory over the Eagles.

Junior wrestler Nate Jackson gets on a knee and looks at the floor before every match, saying the same thing over and over.

“Lord give me strength and have your way.”

Jackson did this before defeating No. 1 Bo Nickal last weekend, and will do it again before his match against Maryland this weekend.

“God has led me here, and I don’t think it’s anything I did personally, I think it was just in his plan,” Jackson said. “As long as he continues to have his plan, if I fall off or get injured, I think he’ll have something better for me in the future.”

IU Coach Duane Goldman said Jackson’s faith keeps him grounded, allows him to stay humble and keep 
working through the long season.

Jackson was awarded Big Ten Wrestler of the Week after his upset win against No. 1 Bo Nickal. He had never received this honor before and said he was grateful for being selected.

Jackson said it would be something that sticks with him for the rest of his life, something he would be able to tell his future family about. This is just the beginning for Jackson, who said he has expectations and goals and he has to keep doing what he’s been doing every day to reach them.

Goldman acknowledged how prestigious the Big Ten is in wrestling and what an honor it is to be awarded wrestler of the week.

“That’s a great honor; you have 14 outstanding programs and some of the best teams in the country with outstanding wrestlers,” Goldman said.

“For him to get that shows he did something really special, and he did taking out the number one guy.”

Jackson does not want to celebrate this award too long — he said he knows it is a long Big Ten season and you always have to move 
forward, win or lose.

Jackson will continue to use his faith as motivation this week as he and the team prepare to meet Maryland for the first time in school history. The Hoosiers hope to pull out a win this weekend to improve to 2-1 in the 
conference.

The Terrapins currently sit at 1-3 in the conference after earning their first Big Ten win of the season last weekend.

“They’re a tough team. They’re trying to get into the rankings themselves,” Jackson said. “We’ve been in their spot, and they just got their first Big Ten win in a couple years against 
Michigan State. They’re 
hungry.”

The Hoosiers know Maryland is a tough team and will face a few challenges in the match against them, especially with a wrestler injured. IU junior Matt Irick hurt his ankle last weekend and it is unknown if he will be able to wrestle.

Despite this obstacle, the Hoosiers are preparing well and hoping for another great crowd.

“It’s been tremendous,” Goldman said. “Penn State was a great crowd. That was one of the loudest crowds we’ve had in a long time. Our athletes had a great time feeling all those people behind them.”

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