The Indiana wrestling program heads to Homer E. Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio, for the Cleveland State Open on Saturday after a 2-0 start to the season.
Indiana will face Central Michigan University, Cleveland State University and a familiar opponent in Kent State University. Wrestlers from No. 4 Michigan, No. 7 Ohio State and unranked Clarion University will also compete in the tournament.
Indiana wrestled Kent State earlier this season at the Appalachian State University's Mountaineer Invite in Boone, North Carolina, on Nov. 14.
Indiana enters this weekend with five ranked wrestlers. The Indiana starting lineup has not seen much change since the start of the season.
The 165-pound class is the only group that has been shuffled, with starts from redshirt senior Sammy Cokeley and redshirt sophomore Matt Ortiz. No. 18-ranked graduate student Brock Hudkins will not be able to attend the event, and no one will wrestle in the 133-pound class, per an official release.
No. 27-ranked sophomore Jacob Moran will be the lone representative for Indiana in the 125-pound class. No. 20-ranked Cayden Rooks will take on the 141-pound class.
No. 31-ranked junior Graham Rooks, who won the 149-pound class at the 2018-19 Cleveland State Open, will wrestle again in the same class. Indiana will be bringing four wrestlers for the 157-pound category, the most of any singular class.
Sophomore Nick South will start for Indiana in the 174-pound class. No. 12-ranked junior DJ Washington will wrestle in the 184-pound class and graduate student Garrett Hoffman, a transfer from Bucknell, will make his debut wrestling in the 197-pound category. Jacob Bullock will finish off the day in the heavyweight category.
Indiana will also have four freshmen wrestling unattached, including Alec Freeman of the 133-pound class, Robert Major of the 157-pound class, Zack Rotkvich in the 157-pound class and Jake Evans in the 184-pound class.
The last time Indiana wrestled Kent State was a ranked matchup at the 125-pound class. Moran defeated then-No. 31 fifth-year Jake Ferri in a 6-5 regular decision at the Mountaineer Invite.
Cleveland State has three ranked wrestlers going into the weekend with No. 31 sophomore Logan Heil taking on the 125-pound class, No. 32 sophomore DeAndre Nassar wrestling in the 184-pound class and No. 28 junior Ben Smith wrestling in the 197-pound class for the weekend.
Central Michigan has two ranked wrestlers coming in for the weekend with No. 8-ranked graduate student Dresden Simon in the 141-pound class and No. 9-ranked graduate student Matt Stencel in the heavyweight class.
