Indiana wrestling closed out its season with a 21st place finish in the NCAA Championships this weekend. Six Hoosiers competed, and the team finished with 19.5 total points in the 79-team competition at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
No. 14 graduate student Jacob Moran saw the most success for Indiana, winning his first three bouts — two of which were in upset fashion — on his way to a sixth-place title in the 125-pound bracket.
In the opening round, Moran contained University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s No. 19 graduate student Kyson Terukina to just two escapes in the bout. With a takedown and an escape of his own, Moran punched his ticket to the second round with a 4-2 win.
Moran then earned three takedowns in his 10-2 second-round victory over Ohio State’s No. 3 redshirt junior Nic Bouzakis. The Buckeye defeated Moran twice this season: first, in a dual meet on Jan. 11, and then at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, with respective scores of 11-2 and 4-2.
Moran followed this victory with a 5-4 win over Minnesota’s No. 6 senior Jore Volk. While trailing 4-2 with 30 seconds remaining in the final period, Moran scored a decisive takedown over Volk, securing his second consecutive upset victory of the meet.
Moran’s run for the 125-pound title ended with a 4-1 loss in the semifinals to Princeton University’s No. 10 sophomore Marc-Anthony McGowan, which was decided by a last-second takedown. An ensuing 8-1 loss in the consolation semifinals to Stanford University’s No. 7 redshirt junior Nico Provo landed Moran in the fifth-place bout.
A defeat by fall in the fifth-place bout to Oklahoma State University’s No. 5 redshirt junior Troy Spratley ended Moran’s day with a sixth-place finish, the Hoosiers’ only placement. Moran’s efforts earned him All-American honors.
In the 157-pound tournament, Indiana was represented by No. 29 redshirt sophomore Bryce Lowery. Lowery lost his opening bout 14-5 to Arizona State University’s No. 4 redshirt freshman Kaleb Larkin, with all five of his points coming by way of escape.
Lowery won his first consolation bout, pinning Ohio University’s No. 13 redshirt junior Derek Raike in the second period. Virginia Tech’s No. 14 graduate student Ethen Miller ended Lowery’s season with a 7-4 victory in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Indiana’s No. 26 redshirt junior Tyler Lillard opened his tournament at 165 pounds with a defensive battle against Lehigh University’s No. 7 senior Max Brignola. The two were tied at one point after the third period and entered a sudden victory period. After a scoreless overtime, Brignola won the first-round bout by securing a riding time point in the first tiebreaker period.
Lillard pinned Kent State University’s No. 23 junior Christopher Earnest in the first consolation round before a 4-3 loss to University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s No. 8 redshirt senior Matty Bianchi ended Lillard’s time in Cleveland.
No. 26 graduate student Derek Gilcher went winless at 174 pounds. Gilcher suffered a 16-1 defeat in the opening bout to University of Missouri’s No. 7 redshirt junior Cam Steed, and a 4-3 loss to University of Pittsburgh’s No. 23 redshirt senior Luca Augustine. Gilcher allowed a combined five takedowns in the two bouts.
At 184 pounds, Indiana’s No. 33 redshirt freshman Sam Goin was forced to start at the preliminary rounds of his bracket. Goin lost his first matchup by a score of 4-1 before a 2-1 triumph in the consolation preliminary placed him in the consolation bracket. Goin’s time in the bracket was short, however, as he dropped his first consolation bout to Edinboro University’s No. 19 graduate student Jared McGill by a final of 6-4.
After a 6-4 loss to Ohio University’s No. 19 redshirt senior Zayne Lehman in the opening round of the 197-pound tournament, a bout in which all six of Lehman’s points came in the final period, Indiana’s No. 14 redshirt junior Gabe Sollars exploded offensively in the consolation bracket.
Sollars earned victories over the United States Air Force Academy’s No. 33 freshman Karson Thompkins and South Dakota State University’s No. 13 redshirt junior Bennett Berge by scores of 15-0 and 18-3, respectively, scoring a combined seven takedowns and three near falls. Sollars’ hot streak ended against Iowa’s No. 27 sophomore Gabe Arnold with a 5-4 score.
Penn State took four of 10 individual championships on its way to its fifth straight national title. The Nittany Lions tallied 181.5 total points, 50.5 more points than second place Oklahoma State.
With Indiana wrestling concluding its season, the Hoosiers’ No. 21 placement at the NCAA Championships was the program’s highest finish since 2010. Indiana’s nine dual wins were the team’s most since the 2016-17 season.
