Ryan LeBlanc's knee injury is not a severe as was initially feared. He will be out for a month, but the injury is not season-ending as it originally seemed. Hoosier wrestling fans can breath a big sigh of relief.
"LeBlanc's out for about a month," IU coach Duane Goldman said. "We got positive results back in that. Unfortunatly he's hurt, but thank goodness it's not for the entire season."
Sophomore Ryan Konz will fill in at 165 pounds in the mean time and should be a capable replacement. He has starting expereince before. He will be moving up form 157 pounds, so he may be slightly undersized compared to some of his competition, but he has wrestled as high as 174 pounds before, so he can clearly handle the size difference.
In other news, the team's lineup appears to be settled for the start of the season, though not all regularswill not take the mat tomorrow against Wabash. The D1 Disney Duals this weekend will be a better indication. Expect the lineup there, and for the foreseeable future, to be:
- 125 pounds: Justin Brooks, redshirt freshman- Brooks beat out a host of true freshman for the spot, clinching it with a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open this past weekend.
- 133 pounds: Matt Ortega, junior- A second place showing at the MSU Open, including a six second pin, have Ortega primed for a big bounce-back junior season
- 141 pounds: Mitchell Richey, true freshman- A bit of a surprise here, but as Goldman said "He's proven himself to be the best one there so far, so that's who we've got to go with." He beat preseason favorite Geno Capezio in the intrasquad scrimmage a few weeks ago.
- 149 pounds: Kurt Kinser, senior- He seems to have handled the move down to 149 pretty well and should be a top contender for the conference crown at this weight.
- 157 pounds: Paul Young, senior- Just like Kinser, his move down appears to have gone well and he looks primed for a big senior year.
- 165 pounds: Ryan Konz, sophomore- A very solid backup who filled in at several weights last year. He should be a capable fill-in until LeBlanc returns.
- 174 pounds: Nick Avery, senior- A huge 174 pounder who no opponent can take for granted.
- 184 pounds: Eric Cameron, senior- Ranked 20th in the most recent InterMat rankings.
- 197 pounds: Matt Powless, junior- A giant-killer who got off to a terrific start this year, taking first at the MSU Open.
- 285 pounds: Ricky Alcala, senior- Took second at the MSU Open in his Hoosier debut after transferring from UC-Davis.
