The 28-9 score from Wednesday's dual looks bad, without question, but let me assure you it was not as bad as it looked. Most of the matches were close, often moreso than the score would suggest, and there were several positive things along with the negatives to take away from the match. Some observations:
- Ryan LeBlanc will be IU's next superstar. In his first match back from injury, he came out firing early and held on for IU's first win of the night. He is incedibly fast on his shots and probably just needs a few more matches under his belt to be in top form for the rest of the season. I think he will be ranked before too long. If he can pull off an upset over Misouri's Zach Toal tomorrow, it may be as soon as next week. "It felt really good to get that competition back," LeBlanc "I'm really excited to wrestle more. I don't feel rusty. Maybe I had a little nerves, but that's good. I felt good."
- The match of the night was at heavyweight where Ricky Alcala took a quick lead, gave it up, then came back to win with a takedown with two seconds to go. Alcala moves remarkably well for a heavyweight and looks to be able to use his speed to take down taller opponents such as Northwestern's Ben Kuhar.
- A close second for the night's best match was at 197 pounds, where Matt Powless gave up a quick five points on a blast double, then came back win in overtime. The double was mostly a product of a-timed shot by Northwestern's John Schoen, and Powless worked his way back through take down after takedown as he has all year. He's now 16-1 for the year and beginning to move up the national rankings. I expect him to continue to do so. This is starting to look like an All-American year for him.
- IU's other two likely All-American candidates, Kurt Kinser and Paul Young each lost close matches to higher ranked foes, but let me tell you that both matches could have gone either way. Kinser outwrestled Andrew Nadhir for for about 6:40, before Nadhir outmuscled him for a late takedown. I would love to see a rematch between the two at the Big Ten tournament or at nationals.
- Young's mathc had the most controversial moment of the night. He started down in the second and escaped on the edge, then was immeadiatly taken down on a lunging ankle pick by Jason Welch. The IU sideline erupted, saying Welch was out of bounds on the shot. I had a good view of the takedown, and it looked to me like the coaches were right. The officials disagreed though, and Young wrestled behind the rest of the way, taking riskier shots that resulted in the second score by Welch. In the scoreless first period, Young looked far more agressive, for what it's worth, and a rematch between the two could certainly go the other way.
- I still do not know what to make of Justin Brooks this year. He was dominated by Northwestern's Brandon Precin, but Precin is ranked second nationally, so that's hardly a surprise. Brooks' match tomorrow against Eastern Michigan's 4-1 Jared Germaine should be a better indication of where Brooks stands this year.
- Mitchell Richey may have gotten his name out there with his 6-5 loss to Kaleb Friedley. Richey scored the first points, and after falling behind in the second, nearly clawed his way back in the third. If the match had gone any longer, I think Richey would have taken it.
- 174 pounds and 184 pounds look like the biggest problem areas for the Hoosier right now. Seniors Nick Avery and Eric Cameron, who was rsanked at the start of the year, are simply struggling right now. The Eastern Michigan match may be a perfect opportunity for them to get some wins and some confidence.
Comments powered by Disqus