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(01/09/12 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team suffered a defeat this past Friday at the hands of No. 2-ranked Iowa. Despite the 12-26 loss, the Hoosiers did gain some individual victories. “All of the guys fought really hard,” senior Matt Powless said. “Technically, we saw some errors, so we’re definitely going to work on those and try and improve.” No. 4 Powless (197 pounds) earned five points for the team with a tech fall of 22-7 over Iowa’s Tomas Lira. “Personally, I thought I did alright,” Powless said. “There were times I thought I could have pushed the action more and produced more offense.”This was also Powless’ 110th career win, making him one win away from breaking the barrier of Indiana’s all-time top 10 for most career victories. “It’s really cool,” Powless said. “When I first came to IU, I wasn’t highly recruited. Just getting into the lineup was my main goal. There are a lot of coaches and All-Americans that make up a lot of IU’s history on that list. To be in the same category as them is really gratifying for me.”With his next victory, Powless will be tied for 10th-most career wins alongside Kevin Stanley (1997-2001). Viktor Sveda (1997-2002) earned the most career wins in IU history with a total of 149 wins. Powless is currently ranked seventh in IU’s history for most wins in a season alongside Angel Escobedo (2007), Brian Dolph (1988) and Rod Chamberlin (1981). Sophomore Ryan Leblanc opened the first period of the 174-pound weight class with two takedowns against Walter Gillmor. Leblanc continued to complete three more takedowns to earn a 15-5 major decision, making this his sixth major decision of the season. Redshirt freshman Taylor Walsh (149 pounds) earned a 4-3 decision against No. 11 Mike Kelly. Walsh opened up the first minute with a takedown, followed by many near reversals for the remainder of the match. Walsh improves his freshman season to 19-7. Sophomore Adam Chalfant wrestled against 2011 Big Ten Heavyweight Champion Blake Rasing during his season debut. Chalfant battled back after being scored against within the first minute of his bout. However, he ultimately suffered a loss with a score of 6-4. Chalfant recently transferred from Harper College, where he posted a season record of 24-2 during his freshman year. The Hoosiers will travel to Michigan this weekend for their next two meets. They will wrestle against Michigan at 7 p.m. Jan. 13, and they will finish the weekend against Michigan State at 2 p.m. Jan. 15.
(12/05/11 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This past weekend, the IU wrestling team traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the 30th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and came away with a pair of top-five finishes.Senior Matt Powless placed second at 197 pounds, and sophomore Ryan LeBlanc placed fifth at 174 pounds.“It was a tough tournament,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “I think a lot of our young guys got a tough introduction into what we’re going to be up against this season.” Powless earned his 100th career win as he pinned Boise State’s Cody Dixon in his first-round match. Powless proceeded to the finals where he suffered his first defeat of the season to No. 4 Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro 10-4.“For me, personally, I thought I did OK making it to the finals, but I’m disappointed in myself the way the finals ended,” Powless said. LeBlanc wrestled eight times during the two-day event. After suffering a loss in the second round, he dropped into the wrestlebacks where he earned four consecutive wins.LeBlanc wrestled against No. 4 Nick Heflin of Ohio State in his second-to-last match of the tournament. Both wrestlers could only score one point in regulation time.Heflin earned a takedown in the extra period, sending LeBlanc into the fifth-place match that he won due to a medical forfeit.Redshirt freshman Zach Zimmer won twice in the tournament at 125 pounds. “Zimmer was probably the most impressive of our new faces,” Goldman said. “He showed a lot of promise.”Zimmer won his first two matches of the tournament before falling to top-seeded Nicholas Bedelyon of Kent State. Zimmer fell into the wrestlebacks but was unable to place after losing to North Dakota State’s Trent Sprenkle.“He was really competitive and lost a close match to a highly ranked wrestler,” Goldman said. “But he was definitely impressive.” The Hoosiers’ next meet will be away Dec. 18 against Ohio State, the tournament’s team champion.“We’re going to have our work cut out for us,” Goldman said. “We have a weekend off, so that’s going to give us time to cover a lot of things and get better in practice.”
(12/02/11 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team will compete Friday and Saturday in the 30th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.“It’s considered one of the toughest early season tournaments,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.No. 5 Cornell, No. 8 Michigan and No. 10 Ohio State are just a few of the teams to compete in the two-day event.“For some of the guys that are doing well, like (redshirt freshman Taylor) Walsh, (senior Matt) Powless and (sophomore Ryan) LeBlanc, it’s going to be a good opportunity to meet guys that will push them up in the rankings,” Goldman said. “For our other guys, it will be an opportunity to meet and win against good people that will get them on the right track.”Last season, Powless placed third at the invitational. This year at the event, he could earn his 100th career win. He hopes to place in the tournament for the fourth-straight year.“I’m both nervous and excited,” Powless said. “It’s the first time this season where I really wrestle a lot of good competition back to back to back. It’s not only physically straining, but it’s mentally straining as well.”Despite the particularly tough nature of the tournament, Powless said the team is eager to compete.“That’s what makes wrestling fun,” Powless said. “It also helps build your reputation as a wrestler when you beat guys that are highly ranked.”This week, Goldman said the Hoosiers have worked to improve physically and return to the basics of the sport in practice to better prepare them for the tournament.“We’re focusing on implementing our basic skills and our conditioning,” Goldman said. “We need to get back to the basics of positioning and execution, rather than trying to get more extravagant.”Sophomore Mitchell Richey will continue to wrestle for IU after making his season debut Nov. 26 at the Hoosier Duals.The team has also been preparing outside of practice, Powless said.“Me and the rest of the guys have taken extra time to take care of our bodies,” Powless said. “It’s all about spending our downtime wisely so we have fresh legs and lungs when it’s time to wrestle.”IU's projected lineup:125 lbs: Zach Zimmer, redshirt freshman133 lbs: Joe Duca, redshirt freshman141 lbs: Mitchell Richey, sophomore149 lbs: No. 17 Taylor Walsh, redshirt freshman157 lbs: Ryan Konz, junior165 lbs: Sawyer Morris, redshirt freshman174 lbs: Ryan LeBlanc, sophomore184 lbs: Cheney Dale, redshirt freshman197 lbs: No. 5 Matt Powless, senior285 lbs: Jowan Gill, sophomore
(11/28/11 5:33am)
The IU wrestling team won all three rounds of the Hoosier Duals with a combined score of 80-34.
(11/21/11 3:04am)
The IU wrestling team won all three of its matches, earning a score of 121-18 at the IU Quad meet on Nov. 18.
(11/18/11 5:21am)
The Hoosiers will wrestle at 5 p.m. Friday in the University Gym.
(11/14/11 5:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Redshirt freshman Tyler Walsh added his second tournament title to his IU career Saturday.This weekend, the Hoosiers had four of their wrestlers place at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Mich. Walsh (149 pounds) had his hand raised five times Saturday, finishing first in his weight class. Walsh first defeated fifth-ranked Eric Grajales of Michigan with a score of 10-4. Walsh then went on to earn a pin within the first minute of the second round, as well as two straight decisions in the quarter- and semifinals. Walsh earned his final win of the day against Michigan State’s Dan Osterman, with a decision of 3-2. Redshirt freshman Ryen Nieman (133 pounds) made his season debut last weekend and finished third. Nieman’s only fall came from 11th-ranked Zac Stevens from Michigan in the semifinals. Nieman later battled back to earn third place by pinning Rob Jillard of Northern Illinois at 2:59 in the first round. Senior Matt Ortega earned fourth place with an overall record of 3-2. Ortega started the day by pinning Chris Andrews of Findlay in 3:40. Ortega then won by a major decision against Columbia’s Matt Brystol with a score of 16-6. He was unable to pull out a third straight win, and he fell to Scott Mattingly of Central Michigan with a score of 6-3. Sophomore Ryan Leblanc (174 pounds) finished in fifth place. His only defeat came from 11th-ranked Nick Purdue of Ohio. Leblanc continued to battle back to win his final match with a pin at 6:49 against Pittsburgh’s Nick Bonaccorsi. “I thought we wrestled a lot better than the week before,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “Walsh had a great tournament and beat some pretty highly ranked individuals. This weekend also kind of gave us the opportunity to focus on some of our other guys and their performance.”
(11/11/11 4:12am)
The Hoosiers will compete this Saturday at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Mich.
(11/10/11 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Peter Barberino braced himself for the hit against the ropes. He wasn’t a rookie. Hitting the ropes with his ribs was a rookie move. He knew to let his back protect him, to take the brunt of the force.Dressed in his red gear with “PJB” written across the back and kicking guards with “I-T-F’in-G” (I’m That Fucking Guy) stitched to them, the IU senior was in the ring on Sept. 24 at the National Guard Armory against Austin Manix, a wrestler seemingly disliked among the Bloomington crowd at the Infinity Pro Wrestling event.Manix caught PJB off the ropes, picked him up and threw him to the ground.Baberino, known in the wrestling world as PJB, hit the mat on his back.A crash of body against cushioned two-by-fours rang through the auxiliary gym, and boos filled the Saturday night air.PJB squeezed his eyes shut as he squirmed on his back.Upon graduating in May, PJB plans to move to Tampa, Fla., to train with Florida Championship Wrestling.Until then, he has school, a job, an internship and a volunteer coaching position that takes up the time he doesn’t spend training for wrestling.P-J-BOUNCERHis right pointer finger pressed to his ear, PJB’s blue eyes darted around the crowded bar. He was like a secret service agent in search of a problem. The people in his ear were in constant communication.It was about 1 a.m. on a Friday at Kilroy’s Sports. The line outside was wrapped around the building, and the downstairs crowd grew for the next hour until it moved to the upstairs dance floor.PJB had traded in his red gear and kicking guards for a pair of jeans, a neon green Sports sweatshirt and a black Yankees hat.“See that girl in the beige sweater?” PJB asked. “She’s not 21, and our bouncers know it. Oh, there she goes, and so does her friend.”Patrons belted Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as PJB picked up empty glasses.PJB was nothing to the vodka-shooting students.As drinks were poured, those students liked to think they could become friends with him to get away with more. They had no idea that underneath that baggy sweatshirt is a body that lifts weights five times a week, a body that could lift them up and carry them out like a lumberjack carrying a bundle of twigs. And the students had no idea he’s a wrestler who could take them down in a half-second.“They don’t pay me enough to talk to them,” PJB said. “But as soon as one of them begins to touch me, I tell them it’s time to go.”By 1:39 a.m., PJB had protected the bar against a group of drunks that jokingly threw drinks across the table and another who decided to lay down on one of the bar’s benches.By 1:46 a.m., PJB slowed his patrol as he helped the bar backs with drinks left behind. There was no line outside, and a majority of the crowd had moved to the upstairs dance floor.“Last drinks will be served at 2:30 a.m., so it will be an earlier night than when I bar back,” PJB said. “Then, I’m not done ‘til 5 in the morning.”The schedule eventually wore on PJB. Weeks later, he quit Sports to focus on classes, wrestling and being Coach Peej.COACH PEEJThe back of his red St. Charles football cap sported his name stitched in the back: Coach PJ.“We like to call him Peej,” one of PJB’s eighth-grade football players said as he giggled. “Can we call you Peej?” another chimed.“You can call me Coach,” PJB said with a stern smile.“OK, Coach ... Peej,” the first football player said as he ran away with his teammate to listen to their duties for the Oklahoma drill.PJB spent every Tuesday through Friday this fall teaching defense to a group of middle school students for the St. Charles football team. He had them running plays and hitting the tackling sled with two hands.The young boys grunted, each seemingly louder in what seemed to become a competition.“We like to grunt because it makes PJ laugh,” said Jon-Luke, one of his players. “Plus, it makes us sound tougher.”Near the end of practice, when they felt like being giggly instead of tough, a group of defenders asked PJB if he’d buy cookie dough.“I’ll buy it if your moms make the dough into cookies for me,” PJB teased them. “What types are you selling?”“Well, there’s two types,” the first seller said.“Yeah, the one that makes you fat and the other that makes you fit,” the second seller said.“I think I need the one that makes me fit,” PJB said. He’s on a diet that typically consists of five to six small meals, multivitamins and protein drinks.The third seller ran up to him and poked his left bicep. “Yeah, Coach Peej. We’ll get you 30 tubs.”They think he’s just a muscular college kid.They have no idea he’s a professional wrestler.‘THAT GUY’ PJB rolled to his side on the mat.He knows every time he’s dropped to the mat from six feet or higher, it’s like getting into a car crash at 25 miles per hour.It’s a price he’s willing to pay.He knows he’s not going to make millions on the mat. But he found his passion for wrestling when he was growing up watching it on the couch with his dad.“It’s a dream to make it to the WWE,” PJB said. “Wrestling has just always been in my life in some shape or form.”At Sports and St. Charles, they thought PJB’s size was something they could test. In high school, he thought his stature wouldn’t would allow him to make a career in professional wrestling. He stood 5-foot-10-inches and weighed only 150 pounds when he graduated Lakeshore High School in 2003.He realized through eating and weightlifting he could become bigger. He turned professional in June 2010.PJB is now 6-foot-1-inch. His weight is 220, and his move to Tampa, Fla., is more than a big opportunity for his career. It’s a chance for him to make a difference.As Manix stood looking above PJB, a 6-foot injured running back slid through the ropes to protect his friend in the match. Manix turned around, and IU football’s injured running back Darius Willis leapt at him and took Manix down in a flying shoulder tackle.PJB rose to his feet as Manix and Willis stood. PJB walked toward Manix as he put his right arm between his legs and lifted him to his right shoulder before throwing him to the mat to end the match with his signature move, All She Wrote.PJB will wrestle Manix again at an Infinity Pro Wrestling event at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bloomington National Guard Armory.“I want to be able to help influence kids and be there for people,” PJB said. “Right now if I were to go to see kids that have cancer, they wouldn’t know me. If you make it in wrestling, you can go do that kind of stuff, and I will be able to give back.”
(11/07/11 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The wrestling team officially started its season Saturday at the Eastern Michigan Open.IU was one of 29 teams to compete in the tournament.The Hoosiers had four wrestlers place in the open division. Four true freshman also placed in the freshman/sophomore division. Ranked No. 4 nationally, returning All-American Matt Powless (197 pounds) placed first. Powless defeated Andrew Campolattano of Ohio State with a score of 5-2.Senior Matt Ortega (141 pounds) pinned Arizona State’s Nathan Hoffer two minutes into the first round, earning him third place. Sophomore Ryan Leblanc (174 pounds) placed fifth. In the freshman/sophomore division, Lucas Sheridan (184 pounds) and Garret Goldman (197 pounds) both placed second in their weight classes.Eric Roach earned third place, defeating Joey Kielbasa of Central Michigan with a score of 2-1 in overtime. Connor Graves placed fourth.“Matt Powless looked very All-American in his efforts this weekend,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We also have a lot of youth there. Some of those guys need to work on gaining experience and getting used to their weight.”The team will travel to East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday to compete in the Michigan State Open.
(11/04/11 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Wrestling team will embark on its first meet of the season in Ypsilanti, Mich., this Saturday to compete in the Eastern Michigan Open.The tournament is open to any collegiate wrestler. The Hoosiers will have both attached and unattached wrestlers competing.The squad will also appear younger this year, as five starters graduated from last spring’s squad.“We have a lot of new faces,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We’re probably going to start five freshmen and three sophomores this year.”The team is dealing with a few minor injuries and seasonal sicknesses, and sophomore Zach Zimmer, who wrestles at 125 pounds, is not expected to wrestle at the tournament after suffering a minor injury in practice, Goldman said.The wrestlers are hoping the tournament will better prepare them for the conference season, Goldman said.“It’s the first tournament of the year, so there’ll be several Big Ten schools there as well as several other D1 universities from all over the place,” Goldman said. “Every year it’s a pretty tough tournament. It’s going to be a challenge. But it’s also an opportunity for our guys, hopefully, to get a lot of matches in.”The biggest challenge the team faces will be simply getting experience with a young team, Goldman said.“With things like our improved facilities, our recruiting has picked up, so we have a lot of talent on the team, but it’s just young,” Goldman said. “It’s going to be a challenging year.”Senior Matt Powless finished first at 197 pounds in last year’s tournament and is eager to see how the team stands this year and where its needs improvement.“I’m a little nervous. First tournament of the year,” Powless said. “You obviously don’t know what bugs you’ve got to fix and that’s what we’re going to find out this weekend: what’s wrong with us as a team and what’s wrong with me individually.”Senior Matt Ortega placed second in the tournament last year at 133 pounds but will bump up this season to the 141 pound weight class.“I feel pretty good,” Ortega said. “It should be a good warm-up for the season coming up.”
(10/28/11 2:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Do not put too much stock in the outcomes from Thursday’s IU wrestling intrasquad scrimmage.At 149 pounds, for instance, true freshman Eric Roach took nearly two minutes of overtime to score a takedown and an 8-6 decision against junior Geno Capezio, who moved up a weight class for the second time in as many years.Neither is the probable starter at the weight, though. That would be redshirt freshman Taylor Walsh, who was defeated on the evening by a cold. “I’d say Walsh will probably be the guy in there,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “He just didn’t wrestle tonight. That was a good match, but it didn’t have a lot of bearing. Walsh is fine.”Likewise, at 184 pounds, true freshman and highly-touted recruit Lucas Sheridan made his Hoosier debut against redshirt freshman Cheney Dale, a 174-pounder. Sheridan won 8-1, largely due to a five-point move on a headlock and nearfall. However, Goldman said Sheridan will redshirt this season and Dale is penciled to start.Even with the outcomes ultimately playing almost no role in who the season’s starters will be, the event provided the public their first look at a Hoosier team seeking to replace Kurt Kinser and Paul Young, lineup fixtures the past four seasons, and Ricky Alcala, a heavyweight who placed fifth nationally in his only season at IU.New NCAA rules meant the Hoosiers could not begin practice until October 10. “Wrestle-offs are really difficult,” Goldman said. “They see each other every day and they know each other’s moves real well, so sometimes they’re not the most exciting matches. They’ve only been in the room a couple of weeks.”While the outcomes of matches Thursday may not indicate the starters, Goldman said the Thursday wrestlers in most weight classes are the same athletes in contention for the starting jobs.This is especially true at 165 pounds, a spot vacated by sophomore Ryan LeBlanc’s move to 174 pounds. In a battle of redshirt freshmen, Preston Keiffer defeated Sawyer Morris in one of three matches that went to overtime.“165 (pounds), that one was really too close to call,” Goldman said. “Again, these matches, as far as really the lineup, have very little impact (but) those are the guys.”
(10/27/11 10:52pm)
Sophomore Mitchell Richey, last year's starter at 141 pounds, and junior Ryan Konz, who has experience last season at both 157 and 165 pounds. Redshirt freshman Taylor Walsh is reportedly sick.
(03/21/11 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are not a lot of similarities between the speedy offense-based wrestling of Matt Powless and the read-and-react style that Ricky Alcala employs.But Saturday evening in Philadelphia, both wrestlers shared something in common upon clinching All-American status: hugs.“I was so relieved,” Powless said. “When I got it, it was like a huge weight off my shoulders. I gave Coach (Duane) Goldman and Coach (Pat) DeGain huge hugs. I just felt so relieved.”Likewise, after defeating ninth-seeded Cameron Wade of eventual national champion Penn State, Alcala leapt into the arms of his coaches.Alcala, a graduate student in his first and only year wrestling for IU after transferring from California-Davis, would go on to place fifth at heavyweight while Powless took eighth at 197 pounds. Seniors Kurt Kinser and Paul Young wrestled but did not place at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. As a team, the Hoosiers finished 25th with 23.5 points.Alcala’s match in the round of 12 was the second meeting of the year between him and Wade. Alcala dropped the first bout 6-0, but as he has done several times this season, Alcala emerged victorious in a rematch, winning 4-2 in sudden victory. Alcala also defeated Boise State’s J.T. Felix after losing to him earlier in the year, again winning in overtime. He said he credits DeGain for helping him bounce back from the earlier defeats.“I avenged two losses this year,” Alcala said. “I watched so much film throughout the year. After I lost, I would go back and see what my mistakes were and work on them. It paid off.”Those wins were far from his only overtime matches of the tournament. In total, Alcala wrestled eight matches from Thursday through Saturday with each going at least the full seven minutes and six going to overtime. He was on the mat for more than 64 minutes altogether.“I think the difference, the reason why I won most of them, was that I just wanted to win,” Alcala said. “I knew in overtime I was going to get the takedown.”On his march to fifth place, Alcala, who was unseeded entering the tournament after a disappointing Big Ten tournament, defeated two seeded opponents, Wade and No. 4 Dominick Russo of Rutgers. He also narrowly lost to No. 2 Jarod Trice of Central Michigan twice by scores of 3-2 in overtime, his only defeats of the tournament.“I felt like I could beat them,” Alcala said. “That they were seeded didn’t really mean anything to me. I just took it one match at a time.”While Alcala’s career is over, Powless has another year to build on his All-American finish. Four wrestlers that finished ahead of him will graduate, which could favor Powless’ chances to improve his spot on the podium.“My goal was to be All-American, and I did that so I can be pleased with myself,” Powless said. “The goal next year is obviously to do a lot better than this year, climb that podium and try to be national champ.”
(03/11/11 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last season, junior Matt Powless got his first taste of the NCAA wrestling tournament. This year he returns to the tournament familiar with the atmosphere and with a more ambitious goal.“Last year I made it to nationals, and that was my goal,” Powless said. “Once I did, I don’t want to say I didn’t care, but I was definitely happy already with my season. I went out there and wrestled, but I don’t think I fully committed myself the way I should have to winning those matches. I was already happy with myself. Going there this year with it not being a surprise but an expectation has me a little more driven.”IU will send four wrestlers to Philadelphia for the NCAA Championships on March 17-19. Joining Powless, who wrestles in the 197-pound weight class, are seniors Kurt Kinser at 149 pounds and Paul Young at 157 pounds and graduate student Ricky Alcala at heavyweight.“Every one of these guys has been to nationals before,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “They have an idea of what they’re stepping into. They just need to go in there and be confident and not look ahead. It’s a tough tournament.”While each of the IU qualifiers has been to the tournament before, last year Kinser and Young each qualified for different weight classes, 157 pounds and 165 pounds, respectively. Alcala wrestled for a different school, California-Davis.Kinser, Young and Powless clinched their berths in the Big Ten Tournament last weekend. Alcala suffered a pair of upset losses and ultimately placed seventh, not high enough for an automatic qualifier spot. However, when wildcards were announced Wednesday, Alcala made the field.“Ricky had a little bit of a tough go,” Goldman said. “He appears to be back on track. He wrestled really well in his last match. We were pretty sure that he was going to get picked up (as a wildcard).”Released along with the wildcard selections were the brackets for the tournament revealing both the seeds at each weight class and first-round matchups. Kinser will wrestle Missouri’s Kyle Bradley, who he has defeated this season, in the opening round. Young will face Pittsburgh’s Donnie Tasser while Powless will meet LJ Helbig of Wyoming. Alcala will wrestle Spencer Myers of Maryland.“I’m pretty familiar with all their opponents,” Goldman said. “I think for the most part we avoided some seeds. I think they all have good first-round matchups, ones they all have good shots of winning. They’re feeling good.”Practices leading up to nationals will largely be geared toward preparing for first-round opponents, as the wrestlers have control over little else, a lesson Powless has learned both from IU’s All-American coaches and his own experience last year.“You always want to say you’re taking it one match at a time, but in the back of their head, everyone is thinking, ‘If I win this match I have so-and-so, if I lose I have so-and-so,’” Powless said. “I did that last year. I lost on the first round, and then in the wrestlebacks I didn’t get who I thought I would get because there was another upset, so I ended up wrestling someone and things didn’t work out for me. This year I’m definitely going to take it one match at a time and only worry about that first match.”
(03/07/11 3:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After having half of its team eliminated Saturday, IU wrestling rebounded Sunday with a pair of third place finishers.“It was similar to our regular season,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “The guys who qualified for the nationals were the ones who carried the team.”The tournament did not begin on a good note for the Hoosiers. After the first two rounds Saturday, only one wrestler, senior Paul Young at 157 pounds, remained in the championship bracket. By the end of the day, five wrestlers had been eliminated.However, the team managed to salvage the situation Sunday, winning seven of eight matches on the day and sending three wrestlers to the national tournament as automatic qualifiers.Senior Kurt Kinser lost in a quarterfinals upset to Michigan’s Eric Grajales at 149 pounds but battled back through the consolation bracket with a headlock for a pin and three straight decisions to take third. In the third-place match, Kinser pulled an upset himself, defeating second-seeded Andrew Nadhir of host Northwestern 6-4 with an overtime takedown.Junior Matt Powless pulled a similar feat at 197 pounds. After having beaten Michigan State’s Tyler Dickenson three times during the regular season, including twice by major decision, Powless dropped a 7-4 decision in the opening round. After three decisions against seeded opponents, however, Powless found himself in yet another rematch with the upstart Dickenson, this time for third place. Powless prevailed 6-2.“It’s good to see they’re able to keep their head and keep their focus,” Goldman said. “At the NCAA tournament you need to show up and do their best. It was a good learning experience and good preparation.”Young fought back from his loss to Taylor to finish fourth, and graduate student Ricky Alcala salvaged a seventh place finish at heavyweight after two Saturday upsets.Kinser, Young and Powless each qualified for the NCAA championships. Alcala appears likely to join them as a wildcard selection.“We just need to focus on going back to the room and looking at the matches and making sure the things they do are being done as best they can,” Goldman said. “We need to go back and look at areas where they fell short. We need to continue to train.”
(03/06/11 4:02am)
Day 1 of the 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships was not kind to the Hoosiers. Five of the team's 10 entrants were eliminated. Their seasons, and in some cases careers, are likely over.
(03/05/11 7:50pm)
Today is certainly not playing out the way IU hoped. After Matt Powless was upset in the opening round, all but one wrestler in the championship bracket's second round lost, including upsets of senior Kurt Kinser at 149 pounds and graduate student Ricky Alcala, both to opponents they had previously defeated this season.
(03/05/11 5:26pm)
In their fourth match-up of the season, junior Matt Powless at 197 pounds was upset by Michigan States Tyler Dickenson 7-4. The loss sends Powless to the consalation bracket where he will have a long road ahead of him to snatch one of the sic automatic qualifer spots. This is by far the earliest loss in a tournament on the year for Powless, so it will be interesting to se how he responds.
(03/05/11 3:47pm)
I will be posting periodic updates throughout the day about the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, but you can also find live blogs for the event at both Intermat and TheOpenMat. The later also includes live audio on the same page. For more information on the tournament, see my preview from Friday's IDS. I also broke down each of the weights in this blog yesterday. A recap will be in Monday's IDS.