Happy Valley can smile again
A large, dark cloud has been hovering over the Penn State football program for the last three years, but it appears the sun may finally be shining in Happy Valley.
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A large, dark cloud has been hovering over the Penn State football program for the last three years, but it appears the sun may finally be shining in Happy Valley.
Going into this game I was reminding myself not to over hype any success the Hoosiers had because the game was against a relatively weak opponent.
Sam Beishuizen, Grace Palmieri and Brody Miller breakdown IU football's upcoming game against Indiana State Saturday at noon.
Going into the season opener against Indiana State, most of the attention will be on the new 3-4 defensive scheme and rightfully so.
Columnists love writing predictions.
I don’t think I have ever been so excited for the idea of Indiana State.
Being an IU football fan has not been for the faint of heart.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was going to be another summer of reading between the lines and over-analyzing to determine who would be the starting quarterback for IU this season. It appeared it might be a season of playing two quarterbacks each game.As recently as Thursday, IU Coach Kevin Wilson still said neither junior Nate Sudfeld nor junior Tre Roberson stood out as a clear No. 1 quarterback.Well, Tre Roberson made the decision for us.Roberson’s surprising announcement that he will no longer be suiting up for the Hoosiers has put the job in the capable hands of pocket passer Sudfeld.It is a shame Roberson is leaving, but it is relieving to know who the IU quarterback will be this fall. There has yet to be any indication of whether Roberson is leaving because it appeared it was becoming Sudfeld’s spot, or if he was tired of competing and felt he could start elsewhere.Nonetheless, I am happy with the quarterback that will be representing the Hoosiers this fall. Nate Sudfeld is “the guy.”Sudfeld can run an offense. In my opinion, Roberson can just be a great piece of an offense. The key fear with Sudfeld is that he can look like a superstar against bad defenses, but struggles to figure it out against any real competition. Examples: He threw three interceptions against SEC East champs Missouri.He was 14-30 against Michigan State, 8-19 against Michigan and 9-22 against Wisconsin.And Missouri was the only one of those games he threw more than 150 yards.Roberson looked strong in games where Sudfeld struggled. The difference is, Roberson is able to use his overall athletic ability to make something happen when facing defenses that are overall better than IU’s offense.Roberson was not running a great offense, he could make some good plays out of the bad situations.That does not make him a better quarterback or a guy who can carry IU to wins against better teams.It is the equivalent to when Chris Bosh would put up large numbers with a bad Raptors team. Sudfeld can run an offense that flows perfectly. He can be “the guy.”Roberson can make some great plays and be the jack-of-all-trades, but the master of none. Things didn’t work out perfectly for Tre Roberson.A former Indiana Mr. Football, he was the first freshman starting quarterback in IU history, but a broken leg delayed his career. Sudfeld did not waste the opportunity to catch up to him during the past two years. Roberson was a big signing for IU at the time, but it might be best for everyone. Because now the Hoosiers know who they are. brodmill@indiana.edu
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Everything went as expected for the IU wrestling team in a 52-0 defeat of Division-III Manchester this weekend.“It was a productive match, and we got out of it what we hoped to,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.Only two matches were won by decision as IU won eight of 10 on pins or technical falls. This includes junior Taylor Walsh’s NCAA-leading 18th pin of the season that puts him one away from tying the school record. “We got an opportunity again to make that weigh-in and wrestle in front of a really good crowd,” Goldman said. “Really happy with the turnout today. All of our guys experienced success today, and we came out unscathed on the injury side of it, so now we can move forward into finals week and get ready for what’s coming up after Christmas.”Walsh, seniors Adam Chalfant and Ryan LeBlanc and junior Luke Sheridan all remained undefeated at home this season.On a day of expected domination, sophomore Joe Randazzo went out and did so.A walk-on from Mt. Prospect, Ill., Randazzo was 0-8 on the season before the matchup with Manchester, and he received an opportunity to wrestle in place of injured sophomores Eric Roach and Alex Gregory.Randazzo defeated Manchester freshman TJ Thompson 7-3 in what will be Randazzo’s final match of the season. “It was awesome,” Randazzo said. “Today is my last match this year since I am studying abroad in Rome. It was awesome to get out there with Roach and Gregory being out and get out there and get a win. That was really cool and seeing everyone else out there getting wins as well.”The differential in talent showed in Manchester’s timidity, and IU capitalized on it.“The other team was backing up a lot,” Randazzo said. “They really didn’t want to wrestle us. I don’t really blame them since they are a D-III school coming into a Big Ten dual, but they were backing up, and we just kept attacking.”The 52-0 victory puts IU at 7-1 on the season going into winter break. The team’s break won’t be long, as they head to the Midlands tournament at Northwestern on Dec. 29 and 30.“Midlands is a heck of a tournament,” Goldman said. “There are a lot of great teams, and they have a really tough field. We have some guys individually that have done well so far, and it’s a team tournament, and hopefully we can continue in that aspect and have a good tournament.”Goldman said he is hoping some of the younger wrestlers that are starting to gain a lot more experience will show more maturity at Midlands. While Randazzo will not be around for the rest of the season, he did have some thoughts on the team and how the rest of the season will go.“This year, we are coming out as pretty much a whole new team,” Randazzo said. “You know with (IU Assistant Coach Nick) Simmons and Duane (Goldman) it’s just a whole new feel. Everything is just going good right now. We are looking good for the future, and I think we are going to crawl up the rankings.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In addition to its victory against Manhattan this weekend, the IU wrestling team has been making a splash on the recruiting trail as this year’s signing class was ranked No. 9 by Wrestling Insider News magazine.“We worked hard in that early signing period, and we were really happy with what we got,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.Five of the six recruits are ranked in the top 20 nationally in their respective weight classes, and the lone wrestler in the class not ranked, 195-pounder Dakota Thacker, is ranked No. 1 in the state of Indiana at 195 pounds. “We have some guys that we think are really going to contribute in the future,” Goldman said. “A lot really fill needs in weight classes where we are starting to feel older. So we feel like we are moving in the right direction.”The primary focuses of this recruiting period were middleweights and heavyweights, Goldman said. Jake Danishek out of Miamisburg, Ohio, is a three-time Ohio state champion. He has won the Super 32 Challenge, considered to be the most difficult preseason tournament in the country, and is the No. 2 152-pounder in the nation.Logan Marcicki is a Michigan state champion and two-time finalist from the city of Novi. A Junior National All-American, he is ranked No. 15 at 182 pounds. Bryce Martin is another Junior National All-American from California who is ranked No. 16 at 170 pounds.In addition to Thacker, another Indiana man is 220-pound Junior All-American Fletcher Miller, who is ranked No. 11.To round out the current class is two-time Michigan state champion and No. 12 ranked 138-pounder, Cole Weaver, who is a two-time Cadet All-American. “The guys that we signed, we like that they are not only successful but they are really hard-working, tough kids that will be able to succeed on this mat,” Goldman said.This past recruiting season, the Big Ten had nine of the top 12 freshman classes in the nation. Goldman looked back on past classes that have stood out, and the best one he could remember is the 2005 class that had four-time All-American Angel Escobedo, Matt Coughlin and Trevor Perry, among others.Goldman said he feels this class is a good sign for the future of IU and hopes all six will have success.Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday at IU’s University Gym, No. 24 IU will take on Division III Manchester. “It is one of our lighter duals of the season, so we all want to go out and make sure that everyone gets good wins, and hopefully some people can get some bonus points this weekend,” junior Taylor Walsh said.Walsh, 157 pounds and No. 5 in the nation, has 17 pins, which puts him two away from tying the single-season school record.“I feel like every match, no matter easy or hard, you try to look for it,” Walsh said.IU Coach Duane Goldman said when a wrestler is on a pin streak like Walsh’s, opponents are aware of it and try to avoid it. Goldman attributes some of Walsh’s success to his noticeable improvement. “For him, I think it’s just a question of going out and staying aggressive,” Goldman said. “He has always been a pinner, but before he used to sit back and wait for opportunities, and now he is creating and going after his opportunities.” This week the team has been working hard and focusing on conditioning since it does not have to rest as much as it would for a Big Ten match, Walsh said. “Our goal for the week is to have no setbacks,” Goldman said. “Aside from winning all of our matches, we want to come out of it with no injuries.” Staying healthy against Manchester remains a focus for the Hoosiers, who saw two of their own, including sophomore Garret Goldman, suffer injuries against the Spartans last season.“That was a pretty unfortunate circumstance, and we just want to avoid that,” Goldman said. With final exams approaching, the Hoosier players have more to focus on than Manchester. The staff made some adjustments to tailor to the wrestlers’ schedules. “As far as our practice schedule, we change that up a little,” Goldman said. “We make it a little more open, obviously, if guys have to study and all. We try to be intense when we can, but probably on a more individual basis.”The team went 4-1 last weekend at Hoosier Duals and four wrestlers went 5-0. This week the team’s mentality is that the Manchester meet is another opportunity to get in the rhythm of the dual-meet format, Goldman said. Wrestlers will have another opportunity to continue to improve before the Midlands Tournament over winter break and then the Big Ten season. “We had five matches last week, two weigh-ins, we got a lot accomplished and had a lot of competition,” Goldman said. “This is the time to get another one-hour weigh-in and hopefully have a good result and kind of come down off last week. Then, our guys have finals after that and go home for Christmas, and hopefully we can just go off on a good note.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday at IU’s University Gym, No. 24 IU will take on Division III Manchester. “It is one of our lighter duals of the season, so we all want to go out and make sure that everyone gets good wins, and hopefully some people can get some bonus points this weekend,” junior Taylor Walsh said.Walsh, 157 pounds and No. 5 in the nation, has 17 pins, which puts him two away from tying the single-season school record.“I feel like every match, no matter easy or hard, you try to look for it,” Walsh said.IU Coach Duane Goldman said when a wrestler is on a pin streak like Walsh’s, opponents are aware of it and try to avoid it. Goldman attributes some of Walsh’s success to his noticeable improvement. “For him, I think it’s just a question of going out and staying aggressive,” Goldman said. “He has always been a pinner, but before he used to sit back and wait for opportunities, and now he is creating and going after his opportunities.” This week the team has been working hard and focusing on conditioning since it does not have to rest as much as it would for a Big Ten match, Walsh said. “Our goal for the week is to have no setbacks,” Goldman said. “Aside from winning all of our matches, we want to come out of it with no injuries.” Staying healthy against Manchester remains a focus for the Hoosiers, who saw two of their own, including sophomore Garret Goldman, suffer injuries against the Spartans last season.“That was a pretty unfortunate circumstance, and we just want to avoid that,” Goldman said. With final exams approaching, the Hoosier players have more to focus on than Manchester. The staff made some adjustments to tailor to the wrestlers’ schedules. “As far as our practice schedule, we change that up a little,” Goldman said. “We make it a little more open, obviously, if guys have to study and all. We try to be intense when we can, but probably on a more individual basis.”The team went 4-1 last weekend at Hoosier Duals and four wrestlers went 5-0. This week the team’s mentality is that the Manchester meet is another opportunity to get in the rhythm of the dual-meet format, Goldman said. Wrestlers will have another opportunity to continue to improve before the Midlands Tournament over winter break and then the Big Ten season. “We had five matches last week, two weigh-ins, we got a lot accomplished and had a lot of competition,” Goldman said. “This is the time to get another one-hour weigh-in and hopefully have a good result and kind of come down off last week. Then, our guys have finals after that and go home for Christmas, and hopefully we can just go off on a good note.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Hoosier standout Matt Powless has been named the new assistant coach of the IU wrestling team.The team has been without a second assistant coach since former assistant Joe LeBlanc took a new job at Brown in early November.Powless was an All-American in 2011 for IU and has served as a volunteer coach since 2012 while he earned his master’s degree in counseling and counselor education. Indiana’s Most Outstanding Wrester in 2011 and 2012, Powless’ 124 career wins rank fifth all time at IU.During his 2011 All-American season, he led all of NCAA wrestling with 13 major decisions and led the Big Ten with 39 total wins, the seventh-most in an IU season.His accolades go beyond strictly wrestling, as he was the only four-time Academic All-American in IU wrestling history.Powless was also named a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar after his junior and senior seasons.Powless was a leader on the mat for several seasons, and the team is looking forward to him helping wrestlers in the future, IU Coach Duane Goldman said. Possibly his greatest legacy as a wrestler was being named a 2012 Spirit of Indiana Directors Award honoree. IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass presents the award to two student athletes who most represent the ideals of the school’s athletic program.— Brody Miller
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Luke Sheridan stands behind the coaches, waiting for his match to begin. He has a poised, fixated look out at the mat as if there is nothing on his mind besides the next 10 minutes of wrestling.He strides out onto the mat. He displays a large tattoo of a grandfather clock on his left arm and an equally sizeable tattoo of a lion on his right thigh. He walks to the far edge of the circle and taps his shoes together.He does this preceding each match, right before he makes his way to the center to face his next opponent.Sheridan said he taps his shoes together as an ode to when he used to write initials of family members on his shoes when he was younger. Sheridan takes wrestling very personally.“Every time I go out there, this is what I have decided to do with my life, this is what I have put my heart into,” Sheridan said. “This person is standing in front of me and my whole life, so I am not going to just let them run over me.”The person standing in front of Sheridan today is an even more personal opponent for him.Seven years earlier, Sheridan was competing in a regional 18-under tournament in which he had just won the Greco-Roman division — Sheridan’s specialty.The next day was the freestyle tournament, and Sheridan went up against a wrestler from the state of Washington named Nick Bayer. Sheridan may have gone in with too much confidence.Bayer defeated Sheridan but did not end up placing in the tournament. Sheridan came back to gain third place. It was the loss that mattered to him, though.“For seven years I have been thinking about that match, how I let my ego get the best of me,” Sheridan said. “It was tough.”Years later at a tournament in Washington, Bayer’s dad came up to Sheridan and, when he mentioned who his son was, Sheridan knew exactly who he was talking about.“When I lose matches in the Olympic styles I take it very personally,” Sheridan said. “But I haven’t seen him or heard of him or anything until this weekend.”During the years after their matchup, Sheridan has placed third twice in the California state championships, and last summer he won the Junior Fila National Championships without a point being scored on him.He also won the Junior Fila World Team Trials to go on to compete in the 21-under World Championships.He has won the University Nationals and University World Team Trials and qualified for the World team, but he decided to stay home and focus on his collegiate wrestling and his education.Bayer, on the other hand, has been a three-time Washington state champion and has posted winning records in his first two seasons at Northern Colorado.Fast forward to this week, as Sheridan realized he would be facing Bayer at the Hoosier Duals.He was elated.“Just pure excitement,” Sheridan said. “I mean, I love avenging losses. It is one of the best feelings in the world.’”Fast forward again to the Hoosier Duals as Sheridan and Bayer face off.Sheridan gets off to a slow start as Bayer takes the lead. With 90 seconds left in the match, Sheridan trails 5-2.“I looked over in my corner and Coach (Duane Goldman) looked at me and was like, ‘You can do this. Time to start wrestling,’” Sheridan said. “I decided to flip the switch and forget about the score and just start wrestling my match.”Sheridan gets an escape with 1 minute and 9 seconds left to bring the match within two points.Then, he goes for a double leg takedown but can’t quite get it.With less than 30 seconds left, Sheridan receives another opportunity and nails a takedown to tie the match up at 5-5. The match Sheridan had been waiting seven years for is going to a sudden victory period.The first person to get a takedown wins.Sheridan wastes no time. He takes Bayer down quickly to win the match 7-5.“I was pretty excited to say the least,” Sheridan said.Sheridan went on to win all five matches on the weekend, including a pin in a must-win bout in the meet against West Virginia.The team needed points from him to stay in it. West Virginia ended up winning on tiebreaker criteria.Sheridan did not gloat about his vengeful victory over Bayer or talk about his 5-0 outing. He said it was bittersweet because he wished the team could have won all five matchups.Now he said he just wants to keep working toward the next competition.The wrestler who let his ego get the best of him seven years ago no longer has an ego issue.“Something Coach Goldman has taught me is that there is always room for improvement,” Sheridan said. “There is always something you can learn from every single match. So now I just need to go back, watch the film and get ready for the next one.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During a weekend of success for the IU wrestling team in which the Hoosiers posted a 4-1 record, it was the loss that stuck with the coaches and wrestlers the most, they said. After defeating Northern Colorado, Drexel, the Virginia Military Institute and Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville by scores of 32-9, 29-9, 46-0 and 28-9, respectively, IU went into its matchup with West Virginia knowing this would likely be the main event.“West Virginia was really the team we were looking forward to meeting in this dual meet,” senior Adam Chalfant said. West Virginia won the first four matches to go up 15-0. “West Virginia came out wrestling hard,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We didn’t wrestle poorly at 125, 133. We started off OK but gave up some bad points that took us out of that scenario.“I was thinking, ‘I hope Taylor can pin this guy and get the tide turned a little bit,’” Goldman said. As Goldman had hoped, No. 6 ranked junior Taylor Walsh brought the Hoosiers some momentum by pinning junior Brutus Scheffel. It was Walsh’s fourth pin in as many matches on the weekend, and he ended the weekend going 5-0, all pins.Walsh now has 17 pins on the season and is 20-0. His 17 falls place him three away from breaking the school record, and his 38 career pins put him at fifth all time. A victory by senior Ryan LeBlanc, a loss from freshman Nate Jackson and a pin by junior Luke Sheridan set up an intense must-win match between sophomore Garret Goldman and West Virginia sophomore Mark Colabucci.Goldman went into the match with a 7-8 record but has shown frustration in some difficult defeats. The University Gym was roaring with enthusiasm during the match that included a replay review and a bench warning. Neither wrestler had a clear view of victory until the final seconds. Goldman held on for a 6-5 win thanks to a late takedown to bring the team score to 21-18 in favor of West Virginia.The takedown gave Chalfant a chance to complete the Hoosier comeback, as he needed at least an eight-point victory to secure the four points IU needed to win.“Luke came back with a huge pin on a tough kid,” Goldman said. “Garret had a great win against a solid opponent that really put us in a situation to win the dual.”The No. 8 ranked heavyweight, Chalfant managed to win on a 6-3 decision to tie the match 21-21.“I knew that guy was going to run from me most of the time, so I just tried to push the pace with him and try to get out there on top, but it kind of ended up coming back and biting me,” Chalfant said.The contest was decided on tiebreaker criteria, and the Mountaineers won with more points on non-fall bouts. “I was proud that the guys fought back, but we just fell a little short,” Goldman said. Despite the difficult loss, Walsh, LeBlanc, Sheridan and Chalfant went to 5-0 for the weekend.All four are ranked in the top 25 for their weight class. Goldman went 4-1 as he won his final four bouts. Goldman said he was confident in the guys who are highly ranked, but he said he needed everyone else on the team to realize that every point matters. Chalfant agreed.“We got to push it harder in the room,” Chalfant said. “We got to push our teammates harder. The hard work is what is going to separate us from being a good team to being a great team.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It will be a busy weekend at the University Gym as six wrestling teams meet for the Hoosier Duals. IU, West Virginia, Northern Colorado, Drexel, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Virginia Military Institute will participate in a round robin competition Saturday and Sunday.IU Coach Duane Goldman said he was not too pleased with IU’s first dual meets back in November but looks forward to seeing the team progress this weekend.“It’s a new challenge for us,” Goldman said. “The whole format of what we are doing this weekend serves us better down the line like what we are trying to prepare for tournament-wise, trying to string together wins. Three the first day, two the second. You know, to win an NCAA championship you have to win five matches, and this is kind of that scenario.”The team values these early season meets to prepare them for the road ahead.“This lays the groundwork, gets us ready, we work out all the kinks out now because the Big Ten season is really competitive,” senior Ryan LeBlanc said.Goldman and the wrestlers view this as an even field where they should come out victorious.“I think all of the teams are actually pretty evenly matched,” Goldman said. “I think it should be a good weekend of wrestling. I wouldn’t say that there are necessarily any teams as a whole that are really strong from top to bottom. They are all pretty similar to us. They have their leaders, and they have their guys that are working their way in.”One of the more interesting individual matchups will be between junior Luke Sheridan and Northern Colorado junior Nick Bayer Jr. “The kid from Northern Colorado (Bayer) beat me seven years ago in a freestyle match, and when it comes to my freestyle career I don’t really forget matches that I lose,” Sheridan said. “He probably doesn’t even remember me, but I am definitely looking forward to that one.”IU is now ranked No. 25 in the nation, but that is not what the wrestlers focus on, Sheridan said. “We are definitely not content,” Sheridan said. “We want to keep pushing it. Top-25 is no accomplishment, really. It is a step in the right direction, but it’s nowhere near where we want to be.”This year’s IU squad has a combination of highly ranked veterans and inexperienced members. Goldman values what the veterans can provide.“Our four ranked guys are all juniors and seniors,” Goldman said. “We depend on those guys. Our young guys coming up depend on them. They need that leadership. They need some guys that have been in that action to lead the way.”For instance, sophomore Ethan Raley has had ups and downs in his first year wrestling with IU after transferring from Lincoln College. Raley went through a difficult stretch two weeks ago to win the 149-pound title at the Keystone Classic.“Ethan Raley has done a great job, but he has been kind of a rollercoaster,” Goldman said. “He had a really good tournament, then he didn’t look good the next couple of weeks. Then he went to this last tournament and looked great. He has got to develop some consistency.”Goldman emphasized the benefits his team will have playing at home this weekend.“It is always good to be able to sleep in your own bed and not travel,” Goldman said. “Also, with finals week and things like that, guys are putting more time in the classroom and studying, in theory, so this is definitely a good time to be here and hopefully we get some good support.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team could face up to 54 ranked wrestlers from 12 schools at the high-profile Keystone Classic tournament Sunday.“It’s a tough tournament,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “It is all invited D-1 schools; there are a lot of ranked wrestlers at different weights. If our guys are going to go in there and if they do well, they will get a lot of good wins for their RPI and qualifying for their matches.”Last season, senior Adam Chalfant took the heavyweight title in the Keystone Classic and Senior Ryan LeBlanc took third place at 165 pounds.At heavyweight, Chalfant will be in the same weight class as seven other wrestlers ranked in the top 32. Chalfant is ranked No. 6 in the nation.LeBlanc, ranked No. 18, will also be in the same bracket as five top-ranked wrestlers.He said he has been working on certain aspects of his performance for this weekend.“I’ve been making sure that I am tightening up my top work,” LeBlanc said. “I got some deep holds this past weekend, but I didn’t necessarily finish them. I worked a lot on that from a technical aspect. From a physical aspect, just been building my condition, building my shape, working hard running and lifting.”As a team, IU has been building off some issues from last week’s tri-meet wins against Duke and Cleveland State.“At the dual meet last week, I wouldn’t say we wrestled horribly, but I think we felt the one hour weigh-in a little too much,” Goldman said. “We addressed some technical things. They weren’t major problem issues but more strategic process philosophy.”The team has also been working on conditioning and wrist work, LeBlanc and sophomore Garret Goldman said. Freshman Nate Jackson expects to make his season debut at the Keystone Open.“We will see what he can do, or not do,” Goldman said. “He has been waiting for a while to get on the mat, so it will be good for him to get that opportunity.”Alongside 165 pounds and heavyweight, the 125- and 149-pound classes will have seven top-32 ranked wrestlers. No weight class has fewer than two.The wrestlers have a positive attitude going into the weekend.“I think everyone is going into it looking to do good, looking to wrestle hard and do their best and get their name out there a little more,” Goldman said. “Me personally, I’d like to get out there and have guys recognize me a little more and kind of get my name out there in the rankings.”Goldman is trying to find a consistent stride after a 1-1 performance last weekend.“This is our first tournament where they keep team score, so I am excited to see how we will do,” LeBlanc said. “I think we have everyone in the lineup. Everyone is healthy, so I have high expectations to get in those placing rounds and have a lot of guys placing.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Sunday, IU defeated Duke 22-15 before going on to beat Cleveland State 25-10 in the tri-meet. Duke defeated Cleveland State 19-16 in their matchup.Despite performing well in the win column, the players and coaches seemed to feel the Hoosiers wrestled sloppily in the opener. “First match we were all a little flat,” junior Luke Sheridan said. “But then we came together as a team, talked about it, noticed our mistakes, put it behind us and moved on to the next one. I felt we definitely brought a lot more pressure that second dual, definitely showed our upsides and what we have to do this year.”Sheridan won both matches today by at least five points. He is ranked No. 12 nationally at 184 pounds.Senior Heavyweight Adam Chalfant, ranked No. 6 in the nation, won his first match 10-4 and then went on to defeat Cleveland State’s Sophomore Riley Shaw 14-5.Chalfant had a similar feeling about the difference between the first two matches. “Team performance was ... awesome our second match against Cleveland State,” Chalfant said. “Our first match, I think a lot of guys felt their weight, and plus it is our first home dual, and that is never any easy one. A lot of guys were getting rid of the butterflies in their stomach.”IU Coach Duane Goldman was pleased that the Hoosiers won their matches but was aware that there were some struggles adapting to the different format.“They just need to get used to that one-hour weigh-in and wrestling in these kinds of situations,” Goldman said. “That’s why it’s good to have this kind of thing this time of the year.”Another successful Hoosier today was Senior Ryan LeBlanc. Leblanc, who is ranked 18th in the country at 165 pounds, won his first match 9-0 and his second match 16-1 for a technical fall. Sophomores Ethan Raley and Eric Roach went 2-0 today. Roach’s victory against Cleveland State’s Sophomore R.J. Labeef came down to a takedown by Roach with 13 seconds left to win 4-3. Junior Taylor Walsh, the No. 8 ranked 157-pounder in the nation, did not wrestle today. Walsh was not feeling up to par, so the staff decided not to have him compete, Goldman said. In Walsh’s place, Sophomore Alex Gregory wrestled at 157 pounds when he normally wrestles at 149 pounds. He held his own at the change in weight class, wrestling in two tight bouts, winning the second 1-0 against Cleveland State’s freshman Latrell Davis.Junior Joe Duca finally made his debut today. Duca had a strong end to last season and put in hard work all off-season, Goldman said, but he lost both matches.“Obviously, Joe had a real disappointing day,” Goldman said. “He started showing signs of what he can do in that second match in spurts. He’s just got to go back to doing what he does best and get there on a consistent basis.”Despite a slow start, IU started the season at 2-0.“It feels really good,” Sheridan said. “Especially coming out here, first dual at home. We had some friends coming out, some close family members here and what not. It feels great to get some good wins and put on a little bit of a show.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The first dual meets of this wrestling season are Sunday in Bloomington at the University Gym against Duke and Cleveland State.“Both are teams that we are going to need to be ready to compete against and do what we need to do to win matches,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.The IU wrestling team is coming off two successful outings at the Clarion Open and Michigan State Open. Junior Adam Chalfant was one of two Hoosiers to place first last weekend at the Michigan State Open for his seasonal debut. Chalfant is still focused on improving for this weekend.“Really, I just got to go back and look at the tapes from my matches and look at the good and, more than just looking at the good, checking out what I did wrong and look at the opportunities that I may have not seen out there in those matches,” Chalfant said.Senior Ryan LeBlanc placed second last weekend and is 10-2 for the year. He has been pleased with how the squad has been looking thus far.“The team looks great,” LeBlanc said. “I felt we did a really good job as a team this past weekend having four finalists and a couple placers in that tournament. I think that is the best I have ever been a part of. I am pretty excited to see what we do when we all get on the mat.”Goldman is not worried about any wrestlers losing any drive after success in the first two tournaments.“I think the success motivates them,” Goldman said. “I don’t think it’s hard to keep them motivated. They have done well. We just have to make sure they stay focused.”This week the team has been working hard on conditioning in practice, Goldman said. The key focus has been running and making sure the guys are mentally ready for their opponents. Junior Joe Duca is scheduled to make his debut this weekend at the University Gym. He missed the first two tournaments with an injured ankle. “Last week he was probably 90 percent, but we didn’t want to push it,” Goldman said. “It just didn’t seem worth it at the time. But he is fine and ready to go.”A dual meet is a different type of competition for wrestlers. There is less time between weigh-ins and wrestling than in tournaments, and there is only one match for a wrestler to prove himself.“A dual meet situation is totally different than a tournament,” Goldman said. “Everyone’s points count. In tournaments you have to wait around for several hours waiting for when you are going to wrestle. In a dual meet you weigh in and then have to be ready to go. There’s no wrestle backs, there’s no second chances, so the guys really need to take that to heart and get themselves ready to perform the way they need to.”LeBlanc understands the difference in preparation.“Since it is our first one hour weigh in, I have to keep my weight in check, and being ready to go as soon as I step off that scale is really important,” LeBlanc said.Goldman just hopes the wrestlers are ready for the first duals of the season.“It is one mat. All the focus is on them,” Goldman said. “It’s just how they can handle the pressure and the nerves standing out there alone.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Four IU wrestlers made their way to their respective finals Saturday at the Michigan State Open, where two Hoosiers took first place. The two champions were junior Taylor Walsh at 157 pounds and senior heavyweight Adam Chalfant.“Adam wrestled great,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “He had a really tough weight class. He beat a highly ranked All-American (Jeremy Johnson, Ohio) and then beat the No. 6-ranked guy in the country out of Michigan State (Mike McClure, MSU) in the finals. He just had a really solid tournament and wrestled well.”For No. 9 ranked Chalfant, it was his season debut.He did not waste any time making an impact, defeating two top 10 ranked wrestlers on his road to the heavyweight title.Walsh, who is also ranked ninth in the nation for his weight class, kept his momentum going after earning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week this past week for his first place finish at the Clarion Open. “Taylor has had a couple of real successful seasons, but he has taken it up a notch,” Goldman said. “I mean he has been showing the signs of being where he needs to be to get on the stand and make a run for a high finish at the end of the day.”Walsh is now 10-0 on the season with eight pins. His 29 career pins leave him two away from making his way into IU’s top 10 list.“It was good to see he didn’t have a let down from last week,” Goldman said. “He continued to roll and get after it.”Senior Ryan LeBlanc (165 pounds) and junior Luke Sheridan (184 pounds) also reached the finals but ended the day with second-place finishes. Leblanc was defeated by Ohio State freshman Bo Jordan in the finals to go 4-1 during the tournament.“Ryan in particular had a real solid performance,” Goldman said. “He showed a workmanship-like approach. The guy he met in the finals is an excellent wrestler, and he just kind of got caught there, but he had an outstanding performance going up to it.”Sheridan had a tougher journey to the finals with several tight matches, including a 3-1 overtime victory against Michigan State junior John Rizqallah in the semi-finals before a loss to No. 8-ranked sophomore Ken Courts from Ohio State.“Luke had some really tight matches that he had to pull out,” Goldman said. “Those are the kind of matches that really make a difference down the line through the season.”Junior Joe Duca was a tournament-time decision (ankle), but the staff decided not to rush him, so Duca did not wrestle.Duca has missed both tournaments to start the season but will be fine, Goldman said. There has been competition for the 149-pound spot for IU, but sophomore Eric Roach may have all but sealed the spot for himself with a 6-1 performance during the tournament.“Eric has pretty much established himself as the guy there,” Goldman said. “He started off a little slow during the day, but then he had a couple of big matches toward the tail end of the tournament that really seemed to get him on the right track.”In the freshman/sophomore division of the tournament, freshmen Chris Caton and Kyle Springer both competed at 133 pounds.Springer was the runner-up, losing to freshman Jordan Northrup of Northern Illinois in the finals. Northrup also defeated Caton earlier in the tournament.“Both those guys were at the same weight competing for that 133 spot,” Goldman said. “Chris only lost one match and Kyle only lost one match. Kyle’s was in the finals to Northrup and actually it was a real close match.“He lost on a really kind of controversial call. Both of them not being able to compete last week did a real nice job and showed that whoever we decide to put out there should be able to give a real strong performance.”The Hoosiers will move on from this tournament and have their first dual meets of the season next Sunday for the home opener at University Gym.Sunday will be a tri-meet with IU going against Duke and Cleveland State.Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.