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(11/08/13 6:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coming off a successful outing last weekend, the IU wrestling team will head to East Lansing, Mich., this Saturday for the Michigan State Open.The No. 9 ranked 157-pounder in the country, junior Taylor Walsh, comes off a first place finish last weekend at the Clarion Open, which led to Walsh being named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.Two years ago Walsh won the 149-pound open title as a freshman in the 2011 MSU Open, while No. 18 ranked senior Joe Leblanc placed third as a 179-pounder. Indiana last participated in the event in 2011.“We had a pretty good week at Clarion, and we have just been getting back to work,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “We had a couple guys who didn’t wrestle in Joe Duca and Adam Chalfant who are going to be able to wrestle this week and we are looking ahead towards that.”Junior Adam Chalfant is the No. 9 ranked heavyweight in the country. Goldman said he is ready to go.Junior Joe Duca, who has garnered a lot of praise from his peers for his offseason work, missed the Clarion Open with a sprained ankle.“Duca, I think, is ready to go, we will see,” Goldman said. “We will play it by ear that day whether or not we put him out there. He is fine — he had a sprained ankle, but not severely sprained, so he has been working back into it. We just don’t want to rush it. If he had to wrestle he could, but he doesn’t have to wrestle.”Goldman felt good about the transition from last weekend’s meet and the preparation for this Saturday.“I think we held steady during the week with guys working on some of the things that they needed to from this past weekend,” Goldman said. “It has been a pretty productive week of practice.”This week the team has worked on specific positioning and controlling opponents while on top. Another point of focus has been finishing. “We did a good job getting the legs during the tournament, but our finishing percentage wasn’t where we would like it to be,” Goldman said. “There were some specifics but nothing really alarming.”Sophomore Ethan Raley, a transfer student from Lincoln College, fared well in his debut last weekend, placing second. “It felt great,” Raley said. “It has been a long time coming, so I was excited to be on the mat representing the Hoosiers.”The transfer process only built the anticipation for Raley to wrestle for IU.“It felt like it was a long time just because I was anticipating coming here, but now that I am here I can see this is the place I need to be,” Raley said. The Hoosiers are looking to take the season opener at the Clarion Open as a gage for their performance and what to improve.“From last tournament I could see where I stood at, and now I can just keep getting better from there,” Raley said. “I am just looking forward to this tournament. A lot of good wrestlers are going to be there.”Sophomore Garret Goldman missed last season due to injury. The Clarion Open was also his first time competing for quite a while. “For me personally, I didn’t wrestle at all last year because I was injured,” Goldman said. “5-2 is not top of the podium but since it is my first tournament in over a year I am not too disappointed in the results.”Goldman looks to take his results from last week and continue to improve. “I definitely need to get back to working on my defense a little bit,” Goldman said. “I think my shape was good, and I was hitting my offense pretty well. I think a big part of it is I just need to get my defense going a little better.”Goldman is aiming for success at the MSU Open but is aware of the big picture.“These early season tournaments are as much about learning and improving and getting ready for the rest of the season as they are being important here in the beginning,” Goldman said. “They all matter in the RPI and stuff like that, but like any sport it’s early in the year, and you got to get on track and figure things out. We got a lot of wrestling left ahead of us.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/05/13 5:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Taylor Walsh, the No. 9 wrestler in the country at 157 pounds, opened IU’s 2013-14 wrestling season with a first-place finish at the Clarion Open on Sunday in Clarion, Pa. “Taylor really dominated the matches,” IU wrestling Coach Duane Goldman said.” I think he is taking it to heart this year to put guys away.”Walsh pinned his first four opponents before facing Ohio State’s Randell Languis in the finals. In the final match, Walsh gave up his first point in a 7-1 victory against Languis. Walsh was the lone IU wrestler to win first place, but three other IU wrestlers placed in the top three of their weight class, and an additional five wrestlers finished 3-2 for the day. Sophomore Ethan Raley, a transfer student from Lincoln College, excelled in his IU debut. Raley was victorious in his first five matches as a Hoosier. He suffered his first defeat in the 141-pound finals to Laike Gardner of Lehigh University to end the day with a second-place finish. “We haven’t really been in his corner yet.” Goldman said. “We were really happy to see him compete at a high level and beat some really good wrestlers.”Junior Luke Sheridan came into the Clarion Open ranked 29th in the nation in the 184-pound weight class.After losing his first match Sunday to Lehigh’s Zach Diekel by one point, Sheridan fought back to win his next five matches and set up a rematch with Diekel. Sheridan defeated Diekel with a 6-1 decision to place third.Senior Ryan LeBlanc also won four straight bouts in wrestle backs, the loser’s bracket for wrestlers to fight for third place, to become one of three Hoosiers to place third. LeBlanc is ranked 14th in the country in the 165-pound division.At 149 pounds, freshman Neal Molloy and sophomores Eric Roach and Alex Gregory all went 3-2 for the day. “We had several guys do well there,” Goldman said. “Neal Molloy, Alex Gregory and Eric Roach all did a great job. Eric Roach I think stood out amongst those three. I would say he definitely has the nod at the spot right now, but we are very happy to have some depth there.”Freshman Matt Irick (174 pounds) and sophomore Garret Goldman (197 pounds) also went 3-2 Sunday.As the opener to the season, the Clarion Open provided some insights to how the team will perform this year. “The team as a whole I think we competed really well,” Coach Goldman said. “We had several guys do a really good job. It gave us a lot of opportunity to see where we stand, and I think we look pretty good for the beginning of the year.”Follow reporter Brody Miller on Twitter @BrodyMillerIDS.
(11/01/13 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU wrestling team has a clear goal this season — to be tougher.The wrestlers agree being tougher and pushing themselves has been a key focus in the offseason.“I would say we probably have been working most on overall toughness,” Junior Luke Sheridan said. “I feel like everybody has had the technique the whole time but now we are just getting a lot more mean when it comes to being on the mat.”Redshirt Sophomore Alex Gregory has a similar outlook on the offseason.“The offseason has been going very well. We have been pushing ourselves really well, which we were kind of lacking last year,” Gregory said. “Last year we were really reserved, and we would hold back, and it showed in matches when it came to the later periods.”Sheridan said toughness comes down to doing little things, like pushup ladders.“Your muscles can do it; it’s just all in your head,” he said. “You have to have that toughness factor and if you take that into a match I feel like you are definitely going to win.”The Hoosiers suffered several injuries last year. “We need to stay healthy,” redshirt sophomore Eric Roach said. “Last year we had a lot of injuries. It was very unfortunate and put us at a big disadvantage.”Roach is in the midst of one of the tighter battles for time this season. He is fighting to wrestle at the 149-weight class with Gregory, who took over at 149 when Roach was injured.IU Coach Duane Goldman said he expects a lot of good things at that weight class. Roach is looking stronger at the moment, Goldman said, but Gregory gained a lot of experience wrestling at the end of the season and in the Big Ten championships in Roach’s absence. “We are pleased with our schedules,” Goldman said. “We have 12 home dual meets which will give our guys a lot of opportunities to compete in front of their family and their fans and hopefully have a lot of home crowd momentum in those matches and get a lot of wins.”The returning starter at 125 pounds and last season’s voted most-improved player, redshirt junior Joe Duca, has garnered a lot of praise. “Joe put in a great summer,” Goldman said. “He stayed here most of that time and worked hard to improve himself and improve his skills. He is very focused and we are excited to see what he can do this season.”It is not just Duca’s coach who has observed his work. Teammate Luke Sheridan did not have to think long when he was asked who has impressed him the most this offseason.“He has been here this whole summer in the weight room, on the mat, he is a completely different wrestler,” Sheridan said.Sheridan had a busy offseason as well. He won the Junior Fila Nationals and the Junior World Team Trials. Sheridan also competed at the University National Championships and the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria. “Luke had a great summer,” Goldman said. “He loves to wrestle, he loves to compete. Now with a couple of years of varsity wrestling under his belt, as well as being an NCAA qualifier, we feel like he is turning the corner and I think he feels the same way. It looks like he is really ready to turn it on this year and have a great year.”The team’s season begins this Sunday in Clarion, Pa., for the Clarion Open. All of the Hoosiers’ offseason preparation will be on display.“Coach Goldman has been making a point that everyone needs to get with the program and be a part of the team,” Roach said. “They need to be in it 100 percent. This is a sport you need to be completely committed to or else things will not be very fun for you.”Follow wrestling reporter Brody Miller on Twitter at @BrodyMillerIDS.