Hoosier wrestlers compete in intrasquad scrimmage
An overtime clash at heavyweight capped a number of close matches as the Hoosier wrestlers debuted to the public Wednesday in their annual intrasquad scrimmage.
An overtime clash at heavyweight capped a number of close matches as the Hoosier wrestlers debuted to the public Wednesday in their annual intrasquad scrimmage.
An overtime clash at heavyweight capped a number of close matches as the Hoosier wrestlers debuted to the public Wednesday in their annual intrasquad scrimmage.
With the season rapidly approaching, many Hoosier wrestlers said they have high hopes of landing a spot in next spring’s NCAA tournament. First though, they must clinch a spot on their own team.
Angel Escobedo will go down as one of the greatest wrestlers in IU history. The senior wanted nothing more than to establish that with a second national title to cap off his IU career. Unfortunately for Escobedo, that was not in the cards at the NCAA Championships in Omaha, Neb., last weekend.
The IU wrestling team will come into the NCAA Championships on March 18 in Omaha, Neb. As the No. 1 seed at 125 pounds, senior Angel Escobedo will attempt to repeat his run that landed him a national title two years ago. With a record-breaking third Big Ten title and perfect 33-0 record under his belt, Escobedo is once again the favorite to win.
The Big Ten Championships did not go the way the Hoosiers envisioned this weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich. An eighth-place finish was an improvement from last year’s ninth-place result, but it was not the strong finish to the season many had predicted.
Forty-seven nationally ranked wrestlers, eight teams in the top 25, and 21 out of the last 30 National Championship teams are just a few reasons why the Big Ten is the best wrestling conference in the country.
Angel Escobedo is lucky that his family and friends were not late for Senior Night at University Gym. Donning white shirts with a winged letter “A,” Escobedo’s entourage did not get to see him on the mat for long.
Besides senior night, the IU wrestling team will have its sights set on taking care of a Michigan team that has yet to register a Big Ten win.
Friday night will be the last time the Hoosier faithful will see Angel Escobedo get the Hoosiers off to an early lead at 125 pounds, the last time they will see Matt Coughlin compete in a grind-it-out match at 149 pounds, the last time fans can get on their feet for a Trevor Perry pin at 175 pounds, and the last time they will get a chance to witness Nate Everhart secure a Hoosier victory at heavyweight.
IU coach Duane Goldman has repeatedly stressed the need for upset victories in Big Ten play. On Friday night, Goldman got exactly what he was asking for, in dramatic fashion.
As the wrestlers shuffle along their practice room’s mat-covered floor, IU coach Duane Goldman barks out orders. “Keep your head up,” he implores them. “Touch the ground.” Assistant coach Joe Dubuque, who wrestled for Goldman for two national championships at IU, works with team members, bending low at the knee, lifting his head and showing them proper technique. “Gotta get better today,” he shouts.
When senior Nate Everhart arrived on the IU campus his freshman year, he was far from the physical beast he is today. Weighing below 200 pounds, Everhart was not intimidating many wrestlers with his size. The Tinsley, Ill., native received offers to play baseball at Iowa and Missouri but decided wrestling at a Big Ten school and getting a Big Ten education was the right path. IU coach Duane Goldman knew that he was getting a guy with brains and brawn.
The IU wrestling team will not be allowed to ease into the Big Ten season. The No. 11 Hoosiers will open up their season on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. today when they travel to No. 19 Wisconsin.
IU senior wrestler Nate Everhart showed on Saturday why he is on the shortlist of contenders for a heavyweight national championship.
On Saturday afternoon, the wrestling team got exactly the performance it was looking for heading into a two-and-a-half-week break from competition.
When Angel Escobedo was a redshirt freshman, he watched Joe Dubuque win the second of his back-to-back National Championships at 125 pounds. Dubuque might not have realized it, but he was setting the bar for Escobedo’s future with IU wrestling.
IU senior wrestlers Angel Escobedo (125 pounds) and Nate Everheart (heavyweight) claimed individual titles at the 28th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas this weekend.
The IU wrestling team will face its first national test Friday in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
The Hoosiers were able to defend their No. 11 national ranking on Saturday, going 5-0 in the Hoosier Duals at University Gym.