"This is a good warm up event for our returners and newcomers," head coach Duane Goldman said. "An undefeated season starts for some of these guys, but for the most part it is just a chance to get on the mat against some competitors. There will be a lot of top wrestlers at this event and it will be a good test for some of our new starters."
•2005-06 PREVIEW•
The Indiana wrestling program is nothing less than a cannon reloaded and ready to fire into the new season. With a national champion, two All-Americans, five NCAA qualifiers and five grapplers finishing in the top six at the Big Ten Championships headlining the roster, the Hoosiers are set to contend for another top-five and top-10 finish at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, respectively.
Head coach Duane Goldman also is coming off one of his best seasons in his 14-year tenure, finishing in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships (ninth) and tied for fifth at the Big Ten Championships.
The Hoosiers enter the season with a top-10 recruiting class and are highlighted by 125-pound Joe Dubuque (24-3), who is back to defend his national championship from a year ago. The Bloomfield, N.J., native will look to be the fourth Hoosier to garner three All-American nods in his career.
The Indiana Hoosiers also will be led this year by sophomores Brandon Becker and Max Dean and senior Brady Richardson, who all return to the starting lineup with valuable collegiate experience.
All-American Becker (33-13) collected a pair of fifth-place outings at NCAAs and Big Tens in 2005 and will fill the 157-pound position again for IU this season. Both appearances in the year-end finals were a debut for last year's redshirt freshman. The Michleton, N.J., product again looks to make an appearance on the national stage, while also making a run at a conference championship.
Two-time NCAA qualifier Richardson (23-6) also returns to the IU roster with one goal in mind- making the NCAA tournament and garnering All-American status.
Rounding out the NCAA qualifiers from a year ago is Dean. Dean claimed fifth at the Big Ten tournament and posted a 1-2 mark at the NCAA competition.
•MISSOURI PREVIEW•
The Indiana wrestling team travels to the Missouri Open Sunday, Nov. 20 for its first team event of the season. The Hoosiers look to gain collegiate experience at numerous weight classes, while for some IU grapplers the beginning of an undefeated season begins in Columbia, Mo.
The open boasts a highly competitive field with four teams ranked in the top-25 of one or more of the four major NCAA collegiate wrestling polls. Leading the pack is No. 2/2/2/2 Oklahoma, followed by No. 6/4/4/4 Illinois, No. 14/14/14/14 Missouri and No. 23/NR/25/NR Edinboro.
The above rankings are in order of TWM, AWN, W.I.N. and NWCA-Intermat.
•NATIONAL EXPOSURE•
The Indiana Wrestling team opens the season ranked in all four preseason polls, with Amateur Wrestling News tabbing the Hoosiers 10th. The Wrestling Mall and W.I.N. Magazine polls both notched IU in the 11th-place spot, while the NWCA-InterMat preseason poll ranked the Hoosiers 16th.
The Hoosiers garnered the preseason rankings after finishing ninth last year at the NCAA Championships (58.5). Indiana returns one national champion, two All-Americans and five NCAA Qualifiers overall from last year's top-10 squad.
•REPEAT PERFORMANCE•
Indiana 125-pound national champion Joe Dubuque returns for his senior season and looks to defend his national championship from a year ago.
The Bloomfield, N.J., native became the first Indiana national champion since Brian Dolph grappled to the title in 1991, and looks to be the first Hoosier to achieve back-to-back titles in a career.
Charlie McDaniel (1935-38) is the only Hoosier to win two NCAA crowns (1935 and 1938) during his stint at IU, and one of only three Hoosiers to garner All-American status three times (Millard Duffy, 1935-36,38; Brian Dolph, 1987-90).
Dubuque looks to join the ranks of some of the best Hoosier grapplers ever to don the Cream and Crimson.
•HOOSIERS IN THE RANKINGS•
Four Hoosier grapplers enter the 2005-06 season ranked among the nation's elite. Leading all Hoosiers is two-time All-American Joe Dubuque, who ranks first in all four preseason polls (TWM, AWN. W.I.N., NWCA). The senior also looks to defend his national title from a year ago.
At 157, sophomore All-American Brandon Becker (3/5/5/5) received top-five nods from all four preseason audiences, with his highest of third coming in TWM preseason poll. The feat marks the first time Becker has received preseason recognition after grappling in his first year of competition as a redshirt freshman in 2004-05.
Sophomore NCAA Qualifier Max Dean entered the polls at 15/16/16/14 for his first preseason rankings of his career. The 165-pound Dean looks to make another run at the NCAA Championships in 2006, this time with the goal of All-American status on his mind.
Rounding out the preseason accolades is senior Brady Richardson at 197. Richardson makes the move from 174 and garnered a 20th- and 11th-place ranking in the TWM and NWCA polls, respectively. Richardson, who wrestled at 174 in 2004 and 2005 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in both seasons, is looking to make his mark at his new and stronger weight division.
•TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER•
Head coach Duane Goldman named seniors Joe Dubuque and Brady Richardson as the 2005-06 team captains.
Both Hoosiers enter the senior campaign with high goals for not only the team, but have individual expectations.
Dubuque looks to become the first Hoosier to garner back-to-back NCAA titles, the second Hoosier to garner two national crowns in a career and only the fifth IU grappler to receive All-American honors three-times during their stint at IU.
Richardson looks to garner his first All-American accolade after qualifying for the postseason the last two years at 174. Goldman says the Vincennes, Ind., native looks stronger and more comfortable in his new weight class, and has all the potential to achieve his 2006 goals.
•RECORDS WILL "FALL"•
Senior Joe Dubuque stands just nine falls away from entering the all-time Indiana list for most pins in a career. Dubuque currently stands at 15 falls for his career, nine below the ninth-ranked Hoosier Pat Cassidy (1997-2000) who has 24. Viktor Sveda (1998-2002), one of the program's most decorated wrestlers, owns the record with 47.
The Bloomfield, N.J., native looks to be the fourth graduating senior in five years to etch their name in the IU career pins record book. Sveda took the top spot in 2002 (47), current IU volunteer coach Coyte Cooper tabbed third on the list in 2004 (37) and last year's All-American Pat DeGain finished in fourth in 2005 (35).
•LOOKING FOR THE "W"•
Senior national champion Joe Dubuque currently stands at an 86-17 career record. Dubuque falls just 19 wins outside of the top 10 all-time most wins in a career record book. Should Dubuque garner 19 wins in his senior campaign, the Hoosier will tie current 10th-ranked IU grapplers Mark Galyan (1978-1982) and Scott Holman (1986-1990) on the list at 105.
Viktor Sveda (1997-2002) currently holds the all-time record with 149.
•A TALL MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB•
Indiana wrestling is looking at one of its toughest schedules under Duane Goldman's leadership in the 2005-06 lineup. The Hoosiers, once the Big Ten season starts, open the campaign against currently unranked Ohio State (Jan. 20) and Purdue (Jan. 22). The Hoosiers then take on six straight ranked opponents in No. 6/4/4/4 Illinois (Jan. 27), No. 4/6/3/5 Iowa (Jan. 29), No. 5/5/6/6 Minnesota (Feb. 5), No. 12/13/12/12 Penn State (Feb. 10), No. 13/12/13/11 Northwestern (Feb. 17) and No. 3/3/5/3 Michigan (Feb. 19).
•BIG SHOES TO FILL•
Indiana's starting lineup has a few key changes from last year's roster, which leaves the young Hoosier grapplers with some big shoes to fill.
At 133, 2004 starter Brian Dyer transferred out of the IU program and has now left the spot open for either another redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez or incoming freshman Angel Escobedo.
At 141, both seniors Mike Simpson and Cameron Sakon graduated to leave the weight class vacant. Looking to fill the opening will be either junior Ian Campbell or senior Nick Spatola, who is the only one of the two with collegiate experience.
At 174, a weight usually filled by current senior Brady Richardson who moved to 197, is now open to a duo of newcomers. Sophomore Marc Bennett and freshman Trevor Perry look to battle for the 2005 starting position.
After an early graduation, Andy Rios vacated the 184-pound starting spot, leaving room for either junior Josh Buuck, sophomore Justin Curran or redshirt freshman Heath Vandeventer.
The final opening poses the greatest to fill in not only talent, but leadership. Senior Pat DeGain, who filled the heavyweight division and achieved All-American status in his senior season, leaves the weight class open for sophomore Dave Herman. Herman had seven starts in 2004-05 behind DeGain, going 7-1 in his appearances on the mat.
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