Indiana tallied victories over Gardner-Webb, American and Clarion in the round-robin event. American entered the day at 5-2 and coming off a win over Navy, a program receiving votes in the USA TODAY/NWCA/Intermat national poll. Indiana more than doubled up the Eagles of American, 24-11, to go along with a pair of lop-sided wins over Gardner-Webb, 43-3, and Clarion, 49-0. American is also slotted #23 in the Intermat Tournament Strength rankings.
A group of five Hoosiers went 3-for-3 on Sunday, including Matt Ortega and Paul Young who took it one step further by earning bonus points in each bout. Ortega tallied two pins and a major decision while Young notched one fall and two majors. Angel Escobedo stuck two foes en route to his perfect 3-0 day. Eric Cameron and Matt Powless also combined to go 6-0 in the 184 and 197 pound weight classes.
Indiana opened the event facing the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb. The Hoosiers racked up five pins in the match, all coming in the first period. The most impressive win may have come in the heavyweight match, however, as Nate Everhart outlasted #11 Dustin Porter for a 2-1 overtime decision. Indiana's only setback in the 43-3 drubbing, was a one-point defeat in the 141-lbs. match.
Next up, was the aforementioned marquee match-up of the day with the Hoosiers taking on American. With a slim one-point IU advantage after four matches, #12 Kurt Kinser and Young blew things open with a pin and major decision, respectively. Two matches later, Cameron and Powless contributed seven more points to the team total to seal the deal. Trevor Perry, the 12th ranked wrestler at 174-lbs. in the country, nearly took out #3 Michael Cameron, dropping a tough 1-0 decision. In the end, it was the Cream and Crimson coming out on top, 24-11.
Head Coach Duane Goldman's Hoosiers saved the best for last, blanking the Clarion Golden Eagles by a score of 49 to zip. #4 Escobedo got it started by sticking #20 Jay Ivanco in the opening period at the 2:15 mark. Indiana continued to pile up the points as they recorded falls in four of the first five bouts, and a total of six pins in the match. Young wowed the Hoosier faithful in attendance with a five-takedown first period as he rolled to 15-6 triumph. Everhart was also impressive, posting three near falls before eventually pinning his opposition in the second stanza.
The Hoosiers begin Big Ten action on Friday, Jan. 23 as #14 Penn State visits University Gym. That match is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast LIVE on the Big Ten Network.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now