IU has strong showing in Iowa

The IU wrestling team continued its hot streak at the Northern Iowa Open Saturday, posting four individual championships and eight team members in the top six in their respective weight classes.\nWith over 300 wrestlers and several highly ranked schools from around the nation competing in the meet, the impressive performances have the Hoosiers heading in the right direction.\nJunior Pat DeGain got his first individual title of the year in the 197-pound weight class. DeGain marched through four opponents en route to the title, beating Minnesota State's Josh Jandusek 7-4 in the championship. DeGain's win moves his winning streak to six and his overall record to 7-2 on the year. \nAlso winning and picking up his first career individual title was sophomore Joe Dubuque. Wrestling in the 125-pound division, Dubuque beat five straight grapplers to earn the championship by a 11-6 decision. Senior Coyte Cooper won his second title of the season in the 141-pound weight class by dropping Minnesota State's Jason Rhoten 9-4 in the final match. Cooper's five victories on the day pushed his perfect record to 11-0 on the season. \nFinishing out IU's four titles was junior Andy Rios in the 184-pound weight class. Rios battled through four competitors on his way to the championship. Rios, coming off a second place finish at the Missouri Open two weekends ago, improved his overall record to 9-1 on the year.\nThese four wrestlers were not the only ones with solid showings. Sophomore Brady Richardson finished second in the 174-pound weight class to top-seeded Eric Hauan of Northern Iowa. His 3-1 record on the day moved him to 8-3 on the year. Freshman Matt McIntire took home fourth place in the 149-pound division after going 6-2 on the day. Another freshman, Brian Dyer, came up with a fifth place finish in the 133-pound weight class. Dyer, seeing his first action all year, won five matches in the meet before bowing out to Pat Garcia of Northern Iowa. Junior J.P. Stanley notched a sixth place effort in the 157-pound division, going 6-3 on the day, while sophomore heavyweight Joel Powers received fifth place.\nThe Hoosiers look to build upon the Northern Iowa Open results in a busy upcoming weekend for IU coach Duane Goldman's team. The team travels to Columbia, Mo., Saturday for a dual meet with Missouri with matches starting at 2 p.m. IU quickly returns to home the next day to battle Wabash, Gardner Webb and Eastern Illinois. Wrestling will start at noon for this four-team meet.