Following in the footsteps

Two-time national champion Joe Dubuque left some enormous shoes for IU wrestlers to fill when he graduated last year, even though the 125-pounder has only size seven feet. \n"When people think Indiana 125, the face of that is Joe Dubuque," said Mike Peysakhovich, one of the IU wrestlers who looks to replace Dubuque at the 125-pound spot in coming seasons. "So when Dubuque graduates, the following year everyone is expecting that whoever fills in at that weight is going to be probably pretty good."\nPeysakhovich, a freshman, will redshirt this wrestling season, but he and others in the program are confident the IU wrestling team won't skip a beat when Dubuque's heir apparent, Angel Escobedo, gets a chance to prove himself. Escobedo redshirted last season while Dubuque finished out his eligibility. \n"He's definitely a very talented kid who's a hard worker," IU coach Duane Goldman said of Escobedo. "(He) is used to winning and has a winner's attitude."\nEscobedo was a four-time state champion in high school, tallying an impressive 174-1 record at Griffith High School in Griffith, Ind. In last weekend's Hoosier Duals, Escobedo was a perfect 5-0 in his matches.\nFollowing Dubuque, Escobedo's hopes for success are understandably optimistic, but Goldman said he doesn't put pressure on Escobedo to have the success of his predecessor right away.\n"At the national level, once a guy wins a national title and graduates, it's not always the case where the guy who was behind him fills in and starts winning nationals right away. There's not that mentality," Goldman said. "The pressure is just for (the 125-pound wrestlers) to continue to learn and do their best, but we're confident that if they're able to that, they'll have very successful seasons." \nGoldman might not put pressure on Escobedo to win a national championship right away, but that doesn't mean Escobedo isn't putting that pressure on himself. \n"My goals for this year are (to become an) All-American and become a national champ and help my team to be top five in the nation," Escobedo said. \nWhat will it take to achieve those goals? For one, Escobedo said he normally weighs around 150 pounds when he's not in wrestling shape, which means he has to put in "countless hours" of workouts to shed weight. \n"When everyone else is out there eating and drinking, you're sitting there starving," Escobedo said. "Waking up, going to class when you haven't eaten anything or drank anything, and you're starving -- it's just hard. It's discipline you have to keep up with. ... You hear a pop can open and you're just looking around. Or someone drinking something and you're like, 'Man, they better finish it all.' You notice little things like that." \nPeysakhovich, too, knows all about shedding weight, but he says it's not without its upside. \n"You don't cut the weight and go out there and get your ass kicked," he said. "Why cut that weight and get your ass beat for no reason? You cut that weight, and it makes you meaner and tougher and \nangrier, and your will to win is even greater." \nOn Thanksgiving, Escobedo said he worked out in the morning to cut weight for a weekend tournament. He said he had a small plate of food and two or three glasses of water with his coach to celebrate the holiday, but he was back working out in the evening to shed the last few pounds he needed to reach 125. \nEscobedo's Thanksgiving might have been a far cry from most other students', but he said he's willing to put in the work to reach his goals, which include winning not just national titles but an Olympic one as well. \n"There's a tremendous difference in character," he said of the difference between his team and normal students. "When I lived in the dorms last year, (and) I was going to bed, people were going out. I was waking up for workouts; people were coming in. It was just that difference. People are doing whatever, and you know you can't do the activities they do. You can't just go out and have fun because you have to get a workout in." \nEscobedo's work ethic has won him an important fan: Dubuque, now an assistant wrestling coach at Hofstra University, says Escobedo has what it takes to win at the national level. \n"You have to want it," Dubuque explained in a phone interview. "You have to be (a) hard-nosed, hard-working, relentless kid who just refuses to lose. I think Angel has a lot of those characteristics. ... He's got all the tools to be a four-time All-American and a four-time national champ." \nEscobedo said he still looks up to his mentor. \n"It's really hard to fill Joe Dubuque's shoes because there really is only one Joe Dubuque," Escobedo said. \nIf things go his way the next four years, people also might be saying there's only one Angel Escobedo.