Hoosiers finish 14th at nationals

At the 2007 NCAA championships, the IU wrestling team gave a great showing with some unusual players stepping up to propel the team to an impressive showing.\nIU finished 14th at the championships with 41.0 points. It was the second time in the last three years IU has finished in the top 15 and the third straight season IU has been in the top 20.\nFreshman Angel Escobedo and sophomores Matt Coughlin and Andrae Hernandez all reached All-American status. Each placed higher than eighth in the competition, while some Hoosiers were left knocking on the door as they just missed All-American standing. \nEscobedo was ranked among the nation’s best at 125 pounds all season, and he solidified that stamp as he grappled to a fourth-place finish that capped off his season at 39-7. His fourth-place finish at nationals was the highest finish by an IU freshman since the 1930s. Escobedo said he was happy with the finish.\n“It feels great to be an All-American and among that class of IU athletes,” Escobedo said. “Coming in as a freshman I didn’t have as much experience as some of my competitors, and it was huge for me to be fourth in the nation.”\nAll-American Andrae Hernandez said his cousin and teammate Escobedo deserves the title.\n“He never wants to lose, and he’s one of the best because of it,” Hernandez said. “He’s aggressive to shoot, and I think that also helps him be one of the best and pull out wins.”\nAnother Hoosier who performed well during tournament competition was Coughlin, who emerged out of a slump to become an All-American. He was the sixth-place 141-pound finisher in the Big Ten, while he notched a seventh-place finish at the NCAA tournament. \n“I just knew that this tournament was the one chance I had to erase my midseason slump,” Coughlin said. “I came in really focused on getting a championship and it’s a great feeling to be an All-American.”\nHernandez lost initially to the winner of the 133-pound crown at the nationals but kept battling and received eighth place to become the third of the school-record three All-Americans.\nIU coach Duane Goldman said he was pleased with his All-Americans’ perseverance.\n“They all continued to progress after the conference tournaments, and that’s why we recruited them,” Goldman said. “We know they’re the type of kids we can help to achieve their goals.”\nThough IU had a great showing, there were some things that didn’t go their way. Two-time All-American junior Brandon Becker (157 pounds) didn’t receive his previous tag this year due to some early losses, and junior Marc Bennett (184 pounds) fell short of placing at the nationals. \nThe IU squad will return every member of their team except senior heavyweight Josh Buuck. Goldman said he expects his team to be successful but is still leery of the future.\n“I expect to have four All-Americans next year,” he said. “But the Big Ten is hard to call, because we were 14th in the nation and eighth in conference, so you never know what can happen.”